Undertaking PhD research in human geography in Ireland

Over the past 15 years graduate education in the Republic of Ireland has been radically transformed through the introduction of new funding schemes, structured doctoral programmes, and enhanced research capacity, supports and infrastructures in Irish higher education. The result has been a rapid expansion of graduate numbers, inter-institutional and interdisciplinary collaboration in the delivery of graduate programmes, and a marked change in the resources available to support graduate students (albeit tempered by the post 2008 crisis). This short paper provides a critical but sympathetic commentary on PhD reform in Ireland. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.