Call for applications: New doctoral training partnership for criminal justice professionals

20 Oct 2026

A new initiative which supports criminal justice professionals to undertake PhDs has launched a call for applications.

The Criminal Justice Professionals' Doctoral Training Partnership (CJP-DTP) co-funds five criminal justice professionals to complete a part-time PhD over six years, focused on applied research that benefits the people affected by their organisations' work.

The call brings together academics from Dublin City University, Maynooth University, South East Technological University, University College Cork and the University of Limerick. Each institution has agreed to provide a 50% part-time PhD fee waiver for one successful applicant.

The initiative has been established through the Criminal justice Open Research Dialogue (CORD) Partnership, a research-policy-practice partnership that aims to embed an open research culture and strengthen collaboration between research, policy and practice in criminal justice in Ireland.

Building research capacity in criminal justice

The CJP-DTP is designed to help professionals develop research projects that address real-world challenges facing criminal justice organisations and communities. The successful applicants will join a national cohort of doctoral researchers and receive support not only from their supervisory teams, but also through a collaborative programme of advanced doctoral training and research translation activities developed specifically for the partnership.

The CJP-DTP aims to:

• Enable a cohort of criminal justice professionals to co-design and conduct world-leading, applied research which relates to criminal justice in Ireland, and which has the potential to benefit the people affected by their organisations’ work;
• Enable participating supervisors at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to collaborate on joint, advanced and tailored doctoral supervision and training for this cohort;
• Give public and community sector organisations whose work relates to crime and criminal justice, broadly conceived, an opportunity to co-design a research project on a significant topic for their work, and to support a staff member to complete a PhD on that topic; and,
• Build relationships and opportunities for collaboration among researchers, policymakers and practitioners in Ireland, for the benefit of wider society.

Who can apply?

Applications are invited from employees of public, publicly funded or non-profit organisations in the Republic of Ireland whose work relates to crime or criminal justice, broadly defined.

Applicants must meet the PhD admission requirements of their chosen HEI, be resident in Ireland and eligible for EU tuition fees, discuss their PhD proposal with the prospective supervisory team and obtain their support to apply, seek support from their employer, and be willing to undertake a part-time PhD, in line with their chosen institution’s requirements, over a six-year period.

Employer support might include, for example, assistance with remaining tuition fees, study time, giving access to relevant data and organisational resources, involvement in project development and co-design, and commitments to support the dissemination and use of research findings.

Funding available

The CJP-DTP will fund five awards, one hosted by each participating HEI (Dublin City University, Maynooth University, South East Technological University, University College Cork, University of Limerick). Each award provides a 50% waiver of the institution’s part-time PhD tuition fees for the duration of the six-year PhD programme, subject to satisfactory progress and compliance with institutional requirements.

Successful applicants must subsequently receive an offer onto their chosen doctoral programme from the host university in order to activate the fee waiver.

Applications

Prospective applicants should first identify and contact a participating supervisor to discuss their proposed research project.

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to engage with both a prospective supervisor and their employer as early as possible to discuss project ideas, organisational support and doctoral study requirements.

Further details of the application process, participating supervisors and assessment criteria can be found in the call document here.

Applications must be submitted by email to ian.marder@mu.ie by 17:00 on 9 July 2027.

For enquiries, please contact the CORD Partnership Chair, Dr. Ian Marder, on ian.marder@mu.ie