Grant Eligibility
- Question
- Who is eligible for grant assistance for third level?
- Answer
-
"There is detailed information on the range of grants and funds for students in further and higher education on the website studentfinance.ie.
Maintenance grants
A maintenance grant is a contribution towards the student’s living costs, they are available for approved courses below graduate level in Ireland and other EU states.
Fee grants
A fee grant can cover any of the following 3 elements:
- All or part of the student contribution
- Costs of essential field trips
- All or part of a student’s tuition fees (unless covered by the Free Fees Scheme)
In general, if you qualify for a maintenance grant you will qualify for all elements of the fee grant. However, you will not get the tuition element of a fee grant if you already qualify for free tuition under the Free Fees Schemes.
You may qualify for a fee grant, but not a maintenance grant, if you are a 'tuition student' under the Student Grant Scheme. A tuition student is someone who fulfils all the conditions for a student grant except for residence in the State, but who has been resident in an EEA state or Switzerland for 3 of the last 5 years.
Students doing Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses do not get fee grants, but if you qualify for a maintenance grant you will be exempt from the PLC participant contribution.
Fee grants are available for approved courses below graduate level in Ireland. However, there are no fee grants for courses elsewhere in the EU.
To qualify for a student grant, you must fulfil the conditions of the scheme as regards:
Nationality and immigration status
Residence
Means
You must also be attending an approved course in an approved institution"
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