Student Assistance Fund

Student Support & Development operate the Student Assistance Fund (SAF) providing financial support to students who are experiencing short or long-term financial difficulties while attending higher education.  The Higher Education Authority (HEA) manages it on behalf of the Department of Further & Higher Education, Research, Innovation & Science.  

The fund is open to full-time and part-time students aimed at tackling educational disadvantage by providing financial support to those who may require additional financial support to enable them to benefit fully from their higher education.

Students can only apply once within an academic year

2025/2026 

October 2025 - Applications will be open to DCU registered eligible students in October for a period of three weeks  

February 2026 - Applications will be open again for two weeks to students who have not applied previously in the current academic year.

The SAF fund is not open to late applications

Emergency Applications - Emergency applications outside of the above dates October/February by first time or previous applicants within an academic year, can be made should a student encounter sudden serious adverse financial circumstances during the year.  The student can contact us to arrange a meeting to discuss their change of circumstances.  Please see 'Query' section below for contact details.

A SAF award is a once off payment unless a further emergency award is successful.

Eligibility

1. Students (Registered on higher education programmes of not less than one year in duration) –

• Full time students on courses that lead to a higher education award at level 6 to 10 of the National Framework of Qualifications - NFQ  https://nfq.qqi.ie/)         
• Part-time students on courses that lead to a higher education award at level 6 to 10 of the national framework of qualifications (as above) – Blended/Distance learning programmes
• Students on Springboard+/Human Capital Initiative courses, or who are on blended/distance learning courses, are eligible to apply subject to meeting the criteria outline above.
• PhD students Year 1-4.  Students who have completed four years of their studies, on a case-by-case basis, may also be given consideration for support.

2. Students with a previous higher education qualification at the same NFQ level, or who, in the past, attended higher education without ultimately obtaining a qualification, may be considered for support on a case-by-case basis and subject to available funding.
3. The DCU Student Assistance Fund is in the first instance, a means tested fund.  The eligibility income is up to €72,000 (total family income).  For students under 23, this will be the parents/guardians and any income the student, he/she, may have.  For students over 23, who are dependent on their parents/guardians, this will be the parents/guardians income along with any income the student, he/she, may have.  For students over 23, not dependent on parents/guardian, this will be the student’s income plus partner/spouse’s income where applicable.
4. Income is less than expenditure.
5. Online application is completed and submitted ('Submit' button must be clicked).
6. Required supporting documentation is uploaded to application.
7. Students do not have to be in receipt of a SUSI grant to be eligible to apply.
8. Students who are non-EU nationals, including UK nationals, but who are eligible for free or reduced fees in line with the criteria for the Free Fees Initiative may be considered for the SAF subject to meeting the criteria outlined above.  (https://hea.ie/funding-governance-performance/funding/student-finance/course-fees/)

Non-Eligibility

Students on courses that do not lead to a higher education award are not eligible to apply for the SAF.

Applications to the SAF are not open to International/Non-EU fee-paying students. Non-EU fee-paying students may be eligible for the International Student Emergency Fund.

Students who do not meet the above eligibility.

Students must choose one category when seeking financial assistance towards costs associated with day-to-day participation in higher education such as –

Rent   /   Living expenses   /   Books + College Materials   /   Essential Travel   /   Medical   /   Childcare

Assistance can also include family difficulties e.g. Family Breakdown / Bereavement

The above list is not exhaustive

SAF funding is not available to assist students with the costs of tuition fees / registration fees / student loans.

No documents to be uploaded in Zip file format.  

Please note students must have an account with an Irish bank or Revolut or Irish Post Office or Credit Union.  

For successful applications, payments are only processed to the above type accounts.

2025/2026 SUSI Recipients

• SUSI Grant 2025/2026 letter + A4 sheet noting password if applicable

2025/2026 Back to Education Allowance / Means tested Social Welfare Recipients

Copy of two months recent bank statements / If you have another account/s i.e. either bank including Mobi or other e.g. Credit Union, Post Office - one month recent statement of each –   See below information on bank statements

• Back to Education Allowance 2025/2026 Notification Confirmation
• Social Welfare2025/2026 - Official Social Welfare Statement 

SUSI Applicants - If you have applied to SUSI, you do not need to provide proof of income for your family.  If, however you are declined from SUSI at a later date, you will need to provide proof of income for your family.

All Other Students

Copy of two months recent bank statements / If you have another account/s i.e. either bank including Mobi or other e.g. Credit Union, Post Office - one month recent statement of each –   See below information on bank statements

1. Employment - If employed between September 2025-May 2026: 2 recent pay slips
2. Dependent on Parents/Guardians/Partners/Spouse - Dependent means living at home and/or receiving financial assistance during the year.  (All students living with parents/guardians are deemed dependent) - Upload one applicable below document for each parent:

• PAYE - P21 or 2024 Employment Summary
• Social Welfare - Official 2025 Statement
• Self Employed - 2024 Notice of Assessment 

If your family income is over the threshold but changes have occurred in 2025/2026, please provide evidence of the following where applicable as well as the above -

• Employment Summary
• Social Welfare Statement
• Self Employed Notice of Assessment

Information on Bank Statements 

Students can complete their application and submit it whilst awaiting documents once they return to their application to upload omitted documents prior to closing date.  Omitted documents lead to applications being unsuccessful.

Childcare applicants will be contacted for further documentation.

4-6 Weeks

Assessment of October and February applications commence immediately after the closing dates.  Due to the very large number of applications, the assessment can take from four to six weeks.  Therefore, a student can receive the outcome of their application anywhere from the first week of assessment to the sixth week.  Once a student’s application is successful, the student will receive a confirmation email notifying them of their award together with a request to upload their bank details (See section on this page for uploading bank details).  From the date the student receives their award email, it can take one to two weeks for payment to reach their bank account as the process of payments is once a week by Finance.  If there are no bank details uploaded, there will be no award payment processed.

Average Award

Please note, each year the government SAF funding is separate from previous years therefore the average award can vary year-to-year e.g. €500-600.  We would advise that students plan their budget prior to commencement of their studies and note that, should they be successful in obtaining an award, it will not cover full expenses.  See link 'Financial Survival' link below.

Financial Survival in University

As per successful applications, the assessment process can take from four to six weeks with the students receiving the outcome of their application anywhere from the first to sixth week from the closing date.

Not all applications are successful.  Each application is assessed individually and the following are some reasons for unsuccessful applications - Income exceeds expenditure   /   Sufficient funding in bank   /    Student on paid placement or INTRA paid placement (dependent on placement period/income)   /   Incomplete applications (including omitted documents). 

Should an application be unsuccessful, the student can appeal the decision within a two-week period from the date notified of outcome by completing the below appeal form and emailing it to studentassistancefund@dcu.ie.  Appeals will be considered within a four-week period of receipt and students contacted on the outcome by email. 

Appeal Form  Please download the attached Word document for completion.

Should you not be in receipt of a SUSI Grant or Back to Education Allowance or Means Tested Social Welfare Payment, within the application, you will be required to project your income / expenditure for nine months of the academic year (September to May).

To assist you on working out your income and expenditure and noting them in your application, please see sample budgets below.  These budget templates are not to be uploaded to your application they are simply here to assist you prior to completing the income/expenditure sections.

Sample Budget Living Away from Home

Sample Budget Living At Home

Blank Monthly Budget Template

Notice

In order for your application to be processed as quickly as possible and to avoid unnecessary time consuming, it is advisable to read the information on this fund including REQUIRED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION.  

Please note students in receipt of a SUSI grant, Back to Education Allowance or means tested Social Welfare payment are not required to answer all questions.  After you have answered yes to one of these three options, you will be brought directly to 'Upload documents'.  

Accessing the system

Students who applied for the SAF since the academic year 2020/2021 via the SAF application Portal, do not have to obtain their access code again.  Log in using the ‘Sign in’ button on the top right-hand corner of the Portal webpage.  Do not log into your Profile.  Click on Student Assistance Fund on the top.

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Students who have not previously applied to the SAF since 2020/2021 via the SAF application Portal, will be required to go through the validation process below to register and gain access - This as noted below includes requesting an access code.  Do not log into your profile.

1.       Click on the hyperlink Request Access to begin the process.

2.       Enter your DCU email (lower case only).

3.       Enter your DCU Student ID number - First Years use only last five digits (e.g.  52640).  All               other students use all eight digits (No letter beforehand).

4.       Click the button ‘Request Access Code’ to retrieve your unique code.

5.       When your Invitation code appears, click on the ‘Copy Invitation Code’ button to copy your              code.

6.       Click on the word ‘link’ on the ‘Request Access’ page to activate your invitation Code.

7.       Paste the copied code into the Invitation Code box (right click paste, ctrl+v   PC, Command + V MAC) and click Register.

8.       You will then be prompted to sign in using the AZURE button.

9.       Enter your DCU Email and password.

10.      If you are using a Laptop, when you have logged on, your name will appear in the top right-hand corner of the Portal.  You will also see a link to the Student Assistance Fund in the header section.  Click the ‘Student Assistance Fund’ tab to make an application.

11.      If you are using a mobile device, once logged in you will see 3 parallel lines in the top right-hand corner of your screen. Click on the lines to retrieve the ‘Student Assistance Fund’ tab.

12.   Once your application is completed, click on ‘Save’ – this will allow you to make any changes at a later date (prior to the closing date).  Once you are satisfied that your application is complete, ensure you click on the ‘Submit’ button.  To access your application again, please note you only need to sign in (top right-hand corner). 

<Closed for Applications> 

In order to be in receipt of a SAF award, students must upload their account details - Irish Bank  /   Irish Post Office  /  Revolut  /  Credit Union Account 

To provide your bank details - Log into DCU Key   Click on first option 'My Profile'   Choose within the list 'Your Bank Account Details'

Should you have any problems uploading your bank details, please contact the Fees Office 

Data Protection Notice

The personal data provided by you as part of your application to the Student Assistance Fund "SAF" is obtained, processed and retained by Student Support & Development (SS&D  - a unit within Dublin City University  'Data Controller') for the purposes that are directly connected with the administration and operation of the SAF and will be treated in accordance with the DCU Data Privacy Policy which can be accessed at https://www.dcu.ie/ocoo/data-protection.shtml . 
 
Some of the data you provide may be shared with third parties such as the HEA or Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for the purposes of coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the operation of the SAF.    

Your personal data will be retained by SS&D until the end of the Operational Programme. If you wish to obtain further information about data protection please visit, data.protection@dcu.ie or www.dataprotection.ie   If you are not satisfied with the response from DCU in relation to data protection queries, you may contact the Data Protection Commission via www.dataprotection.ie.

All queries email - studentassistancefund@dcu.ie - Please use your DCU email account and note your student ID within the email.

or

Phone - 00 353 1 700 61 68

Office - CG78 Ground Floor     

            Dublin City University

            Henry Grattan Building

            Glasnevin Campus

            Dublin 9

The Pantry is designed for all students struggling with the cost of living crisis. Students can avail of this service once a week.

The Pantry is a service where students can take six nonperishable food items free of charge. This ranges from pasta, spices and canned food to health products like, shower gel or period products.

Please see details on link - https://www.dcustudentlife.ie/help-support/the-pantry

The Office of Student Life also runs a free breakfast service for students across Glasnevin and Pat's campuses.  Information can also be found on the above link.