Students urged to check for eligibility under expanded SUSI supports
You may be eligible for a SUSI grant
THIRD-level students and their families are urged to check if they are eligible for the expanded SUSI supports ahead of the new academic year.
The Department of Education is encouraging students and their families to visit susi.ie to see if they are eligible for grant support due to expanded eligibility criteria. Undergraduate students whose household reckonable income is under €115,000 may be eligible for financial support. Students do not need to have their leaving certificate results or to have accepted a course to apply.
Minister for further and higher education James Lawless said that he is “very aware” of the costs for students and families when attending further and higher education. “That is why my department expanded eligibility for grants by increasing income thresholds to provide greater support. Undergraduate students whose household income is under €115,000 may now be eligible for financial support,” he continued.
“These improvements are long-term, sustainable improvements which mark a significant step towards easing the financial burden on further and higher education students.”
Budget 2025 provided substantial improvements to the student grant scheme, including an increase to the income threshold for the special rate of grant from €26,200 to €27,400 in line with increases in social welfare rates. Other increases included all other maintenance and student contribution grant thresholds by at least 15%, the income deduction for student earnings outside of term time from €7,925 to €8,424 effective for the 2025/26 academic year and to the post-graduate fee contribution threshold to €64,315.
There is also an expansion of the eligibility criteria to allow students who have certain immigration permissions to apply for grants, while the part-time fee scheme for specified undergraduate courses will see more than 100 courses eligible, an increase from 62. A full list of the courses is available on www.susi.ie and the income threshold to avail of support has also increased to €64,315.
Minister Lawless noted: “All of these improved supports take effect from September this year. I would strongly urge students and parents to visit the SUSI website on www.susi.ie for further information and to find out if they are eligible for a grant.”
Students who are planning to attend further or higher education in the 2025/26 academic year should check eligibility and/or make an application for grant support. Students planning on attending further or higher education in the next academic year, should check online and check out the Eligibility Indicator. This is a quick and straightforward way to check funding eligibility.
Students are advised to apply as soon as possible in order to have their applications processed in time for the new academic year.
For the 2025/26 academic year, applications will be assessed on gross income for the period 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024. However, if there was a change in circumstances from 1 January 2025, members of the public can apply for their application to be assessed/reassessed by requesting a review of their application and stating change in circumstances as the grounds for review.
