Advancing Access Postgraduate Bursary
UCC is committed in its Strategic Plan 2023-28 under Student Success (Goal Two) to widening access to postgraduate programmes. In line with this goal, Access UCC, with the support of philanthropic donors, has initiated the “Advancing Access Postgraduate Bursary” for Access students who were registered or supported by Disability Support(DS), HEAR, Mature or QQI/FET during their undergraduate degree and wish to continue onto postgraduate study in UCC.
What we offer
The Advancing Access Postgraduate Bursary for 2026/27 will support up to ten suitably qualified candidates intending to pursue full-time postgraduate courses (NFQ Level 8, 9 or 10 Major Award) for the first time at one of these levels in any discipline in UCC. UCC reserves the right to vary the number of scholarships on offer each year.
The duration of the Advancing Access Postgraduate Bursary will be for a maximum of one year for each successful candidate and for the first year of their study only.
The value of the scholarship will be up to a maximum of €5,000 for one year and cannot be deferred.
Eligibility
Potential applicants should carefully ascertain their eligibility before applying for this bursary. All applicants will be required to submit all relevant documentation as part of the application and selection process.
To be eligible, applicants must qualify for SUSI support (or equivalent), and the household income must be below:
The SUSI threshold for students who do not receive a maintenance payment but qualify for either 50% of tuition fees or 100% of the student contribution. For 2026/27, this limit is €64,315 for families with fewer than four children (with higher limits applying for larger families).
All applicants must have been registered with and/or supported by one of the Access UCC constituent services – Disability Supports, HEAR/Plus Programme, Mature Student Office or QQI/FET Supports – during their undergraduate degree in UCC. Students must also be registered EU students (subject to EU status or have official Refugee Status) to apply for the bursary.
All applicants must have completed their undergraduate degree within 1 year of the start date of this bursary (i.e., for Sept 2026 entrants, they must have completed their undergraduate degree either in the 2024/25 or 2025/26 academic years).
Ineligible applications
In addition to the above, applications will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered for funding if:
- An application has not been submitted via the online system by the relevant deadline. No hard copies or email forms will be accepted.
- An applicant in receipt of another bursary, scholarship, award, or prize worth €2,000 or more (excluding SUSI) in the same academic year as this postgraduate bursary. This includes awards such as the 1916 Tier 1 Bursary, IRC Scholarships, SFI Scholarships, and similar funding.
Thinking about applying?
Please make yourself familiar with this documentation and the requirements of the online application form, and submit any queries to studentassistancefund@ucc.ie.
You can make an application to the bursary through this link.
The closing date is Friday, 22nd May, 12 noon. All applicants will be notified at end of June of the outcome of their application.
What documents will I need to provide?
SUSI Grant Award Letter
Most applicants will only need to provide a SUSI award letter for either the 2025/26 academic year or the 2026/27 academic year, if available. If you cannot provide either of these, you will need to book an appointment with the team to progress your application Link to appointment booking. Please select the relevant Bursary in the Reason for appointment field.
Please note, if you completed your undergraduate degree in the 2024/2025 academic year, we can accept the SUSI letter for that year if you have not yet received one for the upcoming academic year.
The SUSI Letter provided must be the most recent SUSI grant award letter you have received.
Postgraduate Course Documentation
You will need to upload one of the following to support your application:
- A copy of your offer to the postgraduate programme
- An acceptance letter to show that you are enrolled in the postgraduate course
- An email from the course director or similar to stating that you have applied to/been accpted for a place on the postgraduate course
- A PDF copy of your application to the Postgraduate course
Please note: All documentation must be uploaded in PDF format.
Assessment Process
Applications are first checked by UCC for eligibility.
All applications will be assessed solely based on the material provided at the time of submission. The Review Board reserve the right to call selected applicants to an interview for further discussion and clarification of their application.
Award holders will be selected following a transparent, merit-based, impartial and equitable selection procedure.
Applications are assessed under the following areas:
Financial Documentation
- Current year SUSI documentation for 2025/26 suffices or 2026/27 if available.
HEAR/1916 Tier 2 & 3
- These students have already completed a full verification of their socio-economic, cultural, and financial circumstances.
Priority Cohorts
These cohorts have been identified as either part of the National Access Plan or National Access Routes.
- Students who were in the care of the state/TUSLA
- Students who are from the Roma Community
- Students who are from the Irish Traveller Community
- Students who have a priority disability - Physical, Vision or Deaf (as outlined in the DARE Disability Access Route to Education scheme).
Personal Statement
(700 words approx. – exactly 3,750 characters with spaces)
This should focus on, but not fully limited to:
- the barriers/challenges you have faced getting into and through your undergraduate degree.
- how this bursary would help in your postgraduate study from a financial and personal perspective.
- the educational levels of the rest of your family.
- Any other relevant information.
A review board will assess applications. Eligible candidates will be scored based on the above criteria. UCC’s determination of the successful awardee(s) is final.
Appeals Process
Applicants can appeal the outcome of their application in respect of process or administrative error only. The process is handled by an Independent Appeals Panel, and the decision of this board is final. Any such appeal must be completed within 14 days of the applicant being made aware of the outcome of their application by emailing appealsstudentassistancefund@ucc.ie. No new documentation or information can be provided. There is no further stage of appeal beyond the final decision made by the Appeals Board.