Armenian, Austrian and Irish Students Win 2015 Grattan PhD Scholarships

Posted on: 20 November 2015

The School of Social Sciences and Philosophy recently awarded three prestigious Grattan Scholarships to outstanding postgraduate students from Armenia, Austria and Ireland. In addition for first time the School has awarded an IRC Grattan Supported Fellowship. 

The Grattan Scholars programme supports exceptional PhD students who are committed to understanding and improving society through their research, teaching and education. The scholarship programme builds on the School’s record of teaching and research excellence ensuring that Trinity continues to play a leading role in key areas of research expertise within the disciplines of economics, philosophy, political science and sociology.

‘The eleven Grattan Scholarships that have been awarded since the programme was established in 2012, have helped to attract some of the best students from around the world to Trinity,’ stated Head of the School of Social Sciences and Philosophy, Professor Gail McElroy 

2015 Grattan Scholar Awardees:

• Katharina Bergant – building on Trinity’s strong research record in this area, Katharina’s research will advance the understanding of the topic of ‘Financial Globalisation’. Some of the concrete research questions she will approach concern the determinants of global imbalances and the macroeconomic effects of capital flows. Analysing fiscal and monetary policies in the current and past crises will be crucial in her policy orientated research. Before joining the Economics Ph.D. programme as a Grattan Scholar, Katharina completed Trinity’s MSc in Economics where she wrote her thesis on “External Adjustment after the Crisis” under the supervision of Whately Professor of Political Economy Philip Lane. She obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.
• Egle Gusciute – is undertaking research titled ‘Who is Against Migration, and Why?’ under the co-supervision of Professor Richard Layte and Assistant Professor Peter Mühlau in the Department of Sociology. The project will explore the causes of anti-immigration attitudes in Europe on the country, sectoral and occupational levels. The overall aim of the project is to increase understanding of the role of economic threat in anti-immigrant sentiment and will aim to test an alternative explanation for such sentiment. Before coming to Trinity as a Grattan Scholar, Egle was a Research Assistant on the European Migration Network team at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). Egle has a BA in European Studies and an MPhil in International Peace Studies, both from Trinity College.
• Gayane Vardanyan – is researching the “The Age of Mass Migration and the Impacts of Migration” under the supervision of Assistant Professor of Economics Gaia Narciso. Her research project will address both the historical factors causing migration in the Age of Mass Migration and emerging areas of migration such as the relationship between migration and housing markets. Before joining Trinity as a Grattan Scholar, Gayane completed an MSc in Economics at the University of Bern. Prior to this she undertook a Bachelor of Finance at the Armenian State University of Economics.

This year the generosity of the programme’s supporters has enabled the School to award an IRC Grattan Supported Fellowship for the first time. The fellowship’s recipient, Cian Allen will be undertaking research on the “International Macroeconomic Implications of a Rise in Aggregate Wealth”. Cian joins the Department of Economics from the Paris School of Economics where he undertook an MRes in Analysis and Policy in Economics. Cian also holds a BSc in Economics and Business, from the Pantheon-Assas University.

‘The ability to attract outstanding young researchers, with these very competitive scholarships, is integral to Trinity’s commitment to continue and build on its position as a world class research institution,’ added Professor McElroy. ‘These Scholars not only undertake research on an expansive range of issues of global societal and economic importance they also enrich the learning experience of our undergraduate students by delivering high-quality and engaging teaching.’

Funding for the Grattan Scholarships has been made possible thanks to the generous support of Trinity College alumni and friends, including Anke Heydenreich, Nicholas O’Donohoe, John Pearson, Rupert Pennant-Rea, Declan Sheehan, Peter Sutherland SC, Niall Coakley, Donal Donovan, David Kitterick, Susannah McAleese, Hamish and Frances McRae, Michael O’Higgins, John Teahan, The UK Trust for TCD and the University of Dublin Fund (US).

For further details on the Grattan Scholarship programme visit  School of Social Sciences and Philosophy’s website