€2,000 Bursaries to Help Postgraduate Students
There has been a substantial increase in the number of postgraduate students in Ireland in recent years but it is feared that the change in the Student Grant Scheme as part of Budget 2012 may affect the numbers adversely.
The bursaries are specifically designed to ensure that students who were previously in receipt of a local authority grant and as a result of the changes in the scheme are no longer eligible are not disadvantaged.To be eligible, the student must have qualified for Local Authority, VEC or Department of Education grants in the final year of their bachelor’s degrees. The bursaries are not limited to UCC graduates; the scheme is open to students from any Irish HE institution who graduated since 2009 and who will commence a full time taught Post graduate programme in UCC in September 2012.
UCC have decided not to limit the number of bursaries as supplying suitably qualified graduates is one of its actions to support the government’s 2012 Action Plan for Jobs.
“There is great merit in offering these Bursaries”, says Dr Michael Murphy, President of UCC. “We know that the removal of the Government grant will have caused some problems for students and we hope that this measure alleviates the financial difficulties. This support for our postgraduate students complements the support that UCC offers disadvantaged students through it Access programme and Talented Student Programme at UCC. We think it is very important to support our students at this time as well-qualified postgraduate students will be an important part of Ireland’s economic recovery”.
In 2011, 3,691 postgraduate students registered to study across UCCs four Colleges (College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, College of Business and Law, College of Medicine and Health and the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science) undertaking studies ranging from Higher Diplomas to doctoral research degrees. With over 200 taught and research programmes, UCC is one of the most popular universities for postgraduate study in Ireland.
In deciding to undertake a post graduate programme, a student must be convinced of the career prospects and standing of the university. UCC’s excellent reputation and support for all students, especially disadvantages students, is one of the major reasons for its designation as the ‘Sunday Times Irish University of the Year 2011-12’ and ‘Ireland’s first Five Star University’ (QS Stars 2011).
Other national programmes that provide financial support for suitably qualified students to undertake postgraduate studies include the Graduate Skills Conversion Programme (GSCP), a joint initiative with the Department of Education and Science and the Higher Education Authority. The aim of this programme is to provide graduates with the opportunity to acquire qualifications for employment in the ICT area. These postgraduate courses are provided at reduced fees (€2,750) and aim to enhance Ireland’s competency in this economically important area. ICT is just one of the many options available to students; the full range of UCC post graduate programmes is available on http://www.ucc.ie/en/study/postgrad/what/colleges/
For Ireland to prosper in the future, all sectors in the economy must play their part and it is in this vein that UCC launch a €2,000 bursary to ensure equality of access to UCC taught Post Graduate Programmes. Full details of the bursary scheme are on the University website http://www.ucc.ie/en/financeoffice/fees/