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Current PhD Student FAQ

The answers to many of your questions will be contained in the UCD Graduate Studies Research Handbook relevant SPIRe programme handbook.

Other frequently asked questions are answered below:

RSP - Research Studies Panel

In addition to your supervisor, your School will appoint a Research Studies Panel (RSP) within three months of the date of initial registration. Typically, RSP members are nominated by the School in consultation with the supervisor. It normally comprises of the supervisor(s), two advisors (one of which will act as the panel Chair) and the student. The purpose of the RSP is to support and enhance the supervisor-student relationship, to monitor progress during the course of the doctoral studies, and to provide advice and support both to the student and the supervisor. One of the nominated advisors will have academic expertise relevant to the student’s research work and also have experience in supervising doctoral students.

The RSP should have its first meeting within six months of the student’s initial registration in order to review the student’s Research and Professional Development Plan (RPDP). At least one additional meeting should be held in the first year of the student’s registration. Thereafter, it is recommended that students should have two RSP meetings per academic year. Students should be pro-active in arranging such meetings in conjunction with their supervisor. The student, or another member of the RSP, may convene a meeting of the panel at any stage if it is considered desirable or necessary to address any relevant issue(s) that may arise.

Students should submit a copy of each signed RSP report to the PhD Administrator for central record-keeping and they should also upload themselves on InfoHub.

RPDP - Research and Professional Development Plan

The RPDP consists of three sections. The first highlights guidance on research planning, the second highlights guidance on professional development planning and the third section is the RPDP Form itself. Part 1 of the RPDP form is a record of the student’s activities and Part 2 is the Research Studies Panel (RSP) Meeting Report.

Academic Regulations stipulate that the completed and signed Research and Professional Development Planning Form from your most recent RSP meeting is submitted as one of the required documents to a Transfer Assessment Panel (TAP) where a student seeks to:

  • transfer from Stage 1 to Stage 2 of a Doctoral programme, or
  • transfer from a Research Master’s Programme to a PhD Programme.
Helpful Links
Further Detail

For full information on the RPDP process see the Graduate Studies page

RPDP - Research and Professional Development Plan

The RPDP consists of three sections. The first highlights guidance on research planning, the second highlights guidance on professional development planning and the third section is the RPDP Form itself. Part 1 of the RPDP form is a record of the student’s activities and Part 2 is the Research Studies Panel (RSP) Meeting Report. 

Academic regulations stipulate that the completed and signed Research and Professional Development Planning Form from your most recent RSP meeting is submitted as one of the required documents to a Transfer Assessment Panel (TAP) where a student seeks to:

  • transfer from Stage 1 to Stage 2 of a Doctoral programme, or
  • transfer from a Research Master’s Programme to a PhD Programme.
Helpful Links
Further Detail

For full information on the RPDP process see the Graduate Studies page

The list of modules below is for the Politics and International Relations programme.
Students on a joint or thematic programme should check the relevant handbook for their curriculum structure.

Pol & IR Modules: Autumn Trimester, 2024-25

UCD term starts 9 September, 2024

POL 50070 Quantitative Methods I (CORE)
Dr Yoo Sun Jung
Mondays: 4pm-5.50pm
Room G-08.AG, Agriculture Building
10 credits

POL50220 Social Science Methodology (CORE)
Dr Thomas Daubler
Tuesdays: 4pm-5.50pm
Room J109-ART, Newman Building
10 credits

PhD Modules: Spring Trimester, 2023-24

UCD term starts 20 January, 2025

POL50200 Qualitative Research Methods (CORE)
Dr Elifcan Celebi
Thursdays: 12pm-1.50pm
Room B003-04GIS, Agnes McGuire Social Work Building
10 credits

Autumn or Spring Term: Option Module

POL50230 PhD Professional Development* (Professor Ben Tonra) – 5 Credits

Additional Modules

There are a range of additional discipline-specific and other modules across the university that are available to graduate research students. Click here to access these modules.

Auditing Modules

Students enrolled to any graduate programme at University College Dublin have the opportunity to enrol to a module for Audit from within the list of modules offered by the University. A student may audit a module if they wish to attend the module but not gain any credits for the module. This means that they do not receive a grade for the module, but the module will appear on the student’s transcript as having been audited.

Students must seek the permission of the relevant Module Co-ordinator in order to do this, as well as the Programme Co-ordinator for the programme in which the student is enrolled. 

The registration process for this will also fall under Graduate Studies.

Further Information

For full details on the process go to the Graduate Studies page

The majority of students will be able to sign up to modules on SisWeb.

For certain modules, and for Jan or May start students, an online module registration process is in place.

For further information on both methods, click here

Note that, outside of core modules, students must liaise with their supervisor before registering for any additional modules.

If you encounter any difficulties with registering for modules, contact dara.gannon@ucd.ie

Thesis Preparation

Different theses in SPIRe have very different forms, please work with your supervisor and RSP on determining which thesis form (monograph or thesis as a collection of papers), structure, and length etc. is best suited for your project.

You can find the general university requirements for a PhD thesis here.

Thesis as a Collection of Papers

The current Graduate Research Board guidelines on thesis formats can be accessed here.
However, in the case of the multiple-paper format thesis there are some subject-specific requirements which apply to PhD candidates at SPIRe. These must be also taken into account and can be found here.

If you intend to pursue this thesis format, this should be discussed in advance with your supervisor.

UCD Seed Funding

UCD has a funding scheme available that is open to staff and research students to apply for relatively small grants, for example attendance at a conference or other dissemination costs. Procedures change year-on-year, but further details can be found (opens in a new window)here: (requires UCD connect details)

SPIRe Research Committee Fund

Funding from the UCD SPIRe Research Committee is for PhD researchers to facilitate research and dissemination of research by supporting costs including for organizing academic events, for research support (e.g. access to databases, research assistance, translation, software) travel, accommodation, conference or summer school registration fees and subsistence.

The amount of the grant is up to €750 for any single request.  Applications will be reviewed tri-annually by the UCD SPIRe Research Committee and funding calls will be communicated via the SPIRe PhD email list. 

PSAI Funding

Early-career researchers, who are members of the PSAI, can apply for up to €400 to travel and present a paper. Researchers can receive funding of up to €800 for a maximum of two conferences per academic year. 

More details below and at: (opens in a new window)https://www.psai.ie/funding-calls/

  • Are you a late-stage PhD student struggling with the writing-up battle?
  • Do you put off writing tasks until ‘tomorrow’?
  • Are you finding it tough ‘going it alone’?
Who can attend Thesis Boot Camp?

Thesis Boot Camp is a free event provided by UCD Graduate Studies. You are an eligible Thesis Boot Camp recruit if you are:

  • A late, stage two PhD research student at UCD
  • In the final stages of completing your research degree and are ready to ‘write up’. The ultimate aim of Thesis Boot Camp is to write up to 20,000 words of first draft material. It is not for editing, revising, preparing presentations or grant applications etc. In other words, you must be able to identify the particular chapter or chapter(s) of your thesis that you will specifically work on as part of your Thesis Boot Camp goal
  • Able to clearly identify how you would benefit from an intensive Boot Camp of drafting a particular section of your thesis
  • Willing and available to attend all sessions and to commit to the ethos of dedicated writing required at Thesis Boot Camp
  • Able to provide details of an academic referee to support your application (e.g. your supervisor or member of your Research Studies Panel)

For more details and to sign up click here.

UCD Training and Development

There are a number of training and development opportunities, which can be accessed via the Graduate Studies website

SPIRe Seminar Series

SPIRe organises a seminar series for all staff and graduate students in the school. Attendance at these seminars provides an excellent opportunity for you to develop your presentation skills, learn about research that takes place across the school, and practice providing constructive feedback in an academic setting. Attendance at the SPIRe Seminar Series is a core requirement for students on the Politics and International Relations programme. Students on other programmes with a SPIRe supervisor are strongly encouraged to also attend.

After the transfer to Stage 2 of the PhD program (during the 3rd year of the program for full-time students), all Pol & IR students will be required to present at the regular weekly seminar series. Students on other programmes who wish to have an opportunity of presenting should make themselves known to the SPIRe Seminar Series Coordinator. For 2024-25 this is Dr Alexa Zellentin.

The current SPIRe Seminar Series schedule can be found here

Workshop 

In the first stage of the PhD program, there will be a workshop session scheduled at the end of each semester. All PhD students with supervisors in SPIRe will be required to present at these workshops at the end of their 2nd (usually May) and 4th trimester (usually December). The first of these two presentations could potentially take the form of presenting your research design. The second should take the form of a proper academic research presentation, i.e. either a paper or a chapter of your thesis. These presentations are a requirement for Pol & IR students for transfer to Stage 2. For each presentation, one of the academic staff members of the school will be assigned as discussant.

Please consult the Pol & IR Handbook for more details.

Connected Politics

The Connected_Politics Lab organises a similar seminar series that is particularly relevant for students on the QCSS program. For these reasons, it is strongly encouraged that you attend all seminars in the school of your supervisor, as well as those of the Connected_Politics Lab.

Early Career Researcher Forum

The SPIRe Early Career Researcher Forum is a series of events at the School of Politics and International Relations. The Forum provides guidance to early-career researchers and facilitates informal discussions between SPIRe faculty and PhD students. 

Two SPIRe faculty members will provide a short overview of the topic and reflect on their experiences. The remaining time will be devoted to questions and answers. 

UCD Careers Network

Information on the services provided by the UCD Careers Network can be found here.

It is possible for graduate research students to book a 60-minute F-2-F consultation with a Career and Skills consultant - see here for further details.

Postgraduate Applications

UCD Research provides a range of supports for the (opens in a new window)IRC postgraduate call - details can be found (opens in a new window)here


Post Doc Applications

UCD Research provides support for applicants to the (opens in a new window)IRC Post-doctoral Fellowship

Details can be found (opens in a new window)here.

Further information is available on the UCD Research Portal

SPIRe has a boilerplate document of various facts and figures relating to UCD. Please email (opens in a new window)melina.ziegel1@ucd.ie to request this.

Students who, under unforeseen circumstances, need to take time out of the programme, can apply for a leave of absence (LoA). An LoA can be for up to a maximum of one-third of the length of the programme (four semesters for full time students and six semesters for part time students).

Ordinarily you should apply for an LOA in advance of the start of the Leave of Absence but, in principle, you can apply for an LOA up to eight weeks into a trimester. Normally you are eligible for a refund of any fees paid but it's best to check with the Student Desk to confirm this. Anything beyond the eight weeks and it's considered a retrospective leave of absence, which is more difficult to obtain.
Note also that, barring very exceptional circumstances, you cannot obtain an LOA for the first trimester of your studies.

More detail on the process and an FAQ can be found here

In the first instance, students should contact their supervisor, School or Graduate School on the process. A student on LoA cannot be active on the programme i.e. they cannot meet with supervisor(s), attend lectures, access the library or receive grants/scholarships. However, students will continue to have access to their UCD Connect account, including email, during this time.

Please ensure to inform the PhD Administrator if you apply for a Leave of Absence online

  • You can apply for a Leave of Absence up to eight weeks into a trimester (normally you will be refunded any fee payments made)
  • After the first eight weeks of a trimester, and where there has been programme activity, you can apply under the (opens in a new window)Policy on Extenuating Circumstances. A Leave of Absence application is considered retrospective when the period of time applied for has passed e.g. applying after the eight-week mark of the trimester. Retrospective Leave of Absence is not normally permitted. However, it may be granted by a Programme Board where it is satisfied that you have extenuating circumstances, and there is no other available solution for you given your circumstances, and you have not normally engaged in any programme activity

For more details, see the FAQ on this page

For September and January start students, the STA takes place at the beginning of trimester 5 for full-time students and at the beginning of trimester 7 for part-time students.

The next deadline for the submission of Stage Transfer Assessment documents is TBC

For more information on the Stage Assessment Transfer process and documents required, please review the Graduate Research Studies Handbook and the SPIRe Programme Handbooks.

UCD School of Politics and International Relations (SPIRe)

School Office: G301, Newman Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.