Student Finance NI - Special Support Grant

Benefit

You will receive up to £3,569 per academic year (about 4,175 EUR) for 2026/27. It covers 12 months of study, and you can receive it again each academic year. This is a grant that you do not have to repay. Exception: You may have to repay the money if your household income is reassessed or if you withdraw from your course early and have received too much. The money will be paid into your bank account each term, together with any ‘Maintenance Loan’ (the student loan for living costs). Payments are made by Student Finance NI, the official student finance body in Northern Ireland.

There are two ways in which this support differs from other student grants: it does not result in a reduction in your maintenance loan. Furthermore, it is not counted as income when calculating your social security benefits, such as Universal Credit or housing benefit.

Eligibility

• Your situation: At least one of the following applies to you:

  You are a single parent of a child under the age of 20 who is still at school.
  You and your partner are both students and have such a child.
  You receive certain disability benefits, such as Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or the means-tested Employment and Support Allowance.
  You are deaf and receive the Disabled Students’ Allowance.
  You are entitled to housing benefit.
  You are 60 years old or older.
  You have been unable to work for at least 28 weeks.

• Household income: Your household earns less than £41,065 per year (approximately 48,000 EUR). If your income is £19,203 (approximately 22,500 EUR) or less, you may be entitled to the full amount. If your income is higher, you will receive a partial grant.
• Where you live: You normally live in Northern Ireland. Before starting your degree programme, you had been living in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years.
• Nationality: Those eligible include British and Irish nationals, EU citizens with ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’ status, and refugees.
• Course: You are studying full-time to obtain your first higher education qualification. This may be a bachelor’s degree (BA, BSc, BEd), a Foundation Degree, an HNC, an HND, a higher education certificate or diploma, or a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE). At least half of your course must take place in the United Kingdom or Ireland.
• Field of study: Every subject at every university.
• Age: There is no lower or upper age limit.
• Other grants: You cannot get this grant and the Maintenance Grant at the same time.

How to apply

You apply for the grant each year as part of your regular application for student finance to Student Finance NI. There is no separate form. Student Finance NI will check whether you meet the eligibility criteria and let you know how much you will receive.

If you want to explore funding beyond the Student Finance NI grant, you will find further options in our guide Scholarships in the United Kingdom.