Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) 2024/25

EMA is part of the Scottish Executive's agenda of encouraging access to, and participation in, further and higher education by young people from low-income families.

EMA provides financial support for 16 – 19 year olds who stay on in full time non advanced education or a community/voluntary Activity programme after their statutory school leaving date.

• Pupils born between 1st March 2005 and 30th September 2008 may be eligible for an award starting in August 2024.
• Pupils born between 1st October 2008 and 28th February 2009 may be eligible for an award starting in January 2025. Pupils eligible from January 2025 do not need to wait until January to submit their application form.
• Do you attend a Dundee school or do you reside in the Dundee area and are you undertaking a programme of learning in a community or voluntary setting?
• Was your 2023-24 household income:
  • £24,421 per annum or less (for families with a single dependent child) or
  • £26,884 per annum or less (families with more than one dependent child)?

Students attending college full time may also be eligible for EMA but should contact the college direct for further information or to obtain an application form.

EMA is a weekly allowance of £30 payable to eligible young people who have achieved 100% attendance per week.   It is payable in arrears, generally on a 2 weekly basis.

Application forms can be submitted online:

Education Maintenance application form 

If we've asked you to provide documents and/or information to support a claim, you don’t need to visit our offices or send documents through the post. You can supply this information using our online evidence upload form.

Please refer to the EMA Frequently Asked Questions (295KB PDF) if you have any questions when completing your application.  You can also contact the EMA Team by email at ema@dundeecity.gov.uk if you require further guidance.

• To be eligible for weekly payments the student must complete a Learning Agreement with the school/keyworker and, payment can start when the Learning Agreement is returned to EMA Team
• Payments are made fortnightly in arrears to the student's bank account depending on attendance and compliance with the requirements of their Learning Agreement (98KB PDF).  Please see the Payment Date Sheet (78KB PDF) and EMA Pupil Handbook (201KB PDF) for more information.

Downloads / Links

• Payment Date Sheet (78KB PDF)
• Pupil Handbook (201KB PDF)
• Learning Agreement (98KB PDF)

Related Links

• EMA Scotland
• Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)
• Student Finance Direct (England funding)