SUSI for postgraduates 2026/27: fee contribution, income limits and which courses qualify

The three postgraduate awards

SUSI lists three kinds of funding for postgraduates. Which one you get depends on where your household’s 2025 reckonable income sits in the table below.

1. Special rate: tuition fees paid up to €6,270, plus the special rate of maintenance (€7,936 non-adjacent, €3,230 adjacent). Income under €28,600 and a long-term Department of Social Protection payment in the household on 31 December 2025.
2. Fee contribution plus maintenance: up to €4,500 towards fees, plus the maintenance rate for your band (Band 1 to Band 4). Income under €47,010 to €58,470, depending on band and family size.
3. Fee contribution only: up to €4,500 towards fees and no maintenance. Income under €64,315 (fewer than 4 children).

The fee contribution rose by €500 to €4,500 for 2026/27 under Budget 2026. It is paid to the college, not to you, and it is a cap: if your fees are €3,800, SUSI pays €3,800; if they are €9,500, SUSI pays €4,500 and you owe the rest.

Postgraduate income thresholds 2026/27

Reckonable income must be under the figure shown. The columns are the number of dependent children in the household, including you if you are a dependent student. Each additional family member in full-time further or higher education adds €4,950 to the special rate, Band 1 and fee-only limits, and €4,785 to Bands 2 to 4.

Maintenance rates are identical to the undergraduate scheme: €4,722 for Band 1 non-adjacent down to €612 for Band 4 adjacent, paid in nine monthly instalments. The full list, with monthly amounts, is on the rates page. Unlike undergraduates, there is no fee support above €64,315: the 50% and €500 student contribution tiers do not exist at postgraduate level.

Which courses qualify

An approved postgraduate course must tick three boxes: it is run by an approved institution, it is full-time and lasts at least one year, and it leads to a major award on the National Framework of Qualifications at Level 8 (Higher Diploma), Level 9 (Postgraduate Diploma or Masters) or Level 10 (Doctorate). The approved institutions in the State for 2026/27 are:

• Atlantic Technological University
• Dublin City University
• Maynooth University
• Munster Technological University
• University College Dublin
• University College Cork
• University of Galway
• Trinity College Dublin
• Technological University Dublin
• Technological University of the Shannon
• South East Technological University
• University of Limerick
• Dundalk Institute of Technology
• Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology
• National College of Art and Design
• National College of Ireland
• Marino Institute of Education
• Mary Immaculate College

Four professional bodies are approved for prescribed courses only: the Law Society of Ireland (Professional Practice Course), the Honorable Society of King’s Inns (Barrister-at-Law degree), the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Pontifical College Maynooth. In Northern Ireland, full-time postgraduate courses of at least a year at Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster qualify, along with the PGCE at Stranmillis and the Irish-medium PGCE at St Mary’s College, Belfast.

Progression: the rule that catches people

SUSI funds you to move up the framework, once per level. The Student Grant Scheme 2026 sets it out level by level:

• Level 8 Higher Diploma: eligible if it is your first postgraduate course. Not eligible if you already hold any postgraduate award at Level 8 or above.
• Level 9 Masters or Postgraduate Diploma: eligible if it is your first postgraduate course, or you hold only a Level 8 postgraduate award. Not eligible if you already hold a Level 9 award, except that a Postgraduate Diploma holder can progress to a Masters (or the King’s Inns or Law Society courses) if they have never started a Level 10 course.
• Level 10 Doctorate: eligible if you have not already held a Level 10 award, including progression from a Level 9.

A repeat year on the same course is not funded except in exceptional circumstances, and there is a maximum number of years of grant assistance across your whole education.

What SUSI does not cover for postgraduates

• The balance of fees above €4,500 (or above €6,270 at the special rate). Most taught masters in Ireland cost more, so budget for the gap.
• Part-time, online, modular or blended courses. The scheme is full-time only at postgraduate level.
• Courses outside Ireland, other than the four Northern Ireland institutions above. A masters in England, Scotland, Wales or elsewhere in the EU is not funded.
• Fees already covered elsewhere. If a scholarship, studentship, employer or sponsor pays your full tuition, you are not eligible for the fee contribution (article 12(3) of the Scheme). Maintenance is assessed separately.
• Maintenance while on Back to Education Allowance. BTEA recipients and tuition students (resident in the EU but not Ireland for 3 of the last 5 years) can get the fee element only.
• A second qualification at the same level, as set out under progression above, and living costs beyond the maintenance rate: there is no rent or accommodation element.

Applying as a postgraduate

Same online form at susi.ie, with your postgraduate course entered under course details. Moving from an undergraduate degree to a masters counts as a new application, not a renewal, even at the same college. The priority date for 2026/27 was 9 July; applications stay open until the final closing date, which SUSI has not yet announced (see the late application guide). Whose income counts depends on your applicant class: under 23 when you first entered college, or living with your parents, means their income is included, even for a masters. To see your likely band, choose “Postgraduate” in the calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: the 2026/27 postgraduate threshold table on susi.ie, the approved institutions list on susi.ie, articles 12 and 18 and Schedule 4 of the Student Grant Scheme 2026, and the Budget 2026 changes announced on susi.ie. Figures checked on 5 September 2026.