Research Ireland Pathway Programme

Full details on programme eligibility are available in the call document. In summary, applicants should have demonstrated a proven record of internationally recognised research accomplishments and adhere to the following eligibility criteria:

• The applicant must have held a PhD or equivalent qualification for at least two years at proposal submission.
• Applicants must not be considered an independent investigator.
• Applicants must not hold, or have held, an academic contract (e.g. lecturer, assistant professor, professor, or similar) of greater than, or equal to, 36 months in duration. Teaching-only academic contracts greater than or equal to 36 months in duration are permitted.
• Applicants must not hold, or have held, a significant peer-reviewed, independent research grant, or grant providing similar support to the Research Ireland Pathway Programme. Personal awards, including student, postdoctoral or individual fellowships, travel awards, and bursaries are permissible.
• The applicant must have identified a mentor, who will give advice, co-supervise the PhD student and provide access to laboratory space (where relevant) and related infrastructure for the duration of the award.

Potential applicants, meeting the eligibility criteria, must first seek pre-approval from an eligible research body. Once Research Ireland has received a research body’s approved candidate list in advance of the HEI nomination deadline of 20th February 2026, nominated candidates will then be invited to submit a full proposal.

Each Research Body may nominate a maximum of 16 STEM-led and 8 AHSS-led applications.

Research Ireland recognises the continued need for equality, diversity and inclusivity across the research ecosystem, and are committed to addressing the gender imbalance within the higher education sector by increasing the number of research grants held by women. To this end, no more than 8 of the 16 STEM-led, and 4 of the 8 AHSS-led, nominated applicants may be men. Upon submission to Research Ireland all applications will be treated equally regardless of the gender of the applicant.

Institutional Approval

• To submit an application to this Call you must first be approved by the Research Office of the host institution in which you wish to carry out the project.
• Research Offices of potential host institutions will be expected to instigate a procedure to select candidates for this call.
• Those wishing to apply to the 2026 Call should first contact their intended host institution informing the Research Office about their identity and credentials, the identity of their chosen mentor, and an outline of their intended research plan.
• In selecting excellent candidates, research bodies should consider the evaluation criteria described in the call document and may consider the strategic vision of the research body, in particular, its plans for the retention and development of internationally competitive faculty and research leaders.

Application Submission

1. All proposals are to be submitted via SESAME, Research Ireland’s online grants and awards management system.
2. If accessing SESAME for the first time, researchers should contact their local Research Office to be set up on this system.
3. Queries on the SESAME system should first be directed to your Institute’s Research Office. If still unresolved, queries should be emailed to sesame@researchireland.ie. Please be aware that response time for queries may be up to 5 working days.

A recording of an information webinar outlining the 2026 Call and its application process is available on YouTube here.