The University of Limerick has established a W. B. Yeats Scholarship with the University of São Paulo in Brazil (USP) as the latest initiative of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the two intuitions in 2012 during the visit of President Michael D. Higgins to Sao Paulo.

The W. B. Yeats Scholarship celebrates the relationship between USP and UL, building on the links forged by Professor Laura Izarra (USP) and Dr Tina O'Toole (UL), and its launch coincides with the 150th anniversary of Yeats's birth. This new scholarship invites undergraduate and graduate students from USP to the Faculty of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences at UL. Students are invited to a range of programmes, but of particular interest is the new MA in Critical Irish Studies.  This interdisciplinary programme was established by Professor Margaret Harper, Glucksman Chair in Contemporary Writing in English, UL.  Professor Harper is a renowned Yeats scholar and is giving the opening lecture of the W. B. Yeats Chair of Irish Studies at USP on St Patrick's Day.

The MOU between USP and UL was developed to enhance the teaching and research relationship between the institutions and has accelerated the sharing of knowledge and ideas through exchange at academic and student levels.

Speaking about the importance of Brazilian students to UL, Josephine Page, Head of International Education Division said: “UL welcomed 150 students from Brazil to the campus during the current academic year, the largest intake of the seven Irish Universities. Six of these students are from the University of Sao Paulo, and we very much look forward to welcoming a further nine students from USP in September 2015.”