Media

Oxford offers £22,000 to Northern Irish students

18 June 2012

Oxford University has confirmed it will be extending its student financial support package, which is the most generous in the country for low-income students, to students from Northern Ireland as well as English students.

While it is not legally required to do so, the University feels that it is important to include potential students from Northern Ireland in encouraging applicants not to be deterred from applying to Oxford for financial reasons. Students from Northern Ireland will therefore be eligible for the most generous no-strings financial support for the lowest-income students of any university in England.

Students from Northern Ireland wishing to study at Oxford University from 2012 will have access to both government support and Oxford’s student support package – which for the lowest-income students will amount to more than £22,000 over three years.

Sinead Gallagher, Head of Access at Oxford University, says: “Oxford is absolutely committed to admission on merit, regardless of background – and we think that would have been undermined if we couldn’t offer all British students the same level of financial support if they are accepted to study here.

“There is still plenty of anxiety about the new tuition arrangements, but it’s all the more important that our message remains the same: If you have the ability to study at Oxford, we’ll ensure money is no barrier – no matter where in the UK you come from. We work hard to attract bright students from Northern Ireland to Oxford, and think nobody should be deterred from coming here simply for financial reasons.”

Members of the Oxford University admissions team were in Northern Ireland last week for a regional conference for teachers – this was about clarifying the admissions process, as well as the student finance and funding package available at Oxford for Northern Irish students. All of this is part of the University's efforts to make sure students and teachers have the most accurate information about what Oxford has to offer so that students aren’t put off from applying.

For more information and photographs, please contact Julia Paolitto in the Press Office, Oxford University on 01865 280 531 or press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk

Notes for Editors:

Full details of the support package they will be eligible for are below, and on the university website:

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/student_funding/northern_irish_students/index.html

Students from Northern Ireland have always been eligible for the same bursary support as English students at Oxford; however with the new tuition fees regime coming into place in England, there was for a period of time some question as to what provisions the Northern Irish government would make. Oxford always intended to extend its full financial support package to students from Northern Ireland, but had to wait for confirmation from the Northern Irish government in order to confirm exactly how it would work in practice.

Breakdown of total financial support available at Oxford from 2012:

Household income	First year of study (waiver + bursary)	Subsequent years of study (waiver + bursary)	Total support package over three years
£0 - £16,000	£9,800	£6,300	£22,400
£16,001 - £20,000	£5,500	£5,000	£15,500
£20,001 - £25,000	£4,000	£3,500	£11,000
£25,001 - £30,000	£2,500	£2,000	£6,500
£30,001 - £35,000	£2,000	£1,500	£5,000
£35,001 - £40,000	£1,500	£1,000	£3,500
£40,001 - £42,600	£1,000	£500	£2,000

Breakdown by waivers and bursaries:

Tuition charges for 2012 entry (after waivers applied)

Household income	Fee waiver in first year	Fee waiver in subsequent years	Total value of fee waivers over three years
£0 - £16,000	£5,500	£3,000	£11,500
£16,001 - £20,000	£2,000	£2,000	£6,000
£20,001 - £25,000	£1,000	£1,000	£3,000

Bursary support for 2012 entry

Household income	Bursary for first year of study	Bursary for subsequent years	Total bursary support over three years
£0 - £16,000	£4,300	£3,300	£10,900
£16,001 - £20,000	£3,500	£3,000	£9,500
£20,001 - £25,000	£3,000	£2,500	£8,000
£25,001 - £30,000	£2,500	£2,000	£6,500
£30,001 - £35,000	£2,000	£1,500	£5,000
£35,001 - £40,000	£1,500	£1,000	£3,500
£40,001 - £42,600	£1,000	£500	£2,000