How to Apply

How you apply for your PhD or Research Masters will depend on whether or not you have agreed on a draft research proposal with your proposed supervisor(s).

1. Applying if you have a project and supervisor

You’ll need to follow these steps:

Fill in your Application Form 

where possible the application form should be opened in Internet Explorer, downloaded and saved to your desktop/laptop. If you are using a browser based PDF reader, it may not be fully compatible with the the application form. If users are using an out of date version of Adobe Reader, it may not be fully compatible with the application form. If you are using other browsers, the recommendation is to ensure that users are opening the form in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC and that Adobe Reader is up to date.

Details on using Electronic (Digital) Signatures on Postgraduate Research (PGR)  Application Form and PGR Forms:

• How to Sign PDF with Digital Signature Certificate (in Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Create A Digital Signature while on Campus
• Adobe Reader PDFs Digital Signature Guidance Notes

Please return the completed application form and your research proposal to the Doctoral College Foundation Building (Level 2) or email it to: DoctoralCollege@ul.ie. In the subject line of the email to DoctoralCollege@ul.ie applicants should write- PhD Application: (Applicant’s Full Name).

• Detailed information on the Postgraduate Research Application, Admission & Enrolment Process is available here
• Provide a detailed proposal of the research to be undertaken (on separate sheets if necessary). This should include sections on 1) Description of the topic including the aims of the research; 2) Objectives and/or hypotheses; 3) Research Methodology, including how the data will be collected; and 4) Bibliography and references.
• Please note that some faculties may have research proposal guidelines which need to be followed, these are listed below
• For Science & Engineering proposals please use the following headings: 1) Background; 2) Objectives; 3) Work to be done; 4) Methods to be used; 5) Novel aspects; 6) Scientific or Engineering theoretical issue(s) addressed; proposal to be a maximum of 2 pages.
• For Kemmy Business School /Faculty of Business research student (PhD) proposal guidelines, including the evaluation criteria please see KBS Guidelines
• Please note that funded applicants (IRC, HRI, SFI...) should ensure that a Financial Aid form is completed, signed and submitted to the finance office.
• Further information on the schedule of fees for research postgraduate students is available from the fees office. If you have any questions, please get in touch with the Doctoral College.

Bear in mind that if you’re using a browser-based PDF reader, it may not be fully compatible with the application form. If you’re using Adobe Reader, please ensure that it’s up to date. (You can check by going here: https://get.adobe.com/reader/)

2. Applying if you don’t have a potential supervisor

If you don’t yet have a potential supervisor, you’ll need to complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) Form  and a research proposal.

The research proposal will help place you with the right supervisor. If you need more information on completing a research proposal, go to page 3 on the Expression of Interest Form.

Once you have completed the Expression of Interest form and draft  research proposal,  please submit these documents (PDF format) to the Graduate & Professional Studies, (Graduate School), Level Two, Engineering Research Building, email: DoctoralCollege@ul.ie In the subject line of the email to DoctoralCollege@ul.ie potential applicants should write – PhD Expression of Interest: (Applicant’s Full Name).

The Expression of Interest form and the proposal will then be sent to the relevant faculty and department who will endeavour to identify an appropriate supervisor(s) for you. 

If you need more information please see additional information on the Research Postgraduate Application, Admission & Enrolment Process is available here

Where you may be trying  to identify a potential supervisor and project. You can find more information on each faculty here:

• Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
• Kemmy Business School
• Education & Health Sciences
• Science & Engineering

Finally, if you are seeking for a funded postgraduate research position, please the our webpage Funded Postgraduate Research (PhD). There may also be information available on funding on individual faculty pages.

Applications for postgraduate research are accepted on an ongoing basis. Please submit your certified results for all examinations mentioned on your application form and/or confirmation of the award of your qualification(s) along with your application.

International Postgraduate Research Students can access detailed information relating to Visa and Immigration matters from UL Global 

English Language Requirements

Acceptable English Language qualifications include the following:

Results in examinations other than those listed above may also be accepted as meeting our English language requirements.

Further to this, offer holders who do not meet the English language requirements above, can if they wish study pre-sessional English language classes at the UL Language Centre which is located on the UL Campus. For more information on preparatory language classes, please email language.centre@ul.ie

Equal Opportunities

The University of Limerick is fully committed to the provision of equality of opportunity and is opposed to all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination.  

University policies and procedures do not discriminate against individuals on grounds such as gender, marital or family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller community.