Deadline extended for €20,000 Coillte forestry scholarship

By Aisling O'Brien

May 15, 2026 11:30 AM

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(L-R) Tom Kent, programme director, Forestry BSc, SETU; Áine Ni Dhubhain, director of forestry, UCD; Mark Carlin, managing director, Coillte Forest; Evan McSpadden, forestry scholar at SETU; Olivia Black, forestry scholar at UCD; and Oisin McGuinness, forestry scholar at SETU Image: Naoise Culhane

The deadline for Coillte’s 2026 Forestry Scholarship, offering students up to €20,000 across their forestry degree, has been extended.

Following feedback from partners across the forestry and the education sectors, Coillte said the application deadline has been moved back to Monday, July 6, 2026.

According to Coillte, this aligns the scholarship timeline with the Central Applications Office (CAO) change of mind deadline, when many students refine their course choices.

Coillte

Now in its third year, the Coillte Forestry Scholarship Programme offers recipients up to €20,000 over the course of their forestry degree, alongside paid summer placements and potential career opportunities with Coillte.

The scholarship programme was developed in response to national need for more skilled forestry professionals by 2030 to meet targets set out in Ireland’s Forest Strategy.

The programme supports students enrolling in full time undergraduate forestry degrees at University College Dublin (UCD) or South East Technological University (SETU) from September 2026.

Scholarships

Mark Carlin, managing sirector, Coillte Forest acknowledged that many prospective forestry students are currently focused on the Leaving Certificate.

"We know that many students, the period immediately after the Leaving Certificate is when CAO choices come into sharper focus.

"By aligning the scholarship deadline with that decision making window, we want to ensure students are considering forestry at the point when course choices are being actively reviewed.

"This extension is informed by feedback from our scholars, our education and sector partners and reflects our shared aim to attract the widest possible pool of talent into forestry," he said.

Since its launch in January 2024, Coillte has awarded scholarships to six students studying forestry.

Last year, Coillte saw a 25% uplift in applications year-on-year which the semi-State company said demonstrated growing demand for both the scholarship and career opportunities in forestry.