Complete newbie to Masters and being a mature student.

Wright

I've been away for a while in Asia teaching English, but I want to do a Masters now and I figure it's best to go back to Ireland to do it. I want to do a Masters in something relating to Education but not a Masters in English as a Second Language specifically, because I want to keep my options open and might want to teach art one day, which is what my degree is in. It would also be a requirement for the Masters to be recognizable internationally in order to get a job abroad (I plan to come back out here to Asia, but might want to teach in Canada etc. one day).

I'm completely new to the Masters field though. How long do they take usually? Is one year the average, or are they typically two years? How much do they cost? I'm 29, do I even count as a mature student? Does my absence from the country for 18 months affect things? If I do count as a mature student, what grants can I get? Could I still work part-time if I get a grant? Is it much cheaper to do a Masters by getting mature student benefits or would doing one while working full time also be a decent option?

paperclip2

Hi Wright,
You have a lot of research to do:) First off try to find the courses that interest you. College websites are a good place to start. You can also look up information on all college courses in the country on Qualifax, the National Learners Database: http://www.qualifax.ie/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=15

There isn't a lot of funding for pg courses to be honest. Maintenance grants for post grad courses have been removed. You might get some support with fees however:

If you meet the special rate of grant criteria you can get your fees paid to a max of €6270. To get this you need to have an income into your home of less that €22,703 for the last full tax year and be receiving one of a range of DSP payments for a specified period. I think its 150 days for Jobseekers.

If you don't meet these criteria you might be eligible for a fee grant of €2000. For this you need a total income of less that €31,000 for the last full tax year. If you are a dependent or have dependents this limit might be raised depending on other factors such as how many children in the family and how many are studying at third level.

The Social Welfare payment for college is the BTEA but this is not available for Masters courses or any courses above a level 8 on the NFQ: http://www.nfq.ie/nfq/en/FanDiagram/nqai_nfq_08.html

Wright

Thanks for that, very informative.

Looks like I'll be taking the brunt of the cost myself, no way I could do 150 days on the scratch and keep my sanity. And it's a Masters I'm seeking anyway, doesn't look like that's an option.

Might just stay abroad and work as an ESL teacher a few more years if that's the case.

Thanks for the information, you saved me a lot of hassle.

bobbo23

I would imagine you would need to fulfil the requirements of the Habitual Residency form to receive any grants, which means you must have spent 3 of the last 5 years residing within the state.

Abby19

bobbo23 wrote: »

I would imagine you would need to fulfil the requirements of the Habitual Residency form to receive any grants, which means you must have spent 3 of the last 5 years residing within the state.

Not only that, but you need to meet those requirements to be eligible for EU fees. There is a v steep hike for non-EU fees. It does not matter if you are Irish/EU citizen, you also have to meet the residency requirements.

Wright

It's ok I would fulfil those requirements, ahead by a few months.