Independent Students

If you wish to claim Independent Student Status, then one (or more) of the following criteria must apply to you.

(A)  At the beginning of the first year of course he or she –

1. is 25 years of age or over, or
2. has not been in of full-time education for at least 3 years.

(B)  at the beginning of the year of the course for which the application is made he or she is married or has a civil partner.

The income of a partner or spouse of an Independent student will be taken into account when calculating an award but the student’s parents/guardians are not classed as contributors for this purpose.

(C)  for the period of 12 months before the beginning of the first year of the course he or she has been irreconcilably estranged from both of his or her parents and neither of them furnishes financial support to him or her;

(D)  for the period of 12 months before the beginning of the new year of the course he or she –

1. has been looked after by the department of social care (within the meaning of section 24 of the children and young persons Act 2001), and
2. has not lived with either of his or her parents;

(E)  in the case of an application for award for the second or subsequent year of a course, he or she was at the beginning of the first year of the course an independent student under the regulations equivalent to these Regulations then in operation; or

(F)  neither of his or her parents is living;

The Department may ask you to provide additional documents in order to verify your claim (e.g. a copy of your marriage certificate to verify that you are married or a copy of your passport to verify your age).

If you are an Independent student, the Department needs to verify your income details. You must submit a copy of your Isle of Man Tax Office Resident Assessment Notice to this office as soon as possible.

Academic requirements 

Even if you have been unconditionally accepted by the university that you wish to attend, you also need to meet the Department's academic requirements in order to qualify for support.

Course		Minimum qualifications required
HND or comparable course		One GCE A-level (A2) pass at grade A-C (at least 32 UCAS points) or equivalent qualifications
University first degree or comparable course		80 UCAS points from qualifications equivalent to GCE A-level (A2) or AS-level, or an International Baccalaureate Diploma Please note that the Department of Education, Sport and Culture Student Awards will only count the Tariff points of an AS qualification if you have not completed an A level in the same subject.
Postgraduate courses	PhD	Upper second-class honours degree or Master’s degree
	MA/MSc/PG Diploma/GDL/PGCE	Upper second-class honours degree

If you are in any doubt as to whether the course you wish to study will be supported, please contact the Student Awards Team for assistance by email at studentgrants@doe.gov.im