Applying for Irchss Postgrad Scholarship 2011 (1)

8/2/2019 Applying for Irchss Postgrad Scholarship 2011 (1)

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Applying for IRCHSS Government of Ireland

Postgraduate Research Scholarships



Basics

• Only for research degrees (= M.Litt, PhD, or integrated Masters/PhD degrees). NUI Galway‟s 4-yr structured PhD programme qualifies as “integratedMasters/PhD degree”.

• Funding for up to 3 years depending on stage

• €16,000 per year + fees (max. €5750) paid

• Must be Irish citizen or EU citizen resident in Ireland

for 3 of past 5 years• Applications to be submitted by post AND by email

by 4.00 p.m. 21 February 2011 (or before)

• Outcomes expected in August



Basics

• DFA Andrew Grene Scholarship 2011: see T&C

• Evaluation by board of 25+ international experts

(each application read by multiple assessors).

Criteria are described on page 7 of ApplicationForm

• No other paid employment in Year 1

• Up to 3 hours per week teaching in Years 2 & 3



Changes from 2010

• NO academic transcripts needed at applicationstage – Only submitted if you are offered scholarship

• All material MUST be supplied in the applicationform

• Two attempts only: – From 2009 onwards, applicants may only make one

application and one subsequent application

• Copies: 1 hard copy and 1 electronic copy only

• DFA Themes are new



New to 2011

• „Formal Statement on Research Environment‟ to becompleted by Head of Department (old Section D)

• For ease of contact Scholars are requested to use a

single email for all correspondence from application,award and scholarship stages.

• MS Word only – no PDF

• Application form has been simplified• Word count to be specified by applicant.



New to 2011

• Qualifications (Part C Academic Record)• Provision of evaluation criteria and scores

• Fee upper limit of €5750 only

• Additional bursaries not to exceed €5000



Evaluation

• Focus on funding excellence, originality andpotential

• No subject quotas, no favoured topics nordisciplines

• International assessment

▫ N.B. assessors are assigned in accordance withPart 7 App form

• Evaluation process

▫ Numerical scoring and ranking

• No bias towards final year PhDs

• Both new and repeat applications are funded



Evaluation Process

Four-phase approach:

1. Eligibility and Adherence to Terms and Conditions

2. Pre-meeting evaluation by Board Members

3. Assessment Board meeting

4. Post-meeting follow up



Evaluation Criteria

Quality of Proposal Clarity and coherence of the proposed topic.

Quality and appropriateness of methodological approach.

Feasibility and credibility of the proposed research plan in the proposed

time period.

Originality and innovative nature, where appropriate.

Clarity of plans to acquire new knowledge and skills to achieve research

aims, where appropriate.

Direct alignment with Conflict Resolution Themes as set out in Terms and

Conditions (for Andrew Grene scholarship applicants only)

60/100

Quality of Scholar Match between applicant profile and project.

Track record to date where appropriate (i.e. second or third year scholars)

20/100

Provision of Institutional

Support Match between applicant, supervisor and institution.

Quality of Research environment and support available from the

Department/School.

20/100



PGS Awards 2005-10

Year 2010/2011 2009/2010 2008/2009 2007/2008 2006/2007 2005/2006

Scheme Apps Award Apps Award Apps Awards Apps Awards Apps Awards Apps Awards

Postgraduate

Scholarship

649 92 630 145 461 153 365 124 378 94 293 91

Success

Rate 14% 23% 33% 34% 25% 31%



Awards by Discipline (PGS 10)

5 5

1

2

1 1 1

5

15

1

13

4

2 2

8

4

10

1

2

3 3

2

1

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

A r c h a e o l o g y

B u s i n e s s & M a n a g e m e n t

C e l t i c S t u d i e s

C u l t u r a l S t u d i e s

E c o n o m i c s

E n v i r o n m e n t a l S t u d i e s

F r e n c h

G o v e r n m e n t a n d P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e

H i s t o r y

I n

t e r n a t i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t

L a w

L i n g u i s t i c s

L i t e r a t u r e

M u s i c o l o g y

P h i l o s o p h y

P o l i t i c s

P s y c h o l o g y

R e l i g i o u s S t u d i e s

S o c i a l a n d E c o n o m i c G e o g r a p h y

S o c

i a l P o l i c y a n d S o c i a l W o r k

S o c i o l o g y

T h e o l o g y

W o m e n s S t u d i e s



Ineligibility Issues 2010

• No hard/soft copy

• Late

• Incomplete application:▫ No/incorrect signature

▫ Reference sent separately

• Outside remit

•

Outside original registration period (see App 1 T&C)• Sections left incomplete or left blank



Scholars/Award holders

• Payments are made directly to the university

•

6-monthly progress reports - critical process-could entail the termination of an award

• Permission needed for teaching/work

experience, travel

• Template is sent to all scholars in advance



The Application Form

• Download Word files from IRCHSS site:www.irchss.ie

• Complete „Part 1‟ of Reference Form and send formto your referee: must be typed

• Get Head of Department/School to complete „Formal

Statement on Research Environment‟ • 16 sections to be completed on Application Form

• Some sections of special importance –



SECTION 7. PLEASE INDICATE THE DISCIPLINE(S), INORDER OF IMPORTANCE, TO WHICH YOUR PROJECTRELATES.

• Choose conventional disciplines (e.g. French,

Sociology, History, Classics, Psychology, Film

Studies, English, Marketing, Geography)

AND/OR

Interdisciplinary areas (e.g. Women‟s Studies,

Cultural Studies, Irish Studies)

• This assists IRCHSS in choosing your assessors



SECTION 10. PROJECT

(10A.1) Description of topic (no more than 1000 words)

• aims and objectives • central research questions

(10A.2) Methodology (no more than 600 words),

• investigative and analytic methods• theoretical frameworks

(10A.3) Research plan (no more than 400 words)• including a schedule of the completion of

tasks/phases of the project and efficientmanagement and performance of research



SECTION 10. PROJECT (cont’d)

(10A.4) Description of the relationship of the project to

existing research. Suggest how the project will make anew contribution to knowledge (no more that 600words). Do not provide bibliographical lists or footnotes.

(10A.5) Description of any specialist knowledge/datarequired to undertake the project (e.g. languagecompetence, technical skills, use of specialist software,etc.). Describe plans for acquiring this knowledge/data ifis not already in place. Describe how data required forthis project will be accessed. (No more than 200 words)




(10A.6) Description of the reason for choosing this

institution and supervisor for the project. Pleaseprovide details if the project will be part of anestablished research team. (No more than 400 words)

(10A.7) Detail any proposed research trips (no more thanthree weeks duration) which will be necessary as part ofyour proposed project. (No more than 200 words)

(10A.8) Description of dissemination plans (i.e.conference papers and publications) and potentialimpact, where relevant. (No more than 4200 words)




FOR APPLICANTS ALREADY STARTED ON PhD :

(10B) Assess your progress to date (no more than 500words).

(10C) Description of modifications made to the proposal if the proposal has been previously submitted (no morethan 200 words).



(10A.1) Description of topic (no more than 600words).

• Aims and objectives

• Central research questions = what are the questions to

which you are seeking answers?• Provisional structure of thesis

* KEEP PROSE SIMPLE, DECLARATIVE ANDPRECISE IN ALL SECTIONS – DO NOT WRITE IN

‘ESSAY MODE’



Illustration from first paragraph of a successful application :

“This thesis aims to expand our understanding of the Irish harp as

a key cultural signifier in 18th- and 19th-century Ireland. Using

a combination of sociological and literary analysis, it will

contextualise the position of the harp in relation to the

ideological, political and economic structures of the period.More specifically, it will trace the various visual, literary and

musical representations of the harp alongside an examination

of the harp as an actual object of musical performance and as

an economic commodity. A particular focus will be given to the harp‟s evolving role within Irish nationalist discourse from

the period of the United Irishmen (and the crucially important

Belfast Harper‟s festival of 1792), to the Sinn Féin movement

of the early twentieth century.”



Illustration of research questions :

“The thesis will pose the following specific questions:

What are the specific ways that the figure of the Irish harp beenmobilised in Irish discourse, and with what purpose and effect?

Were there variations in the cultural meanings of the harp among

different socio-economic and political groups? What factors might

explain these variations or evolutions?

What is the relationship between literary and iconographicrepresentations of the harp, and the manufacture, performance and

reception of the harp as a musical instrument? How did economic

and sociological factors affect the role of the harp as popular

performance instrument? How do these material factors relate to the

literary, scholarly and iconographic representations of the harp?

To what extent does the position and meaning of the Irish harp

enable us to understand the general evolution of Irish nationalism in

the period?”



(10A.2) Methodology (no more than 600words).

• With what „tools‟ do you propose to find answers to your

research questions?

• Investigative and analytic methods, for example:

qualitative methods, quantitative methods,critical analysis, linguistic analysis, semiotic

analysis, etc.

• Theoretical frameworks, for example:

historicism, feminism, sociolinguistics,

postcolonial theory, structuralism, etc.



(10A.3) Research plan (no more than 400words).

• Outline of development from year to year in term of

tasks and phases



(10A.4) Description of the relationship of theproject to existing research. Suggest how theproject will make a new contribution toknowledge (no more than 600 words).

• Describe briefly what you know of the existing field already,

showing that you know what the major works in the field are at

present

• Do not give bibliographical lists or footnotes – discuss and

briefly evaluate the scholarship in plain prose, perhaps

categorising by theme or chronology• Suggest how your work will EXTEND and/or CHALLENGE this

work (what are the gaps and problems in the existing field that

you will address?)



Illustration :

“The iconographic and ideological significance of the Irish harp has not

been explored in a comprehensive interdisciplinary context to date.

Some excellent musicological examinations exist such as Colette

Moloney‟s recent synthesization of Bunting‟s collections which

deals authoritatively with one specific area, but is therefore limited

in range. While Joep Leerssen has expertly examined the creation of

a „self -image‟ of Ireland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,

the prominence of the harp as an agent in the formation of culture,

ideology and society is not a central concern of his. Barra Boydell‟s

research into the iconography of the harp offers interesting

overviews; however much of his lore on the subject comes from the

visual or historical. In no case are the theoretical perspectives of

semiotics and feminist theory deployed.”



Illustration :

“More specifically, my project should add to our existing knowledge

of these areas in several ways:

providing a more extensive, richer, and more complex

interdisciplinary analysis of the various roles and meanings of the

Irish harp than has hitherto been possible;

a demonstration, through the case study of the harp, of the relations

between ideological, political, cultural and economic spheres inIrish society in the period;

a deeper understanding of the history and dynamics of cultural

nationalism in Ireland.”



(10A.5) Description of any specialistknowledge/data required to undertake the project(e.g. language competence, technical skills, use

of specialist software, etc.). Describe plans foracquiring this knowledge/data if is not already inplace. Describe how data required for this project

will be accessed (no more than 400 words).

• Languages

• Technical skills: e.g. laser profilometry, interviewing

• Software: e.g. SPSS, NUD*IST, NVIVO, XML, GIS, etc.• Datasets

• Archives



(10A.6) Description of the reason for choosingthis institution and supervisor for the project.Please provide details if the project will be part

of an established research team

• Supervisor‟s expertise

• Appropriate library or other institutional resources

• Specific training opportunities

• Existence of relevant programmes or similar research

projects at your chosen university



(10A.8) Dissemination plans (no more than 200words).

• Examples of publication and forms of „impact‟:

thesis, conference papers, articles, databases,

software tools, websites, podcasts, etc.



(12) Bibliography (no more than 2 pages)

• List any works mentioned in previous sections, andprovisional indication of reading you expect to undertake

(15) Ethics • Check with research office if you believe your topic may

require ethical approval (does it involve research

interviews, etc.?)

• Section MUST BE SIGNED by Head of Department either

„Yes‟ or „No‟.



The Reference

• Choose an academic referee who is familiar with

your work – e.g. your current supervisor, or MA

course lecturer, or a final-year tutor

• Discuss your draft proposal with her or him well in

advance of deadline



Remember!

• Get your reference organised early• Keep checking FAQs on IRCHSS website

• Section 15 must be signed by Head of Department

• Section 16 must be signed by Supervisor andsigned/stamped by Vice-President for Research.(Fiona Burns in the Research Office is the contact for

Vice President for Research signature/stamp).• „Formal Statement of Research Environment‟ must besigned by Head of Department

• Electronic and postal submission

Documents

Applying for Irchss Postgrad Scholarship 2011 (1)