I meet the criteria of an “access” student but I did not access a Higher Education Institution through an Access Programme, am I eligible to apply?
No, unless you are a Category 3 Applicant you must have actually accessed a Higher Education Institution through an Access Programme/Access Route as a school leaver, or mature years’ student, due to socio-economic disadvantage, in order to be eligible to apply.
I was awarded funding from SUSI; does this qualify as an Access Programme/Access Route?
No, SUSI is not classified as an access route for the purposes of applying for The Denham Fellowship. Definition of “Access Programme/Access Route” extends to initiatives which support access to third level education due to socio-economic disadvantage. As eligibility for SUSI is determined by reference to income only, it alone does not meet our criteria.
I completed an Access Programme which assessed my eligibility solely on the basis of income, am I eligible?
No, as provided for under categories 1 and 2, applicants with an approved law degree or diploma must have accessed a Higher Education Institution through an Access Programme/Access Route as a school leaver, or mature years’ student, due to socio-economic disadvantage. As such, we can only consider applications from those whose eligibility for entry to the Access Programme involved an assessment of both social and financial circumstances. Please contact the Access Office of your current/former Higher Education Institution who should be able to provide you with the full criteria on which you were assessed for entry to the Access Programme.
I accessed my Masters Degree programme through an Access Programme, am I eligible?
No, as provided for under categories 1 and 2, applicants with an approved law degree or diploma must have accessed a Higher Education Institution through an Access Programme/Access Route as a school leaver, or mature years’ student, due to socio-economic disadvantage. As such we can only consider applications from those who completed an Access Programme as a first-time entrant to third level education.
What does socio-economic disadvantage mean?
Socio-economic disadvantage involves an assessment of both your social and financial circumstances. An assessment of income alone does not suffice. Please contact the Access Office of your current/former Higher Education Institution who should be able to provide you with the full criteria on which you were assessed for entry to the Access Programme and confirm whether or not it involved an assessment of your socio-economic status.
What are regarded as financial indicators for the purposes of assessing socio-economic disadvantage?
The following are generally regarded as indicators of financial hardship:
(i) Low family income
(ii) Possession of a Medical Card
(iii) In receipt of means-tested social welfare payments
What are regarded as social indicators for the purposes of assessing socio-economic disadvantage?
The following are examples only and are by no means exhaustive. We are aware that different Access Programmes/Access Routes operated by different Higher Education Institutions will assess candidates on a variety of social factors, however the following are commonly associated with access programmes such as the Higher Education Access Route (HEAR):
(i) Socio-economic group (SEG)
A socio-economic group (SEG) is a measure of your social background based on your parents’ or guardian’s occupation and employment status. The measure is used by the Central Statistics Office to analyse the social background of the Irish population. Research clearly shows that participation in higher education is not evenly spread across the socio-economic groups. Children of higher professionals, employers, managers, lower professionals, skilled manual workers and farmers are more likely to go on to college than the children of non-manual, semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers. Eligible Socio-Economic Groups include: Non-manual workers; Semi-skilled manual workers; Unskilled manual workers; Agricultural workers; State Labour Intervention Scheme e.g. CE schemes; Never worked; Housewife; Permanently ill; Student.
(ii) DEIS School
Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) is an initiative of the Department of Education and Skills aimed at lessening educational disadvantage and bringing about social inclusion in primary and second level education. Traditionally, few students from these schools go on to third level education. Also, children from DEIS schools tend to leave school earlier and do less well academically than students from other schools. Further information on DEIS, including a listing of all DEIS schools, is available on the DEIS website: www.education.ie.
(iii) Disadvantaged Area
There is very strong international evidence that living in a disadvantaged area can negatively affect educational attainment and progression to higher education. To meet this indicator, you must live in an area that is disadvantaged, very disadvantaged or extremely disadvantaged. Your address is checked against information from a deprivation index of relative affluence or disadvantage. The index is based on information gathered in the 2011 Census. The country is divided up into small areas and each area is assigned an average score ranging from extremely disadvantaged up to very affluent. To check the classification of your address, please visit https://www.pobal.ie/Pages/New-Measures.aspx