The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through Ireland’s development cooperation programme, Irish Aid, and the Marine Institute (MI) have established ‘Our Shared Ocean’ to support research, knowledge exchange and capacity building in partnership with Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The programme runs from January 2022 to December 2026 with a total investment of €3.8 million funded by the DFA, and administered by the MI.

The Master’s Degree Scholarships are one of a suite of competitive calls under the Our Shared Ocean Programme that will address specific ocean, climate and sustainable blue economy related challenges faced by SIDS; support the building of scientific and technical capacity to address such challenges; and promote the exchange of knowledge and expertise between Irish institutions and their counterparts in SIDS to underpin longer-term cooperation.

Master’s Degree Scholarships Overview:

Proposals are invited from suitable research supervisors in Irish or SIDS Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) with the necessary competence to host/co-supervise the Scholar. It is hoped the Scholar will be based primarily at an Irish HEI with a placement in the SIDS Organisation or vice versa.

Grant support of €42,000 per annum is offered for a student from an eligible SIDS for up to 24 months to study at an Irish or SIDS HEI to acquire a Master’s degree. 

Note: The successful applicants will recruit to fill the scholarship position. Students are not eligible to apply directly.

Application Process:

Applications must be submitted via the Marine Institute's online Application System Research Information Management System (RIMS). Please refer to the Applicant Guidelines for further information on the scholarships, how to register for access to RIMS, and the application procedure. Applications submitted on the incorrect form or incomplete applications will be ineligible and will not go forward to the evaluation process.

Submission Deadline:

Friday, 24th May 2024 @16:00 Irish Standard Time

Information Session:

An Information Session to provide further detail will be held online on Wednesday, 17th April 2024 at 15:00 Irish Standard Time. Please contact the Our Shared Ocean team for further details or for a query on an application to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This initiative is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs though Ireland’s development cooperation programme, Irish Aid, administered and managed by the Marine Institute on behalf of Irish Aid/DFA.