Scholarships in Ireland for Indian students are tuition waivers and stipends that fund study at Irish universities. The government funds one scheme, and universities fund the rest. Most awards need an admission offer first, and each has its own deadline and rules.
Scholarship
Level
Value
Separate application?
Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship (GOI-IES)
Master’s, postgraduate diploma, PhD
EUR 10,000 (about USD 11,200) plus full fee waiver, one year
Yes, through the HEA portal
UCD Global Excellence Scholarship (includes V.V. Giri awards)
Undergraduate and taught graduate
100% or 50% tuition
Yes, after an offer
Trinity Global Excellence Postgraduate Scholarship
Taught master’s
EUR 2,000–5,000 (about USD 2,240–5,600), one-time
Yes
Trinity India Undergraduate Scholarship
Undergraduate
EUR 3,000–5,000 (about USD 3,360–5,600)
Yes
What Are Scholarships in Ireland for Indian Students?
Scholarships in Ireland for Indian students are financial awards open to applicants classified as non-EU for tuition fee purposes. Indian nationals fall into this group.
Four funding tiers exist:
Government-funded: GOI-IES, managed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
University-funded: Merit awards from UCD, Trinity and other institutions.
Research-funded: Doctoral funding through research programmes.
Home-country funded: Indian bodies that support study abroad.
This guide covers the first two tiers in depth because they carry the verified, India-eligible awards.
Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship (GOI-IES)
What does GOI-IES cover?
GOI-IES is a government scholarship for high-calibre international students. It funds one year of full-time, in-person study at NFQ level 9 or 10, which means a master’s degree, postgraduate diploma or PhD.
The award is EUR 10,000 for the year, and the host institution must also waive tuition and registration fees. At 1.12, that stipend equals about USD 11,200.
The HEA expected to fund 60 scholarships for the 2026/27 academic year. The scheme is open to all subjects, subject to places.
Who is eligible?
Applicants must hold a domiciliary of origin outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland and the UK, and must have an offer from an eligible Irish institution as an international, fee-paying, full-time student. The course must run at least one year, and the applicant must never have held a GOI-IES.
Indian nationals meet the nationality condition. The offer condition decides most outcomes.
Which courses and institutions qualify?
Only master’s, postgraduate diploma (NFQ level 9) and research programmes qualify, and the institution must appear on the HEA’s eligible list. Blended courses qualify only if the scholar attends every in-person class and lives in Ireland throughout.
Confirm course eligibility with the institution before applying. The HEA tells applicants to make this enquiry directly. Full details sit on the HEA’s GOI-IES page.
Timeline and payment
The 2026 call opened on 29 January 2026 and closed on 12 March 2026. Scholars start in September or October and must live in Ireland during their studies.
The HEA pays the stipend to the institution in two EUR 5,000 instalments, one per semester. The institution then passes it to the student.
University Scholarships for Indian Students
UCD Global Excellence and V.V. Giri Scholarships
UCD Global Excellence Scholarships are merit awards for international students. They offer limited 100% and 50% tuition scholarships to non-EU, self-funding candidates.
UCD names its Global Excellence awards for Indian graduate students the V.V. Giri Global Excellence Scholarship, after a UCD alumnus and fourth President of India.
Key rules:
An offer or conditional offer for an eligible programme is required before applying. nomadcredit
A separate application is required.
Clinical programmes are ineligible, and the award cannot be combined with another tuition scholarship.
In the 2026 cycle, the graduate deadline for South Asian applicants was 28 February.
UCD advises early application to your course. Decisions can take longer in peak periods.
Trinity College Dublin
Trinity Global Excellence Postgraduate Scholarships support international taught-master’s students. They go to exceptional international students holding a course offer for a full-time postgraduate taught programme.
Listings report tuition reductions of EUR 2,000–5,000 and exclude Business, Engineering, Natural Sciences, and Computer Science and Statistics programmes. Applicants in those fields should check Trinity’s official page before planning around this award.
The award is a one-time tuition reduction. Applicants email a 200-word statement on contributing to the Trinity community, plus a CV. A secondary source lists 15 June 2026 as the deadline for India in the 2026 cycle. global excellence postgraduate scholarships 1076 +2
Trinity India Undergraduate Scholarships target Indian school-leavers. One listing shows EUR 3,000–5,000 and notes the award is not auto-applied. Trinity opened 2026-27 applications in December 2025.
Other Irish universities
Other institutions, including University of Galway, UCC, DCU, Maynooth, NCI and TU Dublin, run their own merit awards. Each sets its own amounts and deadlines. Check each institution’s international office page for the current cycle.
Who Should Apply and Who Should Not Apply
Strong-fit profiles for GOI-IES
Apply if you match most of these:
You hold an Indian passport and live outside the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK.
You hold a conditional or final offer for a one-year-or-longer master’s, postgraduate diploma or PhD.
You show outstanding academic achievement, strong communication, extracurricular participation and a clear rationale for studying in Ireland.
You can write an original, specific personal statement.
You can arrange living funds beyond the stipend.
Weak-fit profiles: who should not apply
Skip GOI-IES if any of these apply:
You have no offer yet.
You are applying for an undergraduate course.
Your course lasts under one year or runs online or part-time.
You already held a GOI-IES.
You expect one award to cover all living costs.
Undergraduates should target university awards instead. Applicants to Trinity postgraduate programmes in Business, Engineering, Natural Sciences or Computer Science should confirm eligibility before planning around Trinity’s Global Excellence award.
Required Documents Explained
Document
Why it matters
Watch for
Offer document
Proves admission; accepted forms are an offer letter, an offer email from the admissions office, or an applicant-portal screenshot, all naming the correct academic year.
Deferred students need a deferral confirmation
Academic record and work experience
Carries 40 marks.
Vague descriptions score lower
Personal statement
Carries 45 marks across three themes.
Original work only
Two references
Carry 15 marks and are uploaded through the portal by the applicant.
Each should run 500–700 words, carry an official header and be dated within a year of the closing date.
References must be in English, or translated with a notarised translation. Referees should have no family, financial or close personal tie to the applicant.
Step-by-Step Application Guide
Pick your path. Choose GOI-IES for postgraduate study, or a university award for undergraduate or taught-master’s study.
Shortlist eligible institutions and courses. Check the HEA’s institution list and confirm course eligibility with each institution.
Apply for admission early. Admission runs outside the GOI-IES form and follows each institution’s own process.
Secure an offer. A conditional offer is enough. Some institutions prioritise final-offer holders during shortlisting, so ask them.
Prepare statements and references. Brief referees on the candidate profile at least a month ahead.
Submit the scholarship application. Use the HEA portal for GOI-IES. The deadline is 5pm Irish time, and no changes are possible after submission. Use the 2026 GOI-IES call document as the template for the next cycle.
Wait for results. The HEA expected to release 2026 results in early June.
Plan your visa. The HEA advises applying for a visa as soon as the award letter arrives. The Irish Immigration Service study pages list requirements.
Secure funds and housing. Book accommodation before arrival.
Selection Process Explained
GOI-IES uses a three-stage selection process.
Stage 1: Eligibility screening. The HEA screens applications first, and the institutions run further checks.
Stage 2: Institutional shortlisting. Institutions shortlist against their own strategic objectives, such as applicants’ country of origin, study cycle, capacity and field. Two equally strong Indian applicants can therefore fare differently across institutions.
Stage 3: Independent scoring. An independent panel scores shortlisted applications. Only those reaching 60 marks are considered, and each institution can receive at most five awards.
The mark split guides effort:
Component
Marks
Academic qualifications, achievements, work experience
40
Personal statement (benefit; Irish engagement; long-term link, 15 each)
45
Two references
15
The top 12 ranked applications are funded automatically on excellence. The HEA’s decision is final, and unsuccessful candidates get no feedback.
University awards rely on merit. UCD shortlists on academic excellence. Trinity reviews the statement and CV against its postgraduate criteria.
Common Mistakes Applicants Make
Applying before holding an offer. GOI-IES requires one.
Using the wrong academic year. The offer must be for the correct year.
Submitting multiple applications. More than one eligible application disqualifies all of them.
Institution pages describe 60 awards as the yearly figure. SETU describes 60 places across all institutions each year.
University deadlines come first. In the 2026 cycle, UCD’s South Asian graduate deadline was 28 February, GOI-IES closed on 12 March, and Trinity’s reported India postgraduate date was 15 June.
The 2026 call is now closed. Past calls opened in late January and closed in March, so plan for a similar window and verify on the HEA site. The 2026 call document gives no country-wise award split.
Does the Scholarship Cover the Real Cost?
GOI-IES covers tuition but only part of living costs. The HEA says the EUR 10,000 stipend is unlikely to cover living costs completely and advises securing other funding.
Accommodation is expensive and hard to find, especially in Dublin. The two-instalment payment pattern means students should hold enough funds to survive the first weeks.
Budget for housing deposits, flights and visa costs before the first stipend instalment arrives.
Our Research Notes
Fixed euro figures on aggregator pages vary. UCD describes awards as 100% or 50% of tuition, so values change with programme fees. Treat any single euro figure as an estimate.
Trinity’s postgraduate award excludes several popular Indian fields. Listings report exclusions for Business, Engineering, Natural Sciences and Computer Science. Verify on Trinity’s official page.
Deadlines run in a sequence. Universities close first, GOI-IES second, and Trinity’s reported India date comes last. Secure admission before any scholarship form.
Country of origin influences shortlisting. The call names it as a criterion. Ask your target institution how it applies.
One database lists 1 February 2027 for UCD. That differs from the 28 February pattern, so confirm with UCD.
Excluded names. One source lists Charles Wallace India Trust. We found no Ireland link, so it is left out.
FAQs
1. Are there fully funded scholarships in Ireland for Indian students? Fully funded awards are rare. GOI-IES gives a full fee waiver plus EUR 10,000 (about USD 11,200) for one year, and UCD offers 100% tuition awards. No scheme reviewed here covers every living cost across a full degree, so most students combine funding sources.
2. Can Indian students apply for GOI-IES? Yes. Indian nationals qualify when their domiciliary of origin lies outside the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK. The applicant also needs an offer for a full-time, in-person master’s, postgraduate diploma or PhD at an eligible Irish institution and must never have held a GOI-IES.
3. Can I apply for GOI-IES before receiving an offer? No. The call requires a conditional or final offer before submission. The offer document must be uploaded with the form and must name the correct academic year. Apply to the institution first, because admission runs separately from the scholarship process.
4. How many GOI-IES scholarships are awarded each year? The 2026/27 call expected 60 scholarships across all eligible institutions and nationalities. Each institution can receive at most five awards. The top 12 ranked applications are funded automatically, and the call document states no India-specific quota.
5. When are GOI-IES results announced? The HEA expected to release 2026 results in early June. Applications closed on 12 March 2026 at 5pm Irish time. The HEA gives no feedback to unsuccessful candidates, and its decision is final. Plan visa and accommodation steps around that June window.
6. Can undergraduate students get GOI-IES? No. GOI-IES covers only NFQ level 9 and 10 study, meaning master’s, postgraduate diploma and PhD programmes. Undergraduates should look at university awards such as Trinity’s India Undergraduate Scholarships or UCD’s Global Excellence Scholarships, which also cover undergraduate programmes.
7. What is the V.V. Giri Global Excellence Scholarship? UCD uses this name for Global Excellence awards given to Indian graduate students. It honours the fourth President of India, a UCD alumnus. Global Excellence awards are 100% or 50% tuition scholarships, and UCD requires an offer before you apply.
8. Can I combine two scholarships in Ireland? UCD states that a Global Excellence Scholarship cannot combine with any other tuition scholarship. Rules differ by institution, and GOI-IES already requires a host-institution fee waiver. Ask your international office in writing before accepting a second award.
9. Do I need IELTS or TOEFL for these scholarships? The scholarship forms ask for an admission offer, and each institution sets English requirements for that offer. GOI-IES accepts conditional offers, so check whether your conditions include a language test. Your course page lists the exact score.
10. Can an agent or AI tool write my GOI-IES application? No. The call document says the application must be the applicant’s own work. It prohibits drafting by third persons and the inclusion of AI-generated content. Vague statements also score lower, so specific examples from your own record work better.
11. Does the GOI-IES stipend cover living costs in Dublin? Probably not. The call document says the EUR 10,000 stipend is unlikely to cover costs completely and advises holding other funds. The institution pays it in two EUR 5,000 instalments, so you must fund your first weeks and accommodation deposits yourself.
12. Is GOI-IES renewable for a second year? No. The scholarship covers one academic year only. Some institutions may extend the fee waiver for three-semester courses, but the stipend stays at EUR 10,000. For two-year programmes, plan separate funding for the second year.
Conclusion
Scholarships in Ireland for Indian students reward early admission and specific, original applications. GOI-IES offers the strongest government package, and UCD and Trinity add university-level options. Secure your offer first, then match your course to the right scholarship. For the next step, read our guide to Ireland student visa requirements for Indian applicants.
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