Can I apply for scholarships in Ireland or the UAE for my master's degree, given my budget constraints and 85% post-graduation score with no backlogs?

An 85 percent post-graduation score with a clean academic record clears the baseline for competitive scholarships in both countries, but selection panels weigh several other factors alongside your percentage, including your statement of purpose, references, and sometimes research or work experience.

Ireland: The GOI-IES Scholarship

• What it covers: the Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship provided 10,000 euros for one year plus a full tuition fee waiver for that year in its most recent cycle.
• Eligibility: open to students from outside the EU and EEA, including Indian applicants, for Masters, postgraduate diploma, and PhD study.
• Prerequisite: you need an offer or conditional offer from an eligible Irish institution before applying, and the most recent cycle's deadline was 12 March, so you would need to target the next applicable round.
• Budget context: non-EU postgraduate tuition in Ireland runs roughly 12,000 to 40,000 euros a year, so the scholarship alone rarely covers the full cost.

UAE: Where Institutional Funding Is Strongest

The UAE is particularly worth investigating if your field is artificial intelligence, computer science, engineering, or data science, since Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence offers merit based funding through faculty sponsored research and teaching assistantships that can include tuition, a monthly stipend, return airfare, and health insurance. NYU Abu Dhabi is another option worth checking, where scholarships for some Masters programs have typically covered 50 to 85 percent of tuition and fees, with the strongest applicants occasionally receiving close to full coverage.

This Information Is Also Available On

Higher Education Authority Ireland, Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship guidance, and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence admissions and aid page.

My Advice

In my experience, students with a strong percentage like yours sometimes apply to only one scholarship and wait, which is risky given how competitive GOI-IES is. Build three tiers into your plan instead: MBZUAI or a similarly funded UAE program if your field fits, Ireland's GOI-IES and university specific awards as your second tier, and at least one lower cost program with partial funding as a safety net, so your budget constraint does not depend on winning a single highly competitive award.