Further Education Grants

The Education Authority offers a limited number of Further Education Grants each year for full time and part-time courses for students undertaking courses up to and including level 3.

Financial help is available for students whose homes are in Northern Ireland and are studying a Further Education course in Northern Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland or the Republic of Ireland.

Full time and part time courses must meet the following criteria:   

• Be at least one academic year in duration; and
• Appear on the Register of Regulated Qualifications; or
• GCSE, A Level or AS Level only when in combination with a relevant vocational qualification at a similar level; or
• A University Access course listed; and
• Held at a publicly funded college of Further Education within the British Islands or the Republic of Ireland.

Part Time courses must also meet the below criteria:

• Be completed in no longer than twice the time it would take to complete the full time equivalent.
• If no full-time equivalent course exists then the part time course must be for at least 8 hours per week in duration with the 8 hours being made up of taught hours plus compulsory placement hours.

Financial help is available and will be dependent on whether you are studying a full-time or part-time course. Types of support available are listed below.

• Full time courses
  • Tuition fees
  • Maintenance Grant
  • Childcare Grant
• Part time courses
  • Grant for fees
  • Grant for books and stationary
  • Childcare Grant

For more information see our Further Education Support section.

Students must be 19 years of age or over on 1 July 2026.  Students who are under 19 years of age on 1 July 2026 and who wish to study a full-time course will be considered only if they have to live away from home in order to undertake the course.

To decide if you are eligible for a Further Education Grant we check:

• Your previous study;
• Whether you meet our residence conditions; and
• Whether you want to study a course we support.

For more information see our Further Education Eligibility section.

For more information see our Assessing your Further Education Grant section.

Applications are now open and will close on 31 October 2026.

• You must register and create an account for the 2026/27 academic year before an application can be submitted.  Please check your details carefully before you submit.
• Once registered you must login and submit an application.
• If you had an account for the 2025/26 academic year, you can login and make an application using the same details.
• Your application will be processed and you will be notified of the outcome. Processing time may be up to 6 weeks.
• If you have not submitted the correct information we will contact you, please check your email junk or spam folder.

Apply Online

For further information or if you experience any difficulties when making an application, please contact our Further Education Grants Team on 028 9047 0155 and select option 2 or by email to fegrants@eani.org.uk.

For information on financial support for higher education - undergraduate/postgraduate courses please visit our Student Finance page.