Information & Communication Studies - Research

The staff of ICS work in a wide variety of research areas encompassing many aspects of information and communications studies. Please take a look at staff profiles to see if your project would fit with our staff interests and expertise. To be considered for admission to the School, you will need to have the support of at least one of our staff who are willing to supervise your thesis project. Staff will want to see a CV and a draft of your proposed project before agreeing to supervise so please contact staff before applying. It is the applicant's responsibility to find an appropriate supervisor; the PhD coordinator will not be able to do so.



https://www.ucd.ie/ics/study/phdresearchprogrammes/

Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:



PhD students are required to complete 30 taught credits over the course of their programme (as outlined in Section 7 of the Academic regulations). A list of modules considered appropriate by your School is given below, and from which you can select module(s) subject to timetables/capacity. Please, ensure that you have discussed your choice with your supervisor. If your supervisor has recommended a module that does not appear below then please follow the advice on registration to taught modules published on the Graduate Studies website.



IS50080 PhD Skills 2 Trimester duration (Aut-Spr) 5

IS50110 Advanced Research Experience 1 2 Trimester duration (Aut-Spr) 10

IS50120 Advanced Research Experience 2 2 Trimester duration (Spr-Sum) 10

GSBL50050 Approaches & Techniques in Qualitative Research Autumn 7.5

IS30020 Web Publishing Autumn 5

IS41520 UXD: User-Centered Design Autumn 10

IS50040 Advanced Research Practice I Autumn 10

IS50090 Advanced Independent Study 1 Autumn 5

LAW50030 Advanced Research in Law Autumn 5

IS40560 Digital Libraries Spring 5

IS40630 Digital Preservation and Digital Curation Spring 10

IS50050 Advanced Research Practice II Spring 10

IS50100 Advanced Independent Study 2 Spring 5

IS50130 Advanced Independent Study 3 Summer 5



Stage 2 Options - A) Min 0 of:



PhD students are required to complete 30 taught credits over the course of their programme (as outlined in Section 7 of the Academic regulations). A list of modules considered appropriate by your School is given below, and from which you can select module(s) subject to timetables/capacity. If your supervisor has recommended a module that does not appear below then please follow the advice on registration to taught modules published on the Graduate Studies website.



IS50110 Advanced Research Experience 1 2 Trimester duration (Aut-Spr) 10

IS50120 Advanced Research Experience 2 2 Trimester duration (Spr-Sum) 10

GSBL50050 Approaches & Techniques in Qualitative Research Autumn 7.5

IS30020 Web Publishing Autumn 5

IS41520 UXD: User-Centered Design Autumn 10

IS50040 Advanced Research Practice I Autumn 10

IS50090 Advanced Independent Study 1 Autumn 5

LAW50030 Advanced Research in Law Autumn 5

IS40560 Digital Libraries Spring 5

IS40630 Digital Preservation and Digital Curation Spring 10

IS50050 Advanced Research Practice II Spring 10

IS50100 Advanced Independent Study 2 Spring 5

IS50130 Advanced Independent Study 3 Summer 5

PhD students applicants should have an academic background necessary to support doctoral level research. A potential supervisor may be able to advise on the knowledge they expect their potential students to have gained before applying for entry to the programme. We welcome students from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds.

Since the PhD programme includes 30 credits of classwork, you will have the opportunity to learn some of the skills and knowledge you will need to complete your thesis.



1. Check admission requirements.



a. A minimum 2.1 primary degree (GPA greater than 3.08) in any field of study*; OR



b. A minimum 2.1 (GPA greater than 3.08) master’s degree in information science, library science, communication studies or a related field.

For non-native English speakers, an English language certificate is required: IELTS overall score of 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 in each section.



*If an applicant does not hold a master’s degree, they will be required to enter the PhD programme via the MLitt programme and will be provided the option of advancing to stage two of the PhD programme after successful completion of a Transfer Assessment Panel (TAP). Only applicants who meet the master’s degree requirement will be considered for funding.



2. The online application system opens in February each year.



Although you may submit at any time, applications are not reviewed until after the May 1st deadline (if you are applying for the UCD China Scholarship Scheme or other schemes the deadlines are usually much earlier- please contact the PhD Coordinator or UCD Graduate studies). We will attempt to notify you about the outcome of your application as soon as possible. After your application is reviewed, you may be asked to complete an online interview to provide the application committee with more information.

4/6 years, FT/PT, On Campus.

W139 PhD Information & Communication Studies FT Doctor of Philosophy Full-Time Commencing September 2026 Graduate Research



W140 Information & Communication Studies Doctor of Philosophy Part-Time Commencing September 2026 Graduate Research