DCU PhD Scholarship - AI Regulation, Digital Sovereignty and the Future of the EU Defence Strategy

The School of Law and Government at Dublin City University invites applications for its four-year fully funded PhD programme, starting in September 2025. Outstanding PhD candidates will be offered fee waiver and a tax-free scholarship of €25,000 per annum for four years.

Topic

We are seeking a PhD student who examines the EU’s future role in the evolving geopolitical defence landscape, with a focus on the Union’s potential to regulate the use of AI and to protect EU digital sovereignty. Existing scholarship on the military applications of artificial intelligence focuses either on global-level discussions or on technical aspects of AI design and operational deployment. This leaves underexplored areas at the intersection of EU Digital Law, EU Foreign Policy and Common Security and Defence Policy governance, with particular attention to the recently emerged EU’s digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy policies.

The successful applicant will work under the supervision of Dr Edoardo Celeste and Dr Ken McDonagh.

The School of Law and Government

The School of Law and Government is a research active school with world-class faculty willing to supervise PhD students on topics in their areas of research www.dcu.ie/lawandgovernment/people-law-and-government. DCU regularly ranks among the top "100 under 50" universities as per Times Higher Education and hosts various research centres. The School is committed to embedding a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion, and to that end welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. 

The School operates a full-time structured four-year PhD programme with a range of taught courses in the first year and further professional training offered in other years. The programme combines the rigour and professionalism of the largely taught US approach with the independence and imagination of the traditional European supervisory programme, and it is designed to prepare its students to conduct cutting-edge research and pursue successful academic careers. As well as a tax-free stipend, we may support our students with limited funding for conference and research travel. The School also gives its PhD students opportunities to contribute to teaching.

How to apply

The deadline for application is 3 April by 5pm GMT. Late applications will not be accepted. Applicants should send 1) a full CV with contact details for 2 referees, 2) the grades/full transcripts achieved in Masters degree with copies of transcripts, 3) a research proposal that addresses the topic illustrated above (c. 2-3,000 words).

Applications should be sent to: james.gallen@dcu.ie by 17:00 GMT 3 April. Applications that do not include all required information (1 to 3 above) will not be considered. Applications will be acknowledged by email. Candidates are not required to apply formally through the university system at this stage; they first will be assessed internally by a School panel.

We intend to shortlist and interview selected candidates either in person or online in April. Successful candidates will then be required to apply formally to be admitted as PhD students and may also need to show proficiency in the English language. Successful candidates will begin their studies in September 2024 and are expected to be resident in Dublin for the duration of the programme.

Prospective applicants may make informal contact with the supervisory panel in advance of an application.

You can find additional information about doing a PhD in DCU at the faculty page: https://www.dcu.ie/humanities-and-social-sciences/doctoral-studies-hub

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