Maintenance for Postgraduates?

PDD

Hi Folks,

I am contemplating going back to do a postgraduate course and I was hoping people here could give me some help with regard to finance as this is the only hurdle at the moment. Do postgraduate courses qualify for maintenance grants?

Dave

Hi Folks,

I am contemplating going back to do a postgraduate course and I was hoping people here could give me some help with regard to finance as this is the only hurdle at the moment. Do postgraduate courses qualify for maintenance grants?

Dave

Hey Dave!

Short answer is yes, if it's in a public college, if you don't have any qualifications at that level before, if it's full-time. You also have to adhere to the individual rules regarding the getting of a grant such as residency, income limits, citizenship etc. etc. etc. You don't need to have received a grant before or anything.

Long answer, based on the short answer, is maybe . To find out more you should contact your local Council, or look at some of the links in my signature. They administer the scheme so they would be the ones to talk to about it. There are plans to change the scheme, with most of the changes pointed to begin in 2009/10 academic year but for the timebeing as far as I've heard the grant scheme shouldn't change too much this year (with some exceptions - ask the Council yourself for details on these, since, as I've said, they'd be much more up to date).

If you pursue a course part-time, you could avail of tax relief on the fees which would be something.

There are the options of scholarships/funding made available by the relevant colleges or other awarding bodies. If you're pursuing a research masters or PhD you might get private funding from a company or else funding from the above bodies, or else the course you would apply for might come with funding already!

That's all I can think of right now - I'm sure others will reply with more detailed information regarding financing a postgrad.

Dónal

ucdperson

Two other points

A mature student (> 23) will be assessed on their own means, a younger person will be assessed on their family means.

There is a limit on the postgraduate fee payable by the grant, some courses may charge more than this, so you may have to make up the difference.

PDD

Hi Guys,

Cheers for the feedback, really appreciated. Im basically giving up a decent IT job with good prospects to go back and do a research PhD with a view to commercialising the research. Unfortunately any funding from the likes of IRCSET is pretty much out due to a less than stellar academic performance so at this stage it looks like Im reliant on a bursary for demonstrating (which isn't set in stone) and making ends meet from grants or minor private funding. I would love to chat to someone who has gone the route of commercialisation.

From looking at my local councils website I wouldnt qualify for assessment as an independent mature student, I recently bought a place and was living with my parents up until I moved into it. The criteria is that you have to have been out of home since October of the previous year but I only got the keys in Nov (due to an absolute wanker of a builder who help up the sale for over 7 months). Any idea if there is some lee-way there?

Dave

PDD

PDD wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Cheers for the feedback, really appreciated. Im basically giving up a decent IT job with good prospects to go back and do a research PhD with a view to commercialising the research. Unfortunately any funding from the likes of IRCSET is pretty much out due to a less than stellar academic performance so at this stage it looks like Im reliant on a bursary for demonstrating (which isn't set in stone) and making ends meet from grants or minor private funding. I would love to chat to someone who has gone the route of commercialisation.

From looking at my local councils website I wouldnt qualify for assessment as an independent mature student, I recently bought a place and was living with my parents up until I moved into it. The criteria is that you have to have been out of home since October of the previous year but I only got the keys in Nov (due to an absolute wanker of a builder who help up the sale for over 7 months). Any idea if there is some lee-way there?

Dave

I know someone who received funding from companies for his PhD (Comp Sci) although I don't know how he went about it. Still, if there's some benefit to be achieved from it (to the company) it would be a good idea to contact them!

As for grants, you're right that the rules say the 1st of October previously, but (as I've said elsewhere) there have been cases of councils bending the rules somewhat. It's certainly worth raising the point with them, especially if there was an expected completion date in writing somewhere. Otherwise, there are plans in the ether to change the system but what changes will be made for this year are still unknown.

Hope it all works out in the end though

D.

The Saint

Hey guys.
Sorry to dig up an old thread but I posted this in the State Benifits forum and recieved no reply:

I've recently finished my undergraduate degree and am seeking to do full time taught MA in a university. I did my undergrad through the Open University part time while working the whole time. I did not seek any government help for this nor did I claim any tax back on my fees. I've been working in the same job for the last 10 years. I have never recieved any benifits (grant, dole, etc.) from the state.

I'm 28 and from Limerick but have been working in Dublin for the last 10 years. I want to do the MA in UL so I plan to move back to Limerick for it. I plan to work until the point of when the course starts in September.

What I'd like to know is am I entitled to any state help like a maintainance grant while doing the MA? If not I will not be able to support myself and don't know if I'd be able to undertake further study. I've looked at the government web sites but they make little sense to me.
Thanks for any help.

Hey The Saint,

First of all, you may still be able to claim tax back on the fees you paid at the Open University so you should definitely look into that with Revenue.

Apart from that, if you do a full-time MA and you're independent from your parents you may be eligible, yes.

It's difficult to go into more detail at the moment - where have you been confused with the grant scheme? Feel free to ask any questions and I'm sure someone will answer them

Dónal

The Saint

Thanks for the reply Dónal.
Well I'm not sure if I'd be applying as a mature student but I'd assume I would be.
There's also stuff on the site about needing to be living in the cachment area for a certain period of time but I'm not sure if that applies to my situation.
On the site there just seems to be links to links and it's difficult to navegate your own circumstances.
Then they're saying that you need to apply to your local VEC, but I've been living in Dublin for the last 10 years and the university is in Limerick.
I don't even know if I have a place in the course yet and I've also applied to Cork as a second choice also.

After going through all the sites I'm not sure what forms I have to fill in or who I have to talk to. Bah.

On claiming back OU fees. Who would I call or what form would I fill out for this? How far back can I claim from or is it just the last year.
Thanks again Dónal.
I'm just baffled. Not used to dealing with the state.

OK, well to start you don't have to apply until the middle of summer, with the closing date this year looking like it will be the 29th of August, so you don't have to get stressed about it all ... yet

As for what you have to fill in, there is one single application form for the grant available here (PDF) - but don't bother printing it off since you can contact your local Council or VEC and they'll send you out the details. Still, that's what will need to be filled in. It can take time, and it looks daunting but the Council/VEC can help you along the process.

Generally you go by the Council/VEC in the area you were living in last october (01/10/2007) if you are starting college this year (2008). So you can contact your local Dublin VEC/Council to start. They will be administering the scheme so they will have all the information you need, including forms, what you need to hand in, what you need to find out etc. So really the best people you can talk to is that one.

Claiming tax relief - you should contact your local Tax office. On the revenue site you could go and have a look, or else you could put in your PPSN here and it will let you know where your local tax office is. I know that last line sounds dodgy, as if I'm asking you to give away personal details but if you click the line you'll find that you end up on the Revenue website!

So grant-wise, go to your local VEC/Council in the area you were living last October. At least, that's a good place to start

D.

The Saint

Thanks for the help Dónal. At least I have a starting point to go from now. I suppose when I find out if I got a place would be a good time to start talking to people and filling in forms.
Thanks again.

Sure thing, but do keep in mind the closing date and that it can take some time to get the necessary documentation for the application form.

petethebrick

ucdperson wrote: »

Two other points

A mature student (> 23) will be assessed on their own means, a younger person will be assessed on their family means.

There is a limit on the postgraduate fee payable by the grant, some courses may charge more than this, so you may have to make up the difference.

Plus you'll only qualify as an independent mature student if you were living away from home in Aug/Sept of the year before starting the course. I was last year after having spent two years working/ living abroad and so was denied the grant. I worked/rented from November but bstards claimed rules were rules.

highgiant1985

petethebrick wrote: »

Plus you'll only qualify as an independent mature student if you were living away from home in Aug/Sept of the year before starting the course. I was last year after having spent two years working/ living abroad and so was denied the grant. I worked/rented from November but bstards claimed rules were rules.

in terms of living away from home what proof do you need? i.e. as in I'm currently renting but with live in landlord so its all bills in her name all i have is a rent book which is just a notebook she signs to say ive paid rent for the month. would i need something more offically than this? can you suggest what?

petethebrick

I think a rent book is fine. Any official correspondence to the address such as bank statements etc is also ok