Usher Fellowship

HavingCrack

Howiya everyone,

I'm currently doing my MSc in the UK and am looking to continue onto a PhD but due to me not meeting residency criteria it's a real struggle for me to get funding at my current university so it looks like I may be returning to Ireland next year (September 2013). Anyway I've been looking at this Usher Fellowship Trinity offer and I'm wondering how competitive is it, how many applicants and how many are awarded ? Is it only open to ex-Trinity students or is it for everyone? The information on the website is very confusing and out of date and a lot of the boards threads are also quite old. It would be an Environmental Science based PhD if that makes any difference.

Much appreciated if anyone can give me some advice.

HavingCrack

No ideas?

gutenberg

(Me again )

How competitive are they? In a word, very. I was told by the director of postgrad studies in my department to basically forget about getting one, and I had just graduated top of my year from TCD, with a Master's from Cambridge forthcoming. He said they usually prefer candidates who apply with their Master's already in hand, rather than being in the process of attaining one. As he predicted, I didn't get one, but I was successful with IRCHSS, and with my university here in the UK, so I guess I wasn't that poor an applicant! Oh and you don't have to have done your undergrad in TCD or anything, they're open to all new applicants to the research register.

You might have more luck getting one of their postgraduate studentships, which come with teaching hours IIRC.

This isn't to say that you shouldn't apply, after all you never know unless you try, but bear in mind that it is very very competitive.

HavingCrack

gutenberg wrote: »

(Me again )

How competitive are they? In a word, very. I was told by the director of postgrad studies in my department to basically forget about getting one, and I had just graduated top of my year from TCD, with a Master's from Cambridge forthcoming. He said they usually prefer candidates who apply with their Master's already in hand, rather than being in the process of attaining one. As he predicted, I didn't get one, but I was successful with IRCHSS, and with my university here in the UK, so I guess I wasn't that poor an applicant! Oh and you don't have to have done your undergrad in TCD or anything, they're open to all new applicants to the research register.

You might have more luck getting one of their postgraduate studentships, which come with teaching hours IIRC.

This isn't to say that you shouldn't apply, after all you never know unless you try, but bear in mind that it is very very competitive.

Ha, you seem to be the only one who can offer any sort of advice on these things . Ah, it's as I suspected so, snookered in the UK and snookered in Ireland. Just have to keep digging and hope something turns up!

gutenberg

HavingCrack wrote: »

Ha, you seem to be the only one who can offer any sort of advice on these things . Ah, it's as I suspected so, snookered in the UK and snookered in Ireland. Just have to keep digging and hope something turns up!

Good luck. If you want any further advice feel free to PM me, I've just started my PhD so have been through the whole funding rigmarole; I'm in the humanities though, rather than science, but if I can help I'd be happy to, rather than quasi-stalking you around the site, or so it seems!