Third level education is an expensive business and for anyone considering pursuing postgraduate education, it is worth knowing what supports are out there. If you are about to start the final year of your undergraduate this September, now is a good time to research what your postgraduate options could be. Application deadlines for scholarships and bursaries may come around sooner than expected.
Third level education is an expensive business and for anyone considering pursuing postgraduate education, it is worth knowing what supports are out there. If you are about to start the final year of your undergraduate this September, now is a good time to research what your postgraduate options could be.
Application deadlines for scholarships and bursaries may come around sooner than expected.
If you are currently in employment and wish to undertake a postgrad, then the best place to start is by talking to your employer. They may be in a position to help fund your tuition fees if your chosen area of study is relevant to your work.
Tax relief is available for tuition fees paid for approved postgraduate courses in private and publicly funded colleges in the state. A full list of approved courses and colleges is available on Revenue’s website. The 20% relief can be claimed by whoever pays the fees. To avail of the relief, postgraduate courses must be for at least one academic year but not more than four academic years in duration and must lead to a postgraduate award based on either a thesis or an examination.
The maximum amount of fees (including the Student Contribution) that can qualify for tax relief is €7,000 per person per course. Each claim is subject to a single disregard amount each tax year. This amount is taken away from your total qualifying fees and you cannot receive relief on that portion of the fees.
In 2019 the disregard amount was €3,000 for a full time course or €1,500 for a part-time course. If, for example, you are a parent paying for two students in third level education then the disregard amount is only subtracted once.
You can claim tax relief on fees paid for undergraduate, postgraduate, IT and foreign language courses using Revenue’s myAccount service. If you’re self-employed, you can apply for tax relief on tuition fees by using Revenue’s Online Service (ROS).
Depending on the student’s reckonable income, they may qualify for either a postgraduate fee contribution of €2,000 or a postgraduate fee grant up to a maximum of €6,270 plus the maintenance grant from SUSI.
The priority closing date for new applications is Thursday, 9 July. Students who submit their application on or before this date will receive priority processing. SUSI will continue to accept applications for student funding after 9 July however these applications will not receive priority processing.
In order to receive maximum funding, the student must meet the criteria for the special rate of grant.
In the last academic year (2019-20), 2,064 students received funding for postgraduate studies from SUSI bringing the total value of funding to approximately €12m.
To find out whether you are eligible for SUSI funding visit www.susi.ie/eligibility-reckoner-app/
Springboard+ is offering funding toward 11,074 places on 332 courses with 34 providers leading to awards at certificate, degree and post-graduate level. The majority of courses are part-time for a maximum of 12 months and are open to all applicants; employed, unemployed and returners (formerly referred to as “homemakers”) who meet the eligibility criteria at the time of course commencement. The 2020/2021 courses opened for applications on 25 June. Visit www.springboardcourses.ie to find out what courses are available or freephone 1800 303 523.
Universities have a wide range of bursaries and scholarships for students (see testimonial below) that wish to pursue postgraduate education, far too many to mention in one article. The best advice here is to do your homework on the particular university you wish to study at to see what scholarships are available.
In the agriculture sphere, Teagasc’s Walsh Scholarships Programme is widely known. There are up to 30 new places each year with a grant of €22,000 per student.
The North/south postgraduate scholarships from Universities Ireland encourages outstanding students from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to cross the border to undertake postgraduate study and experience life in the other Irish jurisdiction. The scholarships are worth €15,000 each and were awarded to four students last year.
The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme offers scholars a stipend of €16,000/year, a contribution to fees up to a maximum of €5,750/year and eligible direct research expenses of €2,250/year. It is highly competitive, with an average success rate of 18% over the past five years.
The Irish Research Council’s Enterprise Partnership Scheme links researchers to enterprise. The scheme co-funds awardees to bring great research ideas into an enterprise with the support of a higher education institution. Awardees receive an annual package of up to €24,000/year. The Irish Research Council contributes up to €16,000/year and the enterprise partner contributes €8,000/year.
The National University of Ireland runs a range of award schemes at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Details of these for the coming academic year have yet to be released. Keep an eye on www.nui.ie/awards/ for more information.
Banks and credit unions offer student loans. To compare the rates offered by different banks the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has a really handy comparison tool. Visit ccpc.ie/consumers/financial-comparisons/ and click on the “Student Loans” section. It allows you to enter the amount you want to borrow and the term of your loan to find out the monthly repayments and total cost of credit on student loans that are available.
Niamh Bambrick
“When I completed my undergraduate degree in agricultural science, at UCD, I went straight into the Glanbia graduate programme. 
However, I’d like to get into purchasing and I’m interested in how the supply chain works. So I decided to do a master’s in science and supply chain management with Carlow IT.
“The fees were around €7,000 and I was going to pay for it myself. Carlow IT said that they would pay for it if I played GAA for the college, it seems a huge amount of third-level colleges save places for sports scholarships. I was working full time and wasn’t sure that I would be able to juggle work, study and sport. Then one of the staff in the Lifelong Learning section of the college told me that the master’s I had selected qualified for Springboard. I had never heard of it before. The college sent me a link to the application form and I filled out all the relevant details. I had to get a form from Glanbia to say I was in full-time employment as well, it was a really easy process. Springboard+ paid for nearly all my fees, the masters only cost me €700.
“It was meant to be a two-year part-time master’s, but I did it in a year and it was fairly intense. Some of the lectures were in the afternoon and only for Glanbia giving me the hours off in the evening I wouldn’t have been able to do it.
“I had no clue when I was applying for a master’s that this funding was available. But the application process couldn’t be easier, I’ve been recommending Springboard+ to all my friends ever since.”
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