Grants for a Masters?

Deliverance

Hi there, I'm thinking about applying for a Masters, anyone know if the grant is available for a Masters level? I am elegible for a grant based on status and all that, but I'm not sure if it is actually available for a Masters course. Any advice on this would be appreciated, thanks for any replies.

reregholdsworth

Deliverance wrote: »

Hi there, I'm thinking about applying for a Masters, anyone know if the grant is available for a Masters level? I am elegible for a grant based on status and all that, but I'm not sure if it is actually available for a Masters course. Any advice on this would be appreciated, thanks for any replies.

If you are eligible for the grant and this is your first Masters then you will receive the grant. So you will have your fees paid for you and may even receive a maintenance grant.

It is indeed available for people pursuing Masters - however, only if they are full-time.

The criteria is the same - have a look at some of the links in my signature.

The Saint

Hey.
I'm in a similar position to the OP. I've been offered a masters place in UL and have accepted it. I'm planning to apply for a maintainance grant whenever the VEC send me out the application form. However, I wasn't aware that it might be possible to have the fees paid for me. I assumed that I would have to pay for the whole lot. Can someone please tell me how to go about getting these fees paid and how the procedure works?
Much thanks in advance.

Edit: By the way I'm a mature student.

Quite simply, you apply for a grant. That's it! There's no additional procedure. Keep in mind that there's a limit of around €6,200 per year's fees above which you have to pay the fees. But if you get a grant the Council/VEC sorts the payment out for you.

That's it!

The Saint

That's super. Thanks for that. I thought I'd have to pay everything but if I dont' I'll have a few grand more behind me to help subsidise my life as a poor student. Hopefully I'll get the grant now.

I'm currently putting my documentation together for the grant. Just a question on this. I've been looking at your MyGrant.ie site and I see that I need a Certificate of interest received on savings/deposits. Do I just ask the bank for this? I see on your sire you say I need 3 utility bills or such to show my address as of October last year. On the studentfinance.ie site it only says I need one. I presume an Eircom bill will cover this. If I'm a independent mature student what else do I need? I have my P60, Long form birth cert and P21 on the way.

Thanks for this. I'd imagine I'll be annoying you a fair bit in the coming weeks. Ha.

Myth wrote: »

Quite simply, you apply for a grant. That's it! There's no additional procedure. Keep in mind that there's a limit of around €6,200 per year's fees above which you have to pay the fees. But if you get a grant the Council/VEC sorts the payment out for you.

That's it!

At the moment, I'd look at the studentfinance.ie site before I'd look at MyGrant.ie since that is now the official word on the grant. I haven't updated mine since last year so it needs a major clean-up.

Have a look below for a checklist for the grant:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/References/checklists/checklist-of-documents-needed-when-applying-for-a-student-grant

nuig4

Im planning on doing an engineering masters, i wasnt eledgable for the maintenance grant at 3rd level. Is there funding available to me?? thanks

Possibly - there are too many scenarios of 'if', 'but', and 'and' which you've to adhere to. Have a look at some of the links below (and in my sig) and if there's anything you don't understand feel free to pop it up here.

Deliverance

Thanks very much for the feedback, it is good to know that I can still get the grant. Anyone know the deadline for applying for the maintenance grant? I think it is pretty early on in the year as they have a lot of paper work to do.

The last working day of August, so the 29th I think it is this year. There's discussion on-going at the moment and word is that it will be changing to May from next year onwards.

Some Councils/VECs take applications after that date, mind.

randomchild

Hey I have a question, thought it would be best to post it here. I am going into final year arts, a current grant holder and am currently looking into a postgrad. I am intrested in doing two completely diffrent ones:

Law in DIT
Creative Writing in Trinity

They are both level9 qualifications and it my understanding that I can only have a grant for one of them. Is this true, or would it be possible to do one after the other and have my grant available both times?

If it's at the same level, you can get a grant for the first time you do it. Similar to you doing a second degree (which isn't progression from one level to another) - you pay for it yourself!

chunkis

Hi, ive just completed level 8 and i want to go into level 9, ive been receiving the grant and was wondering if will i get it for level 9

Cavehill Red

This is a six year old thread. There are no longer maintenance grants for master's degrees.

superLeetive

Cavehill Red wrote: »

This is a six year old thread. There are no longer maintenance grants for master's degrees.

To clarify, although there are no longer maintenance grants allocated for post-graduate study, there are still fee grants given to existing recipients of the special rate of grant i.e. those that were entitled to and awarded the special rate of grant for their final year of undergraduate study. This fee grants covers tuition at post-grad level up to a maximum of €6,270 so chunkis may have to put money towards this her/him-self, obviously depending on the cost of her/his chosen course.

A further roughly 2,000 who would have previously qualified for a post-grad grant are awarded €2,000 towards the cost of their tuition.

Viva La Gloria

Yeah, I was able to get around €780 maitenance during my second last and last year of undergraduate study but can't get anything off my fees for my masters unfortunately because I didn't qualify for the special rate...despite clearly not being in a position to fork out €6,000 because I earn €14,000 a year. So a credit union loan was the only way to go. Trying to claim tax relief though, at least then that would be something off the cost of it.

To even qualify for €2,000 assistance off fees for postgraduate study, your income (combined with your parents' income if you live at home) for the previous year cannot exceed €31,500.

chunkis

cheers guys for replying, i did know it was an old thread so i wasn`t sure if anybody was going to reply, at the moment i get my fees paid for and i get back to education allowance on top of that, is this the special rate grant your talking about?

If so, what from does this fee grant come in the form of? does it mean i can get 6270 towards my masters fees, but i don`t get back to education?

sorry if that sounds like a dumb question

millivanilli

Can you just clarify, I am entitled to special rate of grant as per the guidelines, but I wasn't entitled to it in my final year of undergrad studies, which was in 2012. Does this mean I won;t qualify to get fees paid for a masters? thanks, thought i finally had my head around guidelines but they don;t make it easy!

Viva La Gloria

As far as I know, this website should have all of the imformation you need.

I just know that the speial rate of grant for postgraduate funding is €20,850

Annasopra

chunkis wrote: »

cheers guys for replying, i did know it was an old thread so i wasn`t sure if anybody was going to reply, at the moment i get my fees paid for and i get back to education allowance on top of that, is this the special rate grant your talking about?

If so, what from does this fee grant come in the form of? does it mean i can get 6270 towards my masters fees, but i don`t get back to education?

sorry if that sounds like a dumb question

It depends what the level 9 is.

You don't get BTEA for masters but it is available for hdips

There are two types of grant you can get

1. a fee grant of 2000 eur
or
2. a fee grant of upto 6270

This explains it fully

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/third_level_education/fees_and_supports_for_third_level_education/postgraduate_student_grant.html

Annasopra

millivanilli wrote: »

Can you just clarify, I am entitled to special rate of grant as per the guidelines, but I wasn't entitled to it in my final year of undergrad studies, which was in 2012. Does this mean I won;t qualify to get fees paid for a masters? thanks, thought i finally had my head around guidelines but they don;t make it easy!

This should explain it fully

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/third_level_education/fees_and_supports_for_third_level_education/postgraduate_student_grant.html

You should be aware just in case though that you might think you are eligible but you might not be eligible.