Maynooth University - John and Pat Hume Research Scholarships

What you get

You will receive a stipend of 25,000 EUR per year for up to 4 years. A scholarship is a regular living allowance paid monthly. In addition, you will receive 2,000 EUR per year towards research costs, and your full EU tuition fees will be covered each year. If you are a non-EU student, you can also apply for exemption from non-EU tuition fees. Maynooth University in Ireland funds these PhD scholarships, which are named after John Hume, a former Maynooth student and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and his wife Pat. The scholarships are open to all disciplines. Please note that you will still be required to pay the standard application fee for the PhD programme as well as the annual tuition fee.

Who can apply

• Degree level: You are commencing a full-time PhD programme at Maynooth University between 2026 and 2027 and have not previously undertaken any postgraduate research at Maynooth University.
• Grades: You must hold a Bachelor’s degree with a grade of ‘First Class’ or ‘Upper Second Class’ in a relevant subject area. If your Bachelor’s degree is below this standard, a Master’s degree with a ‘First Class’ or ‘Upper Second Class’ classification, or a completed research Master’s degree, will also qualify you.
• Field of study: Open to all subjects.
• Where you study: You’re studying at the Maynooth campus and live in Ireland.
• Nationality: Applicants of all nationalities are welcome to apply. Qualifications from Ireland, the EU or any recognised international higher education institution are accepted.
• English: If you come from a non-English-speaking country, you will meet the language requirement, for example, with an overall IELTS score of 6.5.
• Supervisor: You have agreed your research project with a supervisor from Maynooth who will support your application and whom you have selected from the advertised research areas.
• No other funding: You are not currently in receipt of any other scholarship that includes research funding, and you have not previously received a Hume scholarship.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted via the ‘MU APPLY’ online portal. The application period runs from 1 December 2025 (12:00 midday) until 23 January 2026 (23:45 GMT). Please contact the supervisor of your choice well in advance of submitting your application, as you will need an academic letter of recommendation from them. You may only submit one application. A second application will result in disqualification.

How realistic are your chances?

Every year, up to 15 scholarships are awarded: 12 at faculty level (4 in each of the 3 faculties) and 3 cross-faculty scholarships for women in STEM subjects and for under-represented groups.

You can find more scholarships in our guide Scholarships in Ireland.