Funding

There has been a lot of publicity about the changes to the funding arrangements for people undertaking higher education studies.  Although the increase in tuition fees has made the most headlines there is good news about the increased levels of funding available to support students through grant, bursaries and loans.

There are differences between the rules governing full and part-time study but in general financial support can take one of 5 forms:

• Grants – non-repayable awards from the government to support you while you study. These depend on your household income.

• Bursaries and scholarships – these are non-repayable awards made by individual institutions either on the basis of you household income or they may be attached to certain subjects, the school or college you attended, or a number of other factors (information about these will be available on the website for each College or University you are interested in).

Funding your studies

• Fee grants (for part-time study) and loans (for full-time study) to help with the cost of taking a course. Grants are non-repayable and levels depend on the intensity of study and income. Loans are available to all full-time home students and are repaid out of your earnings once you complete the course.

• Access to Learning Fund – all Colleges and Universities have funding to support students who find themselves in difficulty once they have started their course. Information about this can be obtained from the Welfare or Student Support Office at the institution once you enrol.

• Student loans (for full-time study) to help with living expenses while you study - these are repaid out of your earnings once you complete the course.

More information about funding for full-time studies

More information about funding for part-time studies