The Student Grant Scheme is administered by the centralised student grant awarding authority Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills. Information in relation to student grants is available from SUSI’s website, www.susi.ie
The Student Grant Scheme which is mainstream funding provides maintenance support to undergraduate students pursuing approved third-level courses in approved institutions in Ireland or in the other E.U. Member States. An approved period of study which is an integral part of a course (within or outside the EU) may also be funded. The Student Grant Scheme does not extend to postgraduate courses pursued outside of Ireland.
The student grant, formerly called the maintenance grant, is the main source of financial help available from the Irish State for students in full-time publicly funded courses and full-time higher education undergraduate courses. Support is available to eligible students in most colleges in Ireland as well as eligible Irish students in many colleges in Northern Ireland, the UK and other EU States.
For eligible students, the grant is there to help with the various costs of participating in further or higher education for example the college registration fees and subsistence.
Family and/or personal income is a key factor that will be assessed when you apply for a student grant but there are also some other conditions. Students on part-time courses, access or foundation courses (in higher education institutions) and short courses are not eligible to apply for a student grant.
Visit the dedicated webpage for more information on the Student Grant including eligibility guidelines and how to apply.
Students going on Erasmus from Irish HEI’s with disabilities are entitled to apply for additional funding (special needs costs) through the Erasmus+ programme. This assistance is aimed at students who have a disability or special needs that would otherwise impact significantly on their ability to participate in Erasmus, and the support that may be offered is intended to help with the additional costs that would be incurred, for instance, a personal assistant, adapted accommodation, special transport, special didactic equipment or assistive technology, etc. This funding does not apply to on-going medical expenses that would normally be incurred in Ireland.