Overview

The Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship (GOI-IES) programme supports high-calibre international students who wish to study at NFQ levels 9 or 10 (master’s, postgraduate diploma or PhD) in Ireland [1]. The programme is funded by the Government of Ireland in partnership with Irish higher education institutions and managed by the Higher Education Authority. Under the initiative, 60 scholarships are awarded each year for one year of full-time study at NFQ levels 9 or 10.

What’s included

A Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship consists of a stipend amounting to €10,000 for one year of full-time study at NFQ levels 9 or 10.  The awardees’ host higher education institutions are required to give a full fee waiver to the awardees for the year of their scholarship. Successful scholars will be expected to commence their studies in either September or October 2025.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for a Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship, applicants must have a domiciliary of origin outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Candidates will need to apply for admission to a relevant master’s, postgraduate diploma or PhD programme offered by an eligible higher education institution as per that institution’s admission procedures. Applicants must have a conditional or final offer of admission to that higher education institution at the time of application and will be required to submit a copy of same. Prospective candidates who have previously held a GOI-IES scholarship are not eligible to apply. In the context of the continued aggression of Russia in Ukraine, Russian and Belarussian nationals are not eligible to apply.

How to apply

Potential applicants should read the call documentation carefully to ascertain whether they are eligible to apply. Applications must be submitted via the online portal. All applications require two references to be uploaded by the applicants via the online portal. It is recommended that candidates submit their applications well before the deadline, to avoid technical issues due to heavy server traffic on the respective day. Applications cannot be submitted once the deadline has passed. No alterations can be made to an application once it has been submitted.

Assessment process

Applicants are expected to demonstrate:

• a record of outstanding academic achievement;
• excellent communication skills;
• participation in extracurricular activities, for example humanitarian work, politics, arts or sport;
• a strong rationale for pursuing their study in Ireland that indicates how a Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship would align with their longer-term goals.

Applications will be shared with the relevant higher education institutions, who will check them for eligibility and shortlist them based on alignment with institutional strategic objectives. The shortlisted applications will then be assessed by an independent panel of assessors. Full details of the assessment process are included in the call document, which will become available on this webpage shortly.

Key dates

Contact

Further information about the 2025 call of the Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship programme will be posted on this webpage when the call opens, including the 2025 call document, FAQs and the application portal help document. If you cannot find the information you need in any of these documents after the call opens, please feel free to email goi-ies@hea.ie.