How to apply for a research degree

Find a supervisor

Visit our expertise listing in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences to find a potential supervisor, then contact them to discuss your research proposal.

Applications

Applications are submitted to the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Please return your completed form, research proposal and relevant documents to Ann Marie Hickey ahssgradresearch@ul.ie.

You will need the following documents to apply:

A signed application form.
A research proposal (click to view guidelines for your proposal).
Original transcripts of all third-level degrees (except University of Limerick transcripts).
Two signed references must be included (at least one must be an academic reference).
Where relevant, information on financial aid/scholarship must be included.

Applicants who do not have English as their first language must include the following additional documents with their application form:

English translation of your qualification(s)/transcripts
English language competency certificate

Full details of our English language requirements.

Process

After we receive an application, the following process begins. Applications without all the documents listed above will take longer to process. For any further queries on the application process please email: ahssgradresearch@ul.ie

Candidate submits the application form with all documentation as listed above where the application is initially assessed to check qualifications and entry requirements
The application is forwarded to the AHSS Graduate Research Centre to coordinate the application process
Proposals are sent to the Faculty of AHSS for approval and signing by the Assistant Dean for Research
Approved proposals are considered at the Postgraduate Research Committee on the first Tuesday of each month (except August)
Once applications are approved by the Postgraduate Research Committee, candidates are informed by letter of the outcome and given instructions about registering

Relevant links:

Name	Dept/School	Supervisor(s)	Thesis Title
Daniah Khayat	EIC	Dr Yianna Liatsos/Dr Sinead McDermott	Black Fatherhood in Contemporary African American Novels
Tara Giddens	EIC	Dr. Tina O’Toole	Investigating the Irish New Woman: Journalists in Media and Fiction

Alena Kiel	EIC	Dr. Tina O’Toole	Gothic Queerness and Abjection: A Comparative Study of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Thomas Harris's Hannibal Lecter Series
Tracy McAvinue	EIC	Dr. Tina O’Toole	Bringing down the house: Architectural feminism and challenging the ideal home space in Irish Women's writing 1922-50
Iva Yates	EIC	Prof. Meg Harper/Prof. Joseph O’Connor	The Golden comb: a novel and critical analysis
Robert Collins	History	Dr. Ruan O’Donnell	Irish Northern Aid and the Conflict in the North of Ireland, 1970-86
Stephen Griffin	History	Dr. Richard Kirwan	Princes, Agents and Friends: Count Owen O'Rourke and the Stuart Presence in Vienna, 1727-43
Patrick Miller	History	Dr. Ruan O’Donnell	Establishing the Clan Na Gael Perspective: 1867-1889.
Holly O’Farrell	History	Dr. Roberto Mazza	Race, gender and morality: British representation and response to the Middle East in the Exhibition Space 1850-1932
Barbara Watts	History	Dr Ciara Breathnach	Searching for Celtic Cousins: Welsh, Irish and Scottish Immigrant Worker Experience in Alberta, Canada, 1880-1920

Shane Cassidy	IWAMD	Prof. Hilary Moss	Investigating the impact of Neurologic Music Therapy on the spatiotemporal gait parameters and mood for adults and children who have an acquired brain injury.
Pui Sze heung	IWAMD	Dr Triona McCaffrey / Dr Sylvia Murphy Tighe	An Interdisciplinary Mixed Methods Study to Explore the Role of Music and Music Therapy in Supporting Perinatal Mental Health During Pregnancy in Ireland
Hala Jaber	IWAMD	Prof. Helen Phelan/ Prof. Hilary Moss	An Arts Practice Investigation of Community Music Interventions in The Context of Post-Conflict Migration, With Particular Reference to The Syrian Community in Ireland.
Lisa McLoughlin	IWAMD	Dr. Jenny Roche/ Prof. Helen Phelan	The Autonomy question: An investigation of the aporia of autonomy and dependency through arts practice and social engagement.
Iarla Ó Lionáird	IWAMD	Associate Professor Aileen Dillane	Aphelion: A Performative Investigation at the Far Borders of Irish Traditional Music
Nada Balto	Law	Dr. Kathryn O’Sullivan/ Prof. Shane Kilcommins	The Constitutional Feasibility of Codifying Sharia Discretion in Relation to Punishments in Saudi Arabia
James Meighan	Law	Professor Laura Cahillane	How Did the Separation of Powers Inform, Evolve under and Influence the Irish Free State Constitution
Karen O’Brien	Law	Professor Raymond Friel/ Dr Laura Donnellan	Recent Reforms in Ireland's Personal Insolvency Laws: A Panacea or a Challenge?
Stephen Strauss Walsh	Law	Prof. Shane Kilcommins/Dr. John Lombard	The Re-Emergence of the Victim of Crime within Irish Criminal Justice
Rebecca Wade	Law	Professor Seán Redmond/ Dr Catherine Naughton/Dr Lydia Bracken	An Examination of the Management of Challenging Behaviour in Ireland’s Special Care System
Amal Almohanna	MLAL	Prof. Liam Murray	The Impact of Silent Story on Teaching Grammar in a Foreign Language Environment
Anais Guittonny	MLAL	Professor Michael G. Kelly	Fragiles Amazones: Analyse d’une défaite littéraire et historique au XVIII^e siècle en France
Niall Curry	MLAL	Prof. Mairead Moriarty/Prof. Angela Chambers	Reader engagement in English, French and Spanish economics research articles: Contrasting questions in a comparable corpus of academic writing
Kholoud Hussain	MLAL	Prof. Helen Kelly-Holmes	Between tradition and technology: An ethnographic study of the opportunities and challenges of social media marketing communication for the beauty industry in Saudi Arabia.
Gyorgy Nagy	MLAL	Dr. Freda Mishan/Dr. Marta Giralt	Towards Intercultural Competence Fostering ESOL Learners' Cultural Awareness in Ireland through Learning Materials
Kai Kippels	PPA	Prof. Neil Robinson	Regime Change in Hybrid Regimes: A Comparative Qualitative Analysis
Carmel Kirby	PPA	Dr.Chris McInerney/Dr. Brid Quinn	The evolving landscape of local governance in Ireland: exploring the potential to create public value
Sarah Milne	PPA	Prof. Neil Robinson	Security on Ice: The Historical Transformation of Regional Security and International Society in the Arctic from the Cold War to the Twenty-First Century
Robert Moloney	PPA	Professor Neil Robinson	The Incompatibility of Modern International Relations Realism with the Principle of the Equilibrium of Power
Marina Selnitsyna	PPA	Prof. Neil Robinson	Russia's Divided Democrats; Splits and Barriers to Coalition Building (2011-19)
Sindy Joyce	Sociology	Prof Amanda Haynes/Dr. Martin J. Power	Minceirs Suiladh: An Ethnographic Study of Young Travellers’ Experiences of Racism in an Irish City
Ellen Reid-Buckley	Soc/Law	Professor Carmen Kuhling / Professor Jennifer Schweppe	Negative Space: Bisexualities in Post-Marriage Equality Ireland
Louise Ryan	Sociology	Dr. Carmen Kuhling	A lot of you wanted me to talk about this: Examining the role of Instagram influencers in the construction of health and fitness authorities
Michelle Starr	Soc/Ed	Dr. Breda Gray/Dr. Aoife Neary	Parents' Primary School Selection: The Irish Context
Rachel Whitbeck	Soc/ED	Dr. Breda Gray/Dr. Aoife Neary	Multiple Minority LGBTQIA+ People in Ireland: Ambivalent Experience of Othering