Financial Assistance for Postgraduates
Registered postgraduates may apply to PAS for some financial assistance to help with living expenses and, in certain circumstances, for a waiver/ refund of the Student Levies and Charges (SLC).
All applications are assessed individually against the funds available and an award is made against a specific cost (e.g. rent, childcare, emergency medical expenses). Due to the limited funds available, the number of successful recipients and amounts awarded varies each year. Unfortunately there is no Financial Assistance available to help students with tuition fees.
There is an appeals procedure available for students who wish to appeal a decision of the committee. In the first instance you should contact the Postgraduate Student Support Officer to discuss your case. If you are still not satisfied, the PGSSO will provide you with the information for taking an appeal.
Postgraduate Student Assistance Fund
Applications to the Postgraduate Student Assistance Fund are now open.
Please ensure you submit your final application by the closing date of Thursday 7 November at 1pm.
Please ensure you have your documentation saved as a single PDF before completing the online application.
Before starting your online application, it is essential to review the Presentation Slides plus the Recording of the SAF Information Session we ran in October and then follow the 8 Steps outlined below.
Applications to the Postgraduate Student Assistance Fund are now closed. The online application form is no longer available.
The Postgraduate Student Assistance Fund (SAF) is operated by PAS behalf of the Postgraduate Financial Assistance Committee and provides financial support to registered postgraduates who are experiencing short or long-term financial difficulties while attending higher education. The SAF is co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Social Funds Qualifying criteria for financial assistance are approved annually by the Postgraduate Financial Assistance Committee chaired by the Senior Tutor and whose membership includes the Dean of Graduate Studies and a student representative. All applications are treated in confidence, and are subject to the Senior Tutor Services Privacy Statement STO Privacy Statement.
If you are considering submitting an application, make sure to complete the 8 step process below and read the Guidelines on Supporting Documentation.
Follow the Eight Steps for applying to the Postgraduate Student Assistance Fund (SAF):
Step 1: Review the SAF information below to ensure you understand the process fully before applying
Step 2: Download and complete the Personal Statement Form outlining your current financial situation and indicating what you would allocate funding to if successful (e.g. one month’s rent, or three months’ transport costs)
Step 3: Gather your Supporting Documentation (detailed list of what is required is below and also outlined in the online application). For each of the categories below (rent, utilities etc.), we can allocate funding if the relevant documentation is provided. Documentation supplied must be in English or accompanied by a certified translation.
Step 4: Merge your Personal Statement Form with all your Supporting Documentation to create 1 single PDF. Note: only 1 PDF file per student can be accepted, this must contain ALL required documents
Step 5: Rename your PDF using the format: surname_firstname_studentnumber_PGSAF
Step 6: Complete the SAF Online Application Form linked here: 2024-25 PG SAF Application link. Note: you MUST have all required documentation and your Personal Statement saved as a single PDF before completing the online application form.
Step 7: Upload the PDF to the online application form when prompted to do so.
Step 8: Ensure you have entered your bank details accurately on your my.tcd.ie portal as all payments are made directly to this account.
Guidelines on required Supporting Documentation - no application will be assessed until this has been received (in full)
Single/ Independent Students
Below is a list of the documentation which is required for students who are classified as independent or who are unmarried/ not in a civil partnership. A student is classified as independent if they were 23 years of age or above on the first of January in the year they commenced their current course:
- Core Documents: Without the core documentation, applications will not be considered
- Applicant’s Summary of Income (Statement of Liability -formerly P21) or equivalent from where you resided last year, or Social Welfare letter OR Your SUSI confirmation letter with the reckonable income page included
- 3 months’ most recent bank statements for student
- Applicant’s payslips (most recent 3, if currently employed)
- Additional Documents: include all that apply to you, for additional funding
- Scholarship/studentship details
- Proof of rent if applicable (lease, license agreement, rent book)
- A recent household utility bill (light, heat etc.). Address must be the same as the rental property above)
- A recent internet provider bill for the applicant (if applicable)
- Evidence of costs of recent essential travel to College or placement
- Evidence of medical/ dental costs not covered by insurance or a medical card
- Evidence of any mandatory professional registration costs (for placement)
- If the applicant has dependents in childcare (registered providers only) or full-time education, evidence of this must be provided
- Proof of single parent family income/ child maintenance agreement (if applicable)
Married and/or Dependent Students
Below is a list of the documentation which is required for students who are married/ civil partnered or who are classified as a dependent student. A student is classified as dependent if they were under 23 years of age on the first of January in the year they commenced their current course:
- Core Documents: Without the core documentation, applications will not be considered
- Applicant’s Summary of Income* (Statement of Liability -formerly P21) or equivalent from where you resided last year, or Social Welfare letter OR Your SUSI confirmation letter with the reckonable income page included
- 3 months’ most recent bank statements for student
- Applicant’s payslips (most recent 3, if currently employed)
- Additional Documents: include all that apply to you, for additional funding
- Scholarship/studentship details
- Proof of rent if applicable (lease, license agreement, rent book)
- A recent household utility bill (light, heat etc.). Address must be the same as the rental property above)
- A recent internet provider bill for the applicant (if applicable)
- Evidence of costs of recent essential travel to College or placement
- Evidence of medical/ dental costs not covered by insurance or a medical card
- Evidence of any mandatory professional registration costs (for placement)
- If the applicant has dependents in childcare (registered providers only) or full-time education, evidence of this must be provided
- Proof of single parent family income/ child maintenance agreement (if applicable)
Note*: If you are a Dependent/Married Student, your Parents’ or Spouse’s proof of income for 2023 must be included - This is a core document, applications cannot be considered without this.
Qualifying criteria for financial assistance are approved annually by the Board of the College. All applications are treated in confidence, and are considered by the Postgraduate Financial Assistance Committee whose membership includes the Senior Tutor and Vice President of the GSU. The committee is chaired by the Dean of Graduate Studies.
Student Levies & Charges (SLC) Waiver
Postgraduate students can apply for a waiver or refund of the Student Levies & Charges (SLC). The SLC can only be waived in cases where the student has already been approved for Postgraduate Financial Assistance for that year or in the case of students whose whole household income is reliant on social welfare and where evidence of this has been provided.
It is not possible to waive this fee in any other circumstances.
An application must be completed and emailed to postgrad.support@tcd.ie with any relevant backup documentation scanned and emailed to the same address in one file only. No applications will be reviewed until relevant backup documentation has been provided.Please ensure your email has the following subject line format:
surname_firstname_student number_docs_SPORTThe closing date for final receipt of application forms is 5pm on the last Friday of the semester 2 teaching weeks. No application forms will be accepted after this date. Students may claim for an SLC wavier/ refund for the current academic year only.
The application form may be found here: