Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) President Kevin Keane has said that there will be an increase in fees for all postgraduate and non-EU undergraduate students. The comment was made at a public meeting of the Students Against Fees (SAF) group tonight in the Arts Block.
Keane stated that he was still bound “by confidentiality” and could not comment on the details of the proposed increase, but said he could confirm that it would be a significant rise in postgraduate fees.
Postgraduate fees for Trinity students are set independently by College’s Finance Committee and subject to an annual review. While the state decides the level of EU fees, College is at the liberty of setting non-EU fees. A fees increase of 3% for postgraduate students were approved for the 2015/16 and 2016/17 academic years. A four per cent increase was implemented the year before this. The proposed increase for 2018/19 is thought to be higher than the 3% increase approved in preceding years.
An M.Phil in European Studies at Trinity currently costs a total of €6,738 for EU students, and €14,088 for non-EU students. An MBA from the School of Business costs as much as €32,263 for both EU and non-EU students.
According to the most recent Senior Lecturer’s Annual Report, there were 2,185 non-EU students in 2015/16 across both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. There is a total of 4,769 postgraduate students in Trinity.
At the meeting, members of the Students Against Fees group agreed that any increase in postgraduate fees should be opposed. Both SU President Kevin Keane and Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) President Shane Collins refused to give comment when contacted by Trinity News.
Additional reporting by Rory O’Neill.