Dublin European Institute
A Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence

Irish Government Scholarships for Officials of EU Candidate States

The Scholarship:

The Government of Ireland has established a substantial scholarship fund for national government officials of the 12 candidate states negotiating membership of the European Union. The scholarship will pay the complete EU non-resident tuition fee for the Master of Economic Science in European Economic and Public Affairs (MEconSc).  In 2002 this fee was ?13,500.  The scholarship will also pay for 12 months campus accommodation in new purpose-built postgraduate residences (single room with shared facilities.

The Programme

Based in the Social Sciences, this intensive interdisciplinary 12-month programme focuses on the business, economic, legal and political aspects of European integration and the European Union.  It is designed to provide graduates with strong analytical and research tools for working in a high-level European environment. Students take custom-designed core courses from the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, the Faculty of Law and the Departments of Economics and Politics. There is also a range of dedicated optional courses. Students will submit a specialised 15,000-word research dissertation and participate actively in each of two 14-day research visits to Brussels and Florence (flight and accommodation costs included in tuition fee).
 
The Dublin European Institute

The Dublin European Institute, established at UCD in 1999, is an interdisciplinary postgraduate teaching and research centre for European Studies.  As a Jean Monnet Centre for Excellence, the Institute draws together the research and teaching skills of more than 12 departments, across four university faculties, directly involving more than 40 academics including six Jean Monnet Professors. The Institute's research focus is supported by substantial research funding from the European Commission and centres upon the Europeanisation of national public policies and the adaptation of smaller European states to EU membership.

Selection Criteria

Basic criteria and selection procedures for award of the scholarship are the same for admission to the MEconSc programme.  Applicants must also, however, be employed as national officials of one of the 12 EU candidate states currently negotiating terms of admission.  They may be employed on a permanent or contract basis. One scholarship is reserved for officials from each state.  In the event that no applications meeting basic admissions criteria are received from officials of one or more states, any remaining scholarships will be redistributed among the highest-ranking candidates - regardless of nationality.  In the event that a scholarship is
awarded but the candidate, for whatever reason, either declines the offer or fails to take up their place, that scholarship will be offered to the next highest ranked candidate - regardless of nationality.

Application Procedure

Applications must be submitted on an individual basis. The standard DEI application form for the MEconSc programme is to be used.  This form and complete information on the degree programme itself may be obtained either from the DEI web site at http://www.europeanstudies.ie or from the Institute directly. Candidates should then indicate, in their covering letter, that they are applying for an Irish Government Scholarship. Contact Ms. Dolores Burke, Institute Manager, Dublin European Institute, UCD Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland, telephone 00 353 1 716 7634, facsimile 00 353 1 269 2589 and email dei@ucd.ie.
  The deadline for receipt of all application materials (application forms plus references and all other supporting documentation) is 1 March 2003.  Notification of the result of their application will be sent to all candidates no later than 28 April 2003.