University College Dublin (UCD) is one of Europe’s leading research-intensive universities. Established in 1854, the university has over 34,000 students with more than 8,500 international students drawn from 130 countries. Ranked in the top 1% of higher education institutions worldwide in the overall 2022 QS World University Rankings, UCD was named 173rd in the world. Students make a beeline to UCD due to its excellence in teaching and research.
Another big advantage for the international students is the programme portfolio – UCD offers Ireland’s widest range of programmes that are recognised and valued by academic institutions and employers throughout the world. Students also benefit from a holistic studying experience at UCD. The UCD alumni network is influential, successful, active and truly international. Many of the 288,000 UCD global alumni network, living in 169 countries, hold positions in leading organisations around the world.
Notable alumni of UCD include the author and poet James Joyce, Irish novelist Maeve Binchy, Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, rugby player Brian O’ Driscoll, film director Neil Jordan, businessman Tony O’ Reilly, former President of Ireland Douglas Hyde and Irish novelist Roddy Doyle.
Each year, UCD offers a number of Global Excellence Scholarship to international students (on non-EU fees) who are about to start a course at the UCD in September. There are a limited number of 100% and 50% tuition fee Global Excellence Scholarships available to outstanding international students. There are various deadlines to apply for the Scholarship, depending on the region of origin and residence of the applicant. The results are announced five weeks after each regional deadline.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must meet the citizenship and residence requirements given depending on the Regional status of the applicant. For the applicants residing in South Asia, the application deadline is 28 February.
- Scholarships are only open to self-funding candidates who are classified as non-EU for tuition fee purposes.
- Eligible programmes are limited to undergraduate and graduate-taught programmes, where the student must be based in Dublin and no part of the programme is awarded by another institution.
- Applicants to the Global Excellence Scholarship will have already obtained an offer or a conditional offer from UCD.
- Applications for the Global Excellence Scholarship should be submitted in accordance with the instructions given in the Global Excellence Scholarship Application document.
- The Global Excellence Scholarship cannot be combined with any other tuition scholarship.
For further details on eligible programmes, click here. Regional deadlines for the application can be found here.
