More support for Island postgrad students

Some 2.2 degree holders can now apply for postgrad funding

More Island students will now be able to receive support for postgraduate study after Tynwald approved changes to awards regulations.

It means students with second class honours, or 2.2 degrees, will now be able to apply for funding for postgraduate study, if there’s a proven need for more highly qualified employees in areas where there are skill shortages.

At the moment, only students with upper second class honours, or 2.1 degrees, can receive financial support.

Education and Children Minister, Tim Crookall, said the postgraduate qualifications were of national importance for the Island’s economic success.

But in summing up he stressed that not all those with a 2.2 would automatically qualify for postgraduate assistance.

The need for families to contribute £2,500 a year towards standard tuition fees, first introduced in 2013, remains in place.