Hibernia College first in Ireland to provide online PhD course

18 Nov 2013

Hibernia College will become the first education institution in Ireland to offer an online PhD course. The college will provide the course in collaboration with Plymouth University.

Hibernia, which is Ireland’s only government-accredited online college, will be awarding three full-time PhD scholarships worth €16,000 and fees annually.

The college will be targeting the following key research areas: the impact of learning technologies on learning experiences; innovation in teaching; learning and assessment; innovation in teacher education; and comparative education and internationalisation.

“Higher education has become an absolute necessity in Ireland, and will be a major factor in our ability as a country to break out of the recession,” said Dr Seán Rowland, president of Hibernia College.

“Hibernia College is proud to be a catalyst in the positive changes we are beginning to see, and we believe that by offering innovative educational solutions which adapt around peoples’ lifestyles, we will help expedite the return to more stable economic times through the contributions of a better educated workforce.”

Applicants to the PhD programme will normally be expected to hold a relevant master’s qualification. Those interested in applying for one of the PhD scholarships should contact Dr Jemimah Bailey or Dr Teresa Whitaker in the Hibernia College Research Department, for further details.

Ireland’s Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, TD, said the PhD scholarships will enable Hibernia to fast track its research strategy. “The 2012 report on the structure of Initial Teacher Education provision in Ireland highlighted the crucial role that high quality research plays in informing best practice in teacher preparation.

“Today’s announcement by Hibernia College is therefore very welcome and I look forward to the strong contribution to education research that the college will no doubt be making over the coming years,” Quinn said.

Online education image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

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