Funded Research Opportunities

South East Technological University (SETU) is a multi-campus university in Ireland with campuses located in Waterford, Carlow, Wexford, Wicklow and Kilkenny. 

Please see the table below for the Current Funded Research Opportunities available, new opportunities are added when available.

Eligibility for Interested PhD Applicants to SETU

Applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate on the application that they meet SETU’s English language requirements and provide all necessary documentation. 

See this page for further information.

In order to be shortlisted for interview, you must meet the SETU English speaking requirements so please provide evidence in your application.

Minimum Entry Requirements for PhD or Research Masters: Honours Degree (minimum 2:1) in the specific area or related area (see each advert sheet) for specific criteria.

To apply for PhD scholarships

• Step 1: Find the PhD opportunity you want to apply for in the table below (if you click on each title the full advert sheet can be downloaded to a PDF file). 
• Step 2: Download the Word document from Graduate Studies Competitive Funded Application Form and complete it in full, (one form for each opportunity). 
• Step 3: Email the completed form to [email protected] with the relevant Reference Code in the email subject line. 

Why choose SETU?

SETU is a university-level education institution in the south-east of Ireland. It has over 19,200 students and 1,800 staff, and it supports a thriving research culture. Areas of R&D; expertise include ICT, bio-pharma, eco-innovation, materials science, regional development, and health sciences. Researchers at SETU have obtained funding from the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) cycles 3, 4 and 5; Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Frontiers Programme and the Principal Investigator Programme, and various European funding programmes including eTEN and InterReg. In addition, there are four Enterprise Ireland (EI) funded Technology Gateway Centres in the areas of applied materials research, telecommunications research, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology research. SETU has an established track record of success in the various European Framework Programmes (FP), having obtained funding in FP4, FP5, FP6, FP7 and most recently Horizon 2020 (H2020), formerly WIT, was the leading Institute of Technology in terms of funding drawdown under the H2020 framework programme.

As a result of its work on collaborative research projects, SETU has built extensive alliances with leading industrial and academic partners across Europe. In working with local SMEs, the university plays a significant role in the South-East region’s economic development by creating an eco-system of research, industry and entrepreneurship. SETU also encompasses a purpose-built centre for commercialisation and business incubation in its ArcLabs facility, as well as dedicated research support  and  technology transfer offices.

Excellent research and training in a supportive environment

SETU has a "HR Excellence in Research" designation from the European Commission. This award acknowledges SETU as a stimulating work environment for researchers, providing attractive working conditions and equipping researchers with the broad skills and experience necessary to develop their research careers. Read more about our HR Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R). 

SETU offers a range of training under the Structured PhD programme including but not limited to ethics, GDPR, research integrity, statistics, practical pedagogy, academic writing and entrepreneurship. Doctoral candidates can also avail of the Broaden our Horizons and Odyssey Mentoring programme and scholarship recipients gain experience in lecturing undergraduates. Research Integrity training is offered to all postgraduate students conducting research activities. Grant writing workshops are also provided throughout the year by the Research Office and are advertised on our events page.