73 new Scholars have been elected this morning on the steps of the Public theatre. The names of the new scholars were announced this morning as part of Trinity Monday celebrations.
Two honorary fellows, two professorial fellows, and fourteen new fellows were also announced this morning. The names were read out by Provost Patrick Prendergast. The fellows were chosen for their excellence in research and represent a variety of schools, including Creative Arts, Law, and Mathematics.
“We are so proud of all our students and academics today that have become new Fellows and Scholars,” said Dr Prendergast. “This is always a special day for all of us where we celebrate their hard work and academic prowess.”
Scholarship (Schols) is awarded by the College on the basis of merit achieved by students in a specific set of exams sat at the beginning of Hilary Term. Students are eligible to apply in their Senior Fresh year. Successful candidates are announced on Trinity Monday and become Scholars of the College.
The number of scholars announced this morning has risen by 18 since last year’s cohort. The number of students receiving Schols had fallen by 47% between 2017 and 2012, with only 55 recipients in 2017 compared to 104 in 2012. This is the first increase in the number of successful candidates since 2014.
In total, 855 students have been awarded Schols over the last decade, following the programme’s revision in 2008.
Seven Medicine students have been awarded Schols today. 116 Medicine students have been awarded Schols since the the programme was revised in 2008. Medicine students represent the largest proportion of students receiving Schols from any particular course, accounting for 13.5% of all Scholars between 2008 and 2018.
The number of Medicine students receiving Scholarships peaked in 2014 when 20 students from the course received the accolade. The number of recipients in Medicine experienced a sharp drop in 2015 when only five students were awarded Schols. This number has remained relatively steady with five Medicine students receiving Schols in 2016 and three in 2017, following the general downwards trend in the number of recipients.
A newly elected scholar celebrates with friends
Seven Science students were today awarded Schols. Science tends to yield the second highest number of Scholars, with 9.8% of awardees between 2008 and 2018 studying general Science.
Students in the Two-Subject Moderatorship (TSM) programme accounted for 8.1% of Schols recipients in the same period, with 69 TSM students having been awarded Schols over the last ten years. Today, two TSM students received Schols, representing Economics & Psychology and Economics & Geography.
Other courses which perform consistently well in Schols are Engineering (6.8%), Economics and Social Sciences (5.4%) and Law (4.4%). Today, seven Engineering students, two Economics and Social Sciences, and five Law students received Schols.
Although all faculties are represented by Scholars in any given year, a number of courses have not produced a Scholar over the last ten years. Among these are Ancient History and Archaeology (TSM) and Catholic Theological Studies. Film Studies, which was first offered in the 2009/2010 academic year, has yet to have a student achieve Scholarship. Music Education (B.Ed.) has only had one Scholar over the past ten years, who was awarded in 2011. None of these disciplines gave rise to a Scholar today.
Several courses in both the arts and sciences have not seen a student awarded Schols for several years. A Human Genetics student most recently received Schols in 2009, while no one studying Human Nutrition and Dietetics has been successful in achieving Schols since 2010. It has been seven years since a student of either Earth Sciences or Chemistry with Molecular Modelling has been awarded Schols. The Drama and Theatre Studies most recently saw a student awarded Scholarship five years ago in 2013. No scholars were announced from these disciplines today.
The majority of Schols recipients are known as Foundation Scholars and join the Provost and Fellows to constitute the corporation of the College. As the number of Foundation Scholars cannot exceed seventy, successful students surpassing this number are awarded non-Foundation Scholarship.
