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Think Again

Think Again Scholarship

If you never thought you’d go to university, think again. If you’ve spent your life thinking about everyone but yourself,  think again. If you thought you couldn’t afford college fees or  be able to support yourself, think again. Now is the time for you to think about – and for – yourself. It’s time for you to think again.

The Think Again Scholarship provides funding for living costs, as well as a range of other vital supports such as career and personal development. 

UCD has a long history of striving for equity of access to education, with 34.6% of our students coming through access routes.  Think Again is our newest and most ambitious project. The programme is for women on low income, aged 23 and above, who want to study part-time or full-time for a degree.

To be considered for the Think Again Scholarship and applying for a part-time course you must be:
  • A woman aged 23 years and over.
  • Income: Living in a household with a combined reckonable income of €25,000 per year or less that has one child or less. (Reckonable income excludes means-tested and universal Social Protection payments)
  • Be in receipt of a long-term means-tested Social Protection payment or its equivalent from an EU Member State.
  • Education: A first-time entrant to Higher Education at NFQ Level 6 or above; OR An entrant who has previously attended but not completed a course at NFQ Level 6 or above and has had a 3-year break in study since leaving that course; OR An entrant who has completed a NFQ Level 6 or above diploma as part of a progression pathway to a UCD undergraduate degree.
  • Residency: You must have been resident in the Irish State for three of the last five years.
To be considered for the Think Again Scholarship and applying for a part-time course you must be:
  • A woman aged 23 years and over.
  • Income: Living in a household with a combined reckonable income of €25,000 per year or less.
  • Be in receipt of a long-term means-tested Social Protection payment or its equivalent from an EU Member State.
  • Education: A first-time entrant to Higher Education at NFQ Level 6 or above; 
    ORAn entrant who has previously attended but not completed a course at NFQ Level 6 or above and has had a 3-year break in study since leaving that course; 
    OR An entrant who has completed a NFQ Level 6 or above diploma as part of a progression pathway to a UCD undergraduate degree.
  • Nationality: You must be an Irish, EU, EEA, UK or Swiss national or have a specific immigration status. Your nationality must be supported by documentation which may include; a passport or your full civil birth certificate, copy of your Public Services Card or an original government issued photo identification document; OR leave to remain permission from the Department of Justice which must be supported by a letter from the International Protection Office.   
  • Residency: You must be resident in the Irish State, EU, EEA, UK or Swiss Federation for three of the last five years. Residency must be supported by documentation which may include, Social Protection Statements, GP letters, letters from schools, your P60 for years up to 2018 or Employment Detail Summary from 2019 onwards.

Applications from part-time students for the 2023/24 academic year

Please read carefully before you apply. 

Please download and complete the documents below 

The Income Declaration form requests that you source documents that show your income and/or Social Protection Payments. They include a Statement of Liability for 2022 from Revenue and a Statement of Payments for 2022 from Social Protection. It is essential you have these when applying online. 

Please read the documents below carefully before you apply:

Statement of Motivation

You will be asked to write a Statement of Motivation about why you are applying for Think Again as part of your application. During the assessment of your application, we will use what you write to better understand why you want to study in UCD and what it will mean to you. The statement will only be used to assess your application after all other documents have been assessed and you have been deemed eligible in all other areas. Your statement will only be read by members of staff directly working on Think Again application assessment.

Your statement of motivation should not be any longer than 350-400 words. Please use the questions/stements below to assist you with your motivational statement:

  • Reasons why you wish to study at UCD
  • Your achievements to date
  • Your future plans after you complete the part-time course.
  • Any obstacles that have affected your education in the past.
 Apply online here for the Think Again Scholarship  

If you have any issues completing the online application form, download a Word document version here.

Help is available

Please contact thinkagain@ucd.ie if you want help filling in the Application Form. You can also contact this email address if you have any issues completing the Application Form or in uploading your documents.

Applications from full-time students

Apply for full-time study here.

If you have any issues completing the online application form, download a Word document version here

The deadline for applications from full-time students is Wednesday 19 July at 5pm 2023

Please download and read these documents before you apply:

+ Please download, fill in, and submit these documents with your application:

  1. Think Again 2023 - Income Declaration Form (Full-time)
  2. Think Again 2023 - Budget (Full-time)
Watch this video!

Get help with your application by watching the recording of the How do I apply for Think Again? Online Information session. Password is w#9fBJ4E

The video is split into three parts:

1. The experience of two Think Again scholars as they finish their first year in UCD (starts at 3:00 and ends at 10:30)

2. What is a Mature Student, Pathways to UCD and the 3 Ms (Motivation, Map and Means) (starts at 11:00 and ends at 32:00)

3. What is Think Again and how do I apply? (starts at 33:00 and ends at 51:30)

Statement of Motivation

You will be asked to write a Statement of Motivation about why you are applying for Think Again as part of your application. During the assessment of your application, we will use what you write to better understand why you want to study in UCD and what it will mean to you. The statement will only be used to assess your application after all other documents have been assessed and you have been deemed eligible in all other areas. Your statement will only be read by members of staff directly working on Think Again application assessment.

Your statement of motivation should not be any longer than 300 words. Please answer the following three questions as part of your statement: 

  • Reasons why you wish to study at UCD
  • Your achievements to date
  • Your future plans after you complete the part-time course.
  • Any obstacles that have affected your education in the past.

Full-time: Any full-time UCD undergraduate degree programmes 

Part-time: Any part-time UCD undergraduate programmes, including:

  • Undergraduate full-time degree students may secure up to €14,000 per student per year of study.
  • The one-year part-time University Access Course students may avail of €1,000 per student.
  • Other part-time students may avail of €1,000 per student per year of study.

This is an allowance to cover your basic cost of living including rent, food, utilities, phone/ internet, medical, clothes, books, travel.

If you are successful in yout Think Again Scholarship application, full-time students are paid in regular instalments over the academic year. Part-time students are paid pro-rata depending on how many modules are taken.

Scholarship payments are subject to compliance with the Think Again Scholarship Agreement and dependent on continued registration and progression on your programme.

Think Again also has a separate fund available to provide a supplementary allowance for additional costs such as internships, field trips, study abroad and specific costs associated with caring responsibilities. These funds are allocated on a case-by-case basis to existing Think Again scholars.

All scholarships are awarded based on online written application, demonstrated financial need and interview.

It is up to individual applicants to assess the implications of any scholarship funds on their payment from the Department of Social Protection.

The Think Again Scholarship is not included as reckonable income for SUSI.

The Think Again programme is open to women who are eligible for the HEA free fees initiative and who are eligible for the SUSI grant covering your Student Contribution. As such, you will not be required to pay fees.

For students on part-time courses not covered by SUSI or the free fees initiative, fee waivers or reductions may be possible on a case-by-case basis.

Non CAO Pathways
CAO Pathways

A Mature Student can apply to study at UCD through the CAO Application process as a Mature Student or for specific courses as a candidate with a full QQI Level 5 or Level 6 major awardLearn more about applying as a Mature Student  - click here!

Find out about what life at UCD  is like as a mature student on our Mature Student information hub.

The Mature Student Society  offers a ready made way to mix with other mature students.

While we update our information for Parents who are Students, you may find some of the information on the Support for Parents page of the employee Equality, Diversity and Inclusion section of the website useful. 

Participating in UCD Societies and Clubs is an important part of the university experience. The Campus life information webpage outlines all your options for you to participate in student life. 

Please contact thinkagain@ucd.ie for assistance in completing the Application Form and uploading documents.

You may also view the recording of the Information video here to assist you in the application process. Password is w#9fBJ4E

The video is split into three parts:

1. The experience of two Think Again scholars as they finish their first year in UCD (starts at 3:00 and ends at 10:30)

2. What is a Mature Student, Pathways to UCD and the 3 Ms (Motivation, Map and Means) (starts at 11:00 and ends at 32:00)

3. What is Think Again and how do I apply? (starts at 33:00 and ends at 51:30)