Postgraduate Research
socialCORE has a strong track record in MA research. Our current and past students, many of whom have been funded under SETU’s President’s Fellowship Award, have undertaken a diverse range of projects each of which respond to and deepen our knowledge of critical issues within social care, early childhood education, youth work and allied fields.
- Current Postgraduate Research Projects
- Previous Research Projects
- Postgraduate Research Funding
- Postgraduate Opportunities
Research Interests
David Dowling: An Exploration of the Housing First Approach from Service Provider and Practitioner Perspectives
Sally-Anne Ennis: The Prevalence of Occupational Stress Among Post-Primary Teachers in Ireland. Are Adequate Supports in Place to Safeguard Their Mental Health and Well-Being?
Thomas Fortune: The Experiences of Young Care Leavers
Ashling Gannon: Professional Regulation of Irish Social Care: The Perspectives of Social Care Students
Zsuzsanna Kiss: The Use of Assistance/Service Dogs from a Human Rights and Animal Welfare Perspective
Dale Lacey: An Investigation of the Use of Peer Led Support Services for People Experiencing Mental Health Difficulties
Angela McCullagh: An Examination of the Relevance and Effectiveness of Contemporary Housing Policy for Women Experiencing, or at Risk of, Homelessness in Ireland
Karolyn McDonnell: Asynchronous Online Discussion Boards as Assessment in Social Care Supervised Professional Practice
Muirean Ranta: Education for Sustainable Development in Early Childhood Education and Care: A Children’s Rights Perspective
Charlene Somers: What Constitutes a ‘Good Death’? Perspectives from The Public and Generalised and Specialised Professionals in Palliative Care
John Walsh (with healthCORE): ‘Getting to the Heart of Farmers’ Health
Lorraine Caffrey: ‘Socially Anti-Social’: Young People’s Use of Social Networking Sites in Ireland (2017)
Caroline Dunne: Perceptions of Formal Supervision in Social Care Services (2016)
Liam Dwyer: The Impact of the Local Government Reform Act, 2014 on the Community Development Sector in Ireland (2018)
Angela McMahon: Changing the way we provide care: The use of social media in social care (2017)
Evelyn Reilly: An Investigation into the Impact of the Universal ‘Free’ Pre-School Programme on Early Childhood Practice in County Carlow (2015)
If you are interested in undertaking research with socialCORE as a postgraduate student check out our current opportunities section where you will find details on SETU’s President’s Fellowship awards. For examples of current and past socialCORE projects funded under this award scheme, visit current postgraduate research projects.
The Irish Research Council (IRC) has a number of postgraduate scholarships suitable for high calibre graduates interested in pursuing a career in research. Schemes include the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme, the Enterprise Partnership Scheme and the Employment Based Programme. More information about these schemes can be found on the IRC website. socialCORE researchers can support you in developing your application.
President’s Research Fellowship Programme
SETU established the President’s Research Fellowship Programme in order to enable and promote academic excellence. The programme supports new researchers seeking to work on exciting and challenging projects in a dynamic research environment under the committed and skilful supervision of established researchers.
Research projects are typically advertised during the second term of each academic year. Please check this page regularly or get in touch with the socialCORE director if you are interested in applying.
Current benefits
The 2-year Fellowship for a Masters by Research provides the following benefits (total for 2 years’ study)
- Payment of tuition, capitation and examination fees valued at up to €10,000
- A total stipend of €10,000 (paid in quarterly instalments)
- An allowance for necessary materials / consumables associated with the project (amount set and varies with discipline area)
- An allowance of €1,000 for travel associated with conferences / dissemination of research outputs)
- Access to Postgraduate Conference support of up to €1500
- Dedicated research space and facilities
Candidate requirements
The Fellowships will be of interest to the highest quality candidates and those eligible for funding as President’s Fellows will have a first-class or a 2.1 honours degree.
Students will also be expected to undertake two hours teaching per week. This will typically be to a first or second year class group. They will be supported by their supervisors/relevant module leader in this and are expected to undertake the 10-credit Level 9 module in Teaching and Learning to facilitate the development of their teaching skills.
Students are also expected to undertake other structured modules in research methods and analysis and project management, in order to build their research skills. Students will receive credit for these modules.
Application process
Approved Fellowships will be advertised on the SETU website, social media and other relevant channels. The filling of the Fellowship positions will be subject to open competition. The interview board will include supervisor(s), Head of Department / Head of Faculty, socialCORE director or member and Development Department representation. Candidates may be required at interview to do a presentation demonstrating their aptitude for facilitating a class group.
Receipt of the Fellowship will be conditional on successful registration with SETU and QQI for a Master’s Degree by Research.
