All Ireland Scholarships
The All Ireland Scholarships Scheme offers financial support of £5,500 per academic year to the top-performing students from low-income households, intending to do an undergraduate degree course at university or college.
The All Ireland Scholarships Scheme
The All Ireland Scholarships Scheme (Northern Ireland Awards) gives 25 scholarships per year to top-performing students for the length of their undergraduate degree course.
The 25 scholarships are awarded across two categories:
- grant-aided post-primary school students
- Further Education (FE) college students
The application form and where to send it is different for each category so make sure you pick the right link below, depending on where you study.
Grant-aided post-primary school students
Nineteen scholarships are awarded to the top performing A level students from grant-aided post-primary schools. A minimum of two scholarships are awarded in each county of Northern Ireland, based on the students' home addresses.
You must have been getting Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) at the time of examination and due to start an undergraduate degree at university in September/ October 2025.
Further information and application forms are available from the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment at:
Further Education college students
Scholarships are awarded to the top Level 3 Extended Diploma students from FE colleges, with one scholarship being awarded to the top student in each of the six FE colleges.
You must have been getting Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) at the time of examination and due to start an undergraduate degree at university in September/ October 2025.
Further information and application forms are available from the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment at:
About All Ireland Scholarships
The All Ireland Scholarships were established by the JP McManus Trust in 2008 to provide scholarships to students.
The value of £5,500 a year in Northern Ireland, and the scholarships apply for the duration of the undergraduate programmes chosen by the scholarship winners.
Over €47 million has been disbursed to scholarship recipients so far, 1,924 scholarships have been awarded and over 1,382 All Ireland Scholarships winners have already graduated from university.
The All Ireland Scholarships operate under the control of five trustees who are supported in the administration of the programme by the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland.