Opportunities for refugees to get undergraduate scholarships at University of Limerick
Today, United Nations World Refugee Day, University of Limerick (UL) announced that it will offer 15 new four-year undergraduate scholarships to refugees and asylum seekers beginning in September.
This is in addition to 15 one-year Mature Student Access Certificate (MSAC) scholarships, which were first introduced last year for people living in Direct Provision.
Furthermore, funding has been committed for an additional cohort in the 2019/2020 academic year, bringing the total number of Sanctuary Scholarships at UL to 60 over the next two years.
Today’s announcement comes after UL was awarded University of Sanctuary status on World Refugee Day 2017 and announced the introduction of its Sanctuary Scholarships programme.
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Engagement at University of Limerick, Professor Kerstin Mey said:“UL is very proud of its University of Sanctuary status and is committed to continually broadening access to higher education across the entire population. We hope to enable as many students as possible who have the potential to go to university to make it there, in this case by removing insurmountable financial barriers.”
Overall, the number of scholarships offered to refugees and asylum seekers increases from 17 last year to 30 for the 2018/2019 academic year. This year there will be 15 one-year MSAC and 15 four-year undergraduate arts and business Sanctuary Scholarships offered. For the first time, this includes fee waivers for Leaving Certificate students who have applied through the Central Applications Office (CAO) to two of UL’s largest programmes, Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS).
Sikhulekile Ruth Ndlovu, an asylum seeker from Zimbabwe who has been living in Ireland since 2015 and was a Sanctuary Scholar on the MSAC programme in 2017/2018, said: “I came to Ireland three years ago and I had not attended third-level education at home in Zimbabwe. The MSAC programme allowed me to experience student life and helped me to prepare for further education if it is something I am in a position to pursue. There were challenges such as personal issues but with determination to better myself, I managed to graduate with a Mature Student Access Certificate (MSAC) with top grades, something I am very proud of.”
Alongside the Sanctuary Scholarships, UL offers a wide range of undergraduate scholarships and non-traditional access routes to third-level education for Leaving Cert and mature students and students attending the university. UL offers academic scholarships, sports scholarships, women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics scholarships and the President’s Access Scholarships, amongst others.
Sanctuary Scholarship eligibility
To be eligible for a University of Limerick Sanctuary Scholarship, applicants must:
- be an international protection applicant or have been granted international protection (i.e. an asylum seeker, refugee, granted discretionary leave to remain (DLR) or have some other form of temporary status) or be a refugee who is unable to access student finance due to previous study;
- Have completed the Leaving Certificate and/or a preparation to University course (e.g. MSAC);
- Have applied to University of Limerick through the CAO to study the BA Arts or BBS;
- Be attending a school, college, community or voluntary group, which can provide a reference in support of the application; and,
- Be unable to access mainstream funding, e.g. student finance or a local authority grant (Those who are classed as ‘care leavers’ and previously were under local authority care can also appl