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The cluster is committed to the development of gender-focused research across a range of issues and disciplines within the School of Political Science and Sociology. Research in this area investigates the operation of gendered power relations, gender inequalities, changing notions of gender identity, and the challenges of achieving women's empowerment in Ireland and beyond in a context of globalisation.

Admission to a research degree in Women's Studies is based on a proposal from the applicant following discussion with the potential supervisor. Candidates for the PhD would usually be expected to hold a Master's degree in a cognate field. Applicants holding equivalent qualifications and/or relevant experience will also be considered.

As part of the doctoral training available on the Structured PhD programme, students avail themselves of a range of interdisciplinary taught modules. The wide menu of available options includes modules that:

• are Discipline-Specific in that they augment the student’s existing knowledge in their specialist area, e.g., gender perspectives on social science research
• are Dissertation-Specific in that they supply core skills which are essential to completion of the research project e.g. qualitative and quantitative research methods
• acknowledge a student’s professional development, e.g., presentation of a paper at an International Conference
• enhance a student’s employability through generic training, e.g., Careers Workshops, Computer literacy.

Each student will be assigned a primary Supervisor(s) and a Graduate Research Committee made up of experienced researchers to plan their programme of study and to provide on-going support to their research.