You are successfully registered
Thanks for telling us about yourself, ! Now we know who we're talking to, and can create content you'll love
We use cookies for three reasons: to give you the best experience on PGS, to make sure the PGS ads you see on other sites are relevant , and to measure website usage. Some of these cookies are necessary to help the site work properly and can’t be switched off. Cookies also support us to provide our services for free, and by click on “Accept” below, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.You can manage your preferences now or at any time.
We use cookies, which are small text files placed on your computer, to allow the site to work for you, improve your user experience, to provide us with information about how our site is used, and to deliver personalised ads which help fund our work and deliver our service to you for free.
The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalised web experience.
You can accept all, or else manage cookies individually. However, blocking some types of cookies may affect your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.
You can change your cookies preference at any time by visiting our Cookies Notice page. Please remember to clear your browsing data and cookies when you change your cookies preferences. This will remove all cookies previously placed on your browser.
For more detailed information about the cookies we use, or how to clear your browser cookies data see our Cookies Notice
Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems.
They are essential for you to browse the website and use its features.
You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. We can’t identify you from these cookies.
Functional cookies
These help us personalise our sites for you by remembering your preferences and settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers, whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, then these services may not function properly.
Performance cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and see where our traffic comes from, so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are popular and see how visitors move around the site. The cookies cannot directly identify any individual users.
If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site and will not be able to improve its performance for you.
Marketing cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by social media services or our advertising partners. Social media cookies enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They can track your browser across other sites and build up a profile of your interests. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to see or use the content sharing tools.
Advertising cookies may be used to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but work by uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will still see ads, but they won’t be tailored to your interests.
The routes for postgraduate students to get loans for their continuing education have changed quite considerably in recent years. As such, you might be wondering what options you have when it comes to paying for tuition fees and the cost of living while studying for your degree. Which is fair, considering how expensive some courses can be – tuition fees for studying one year on certain MBA courses can reach as high as £60,000, for example. We’ve put together this handy article of postgraduate loan options for you to read and factor into your budget while you consider your course choices.
Postgraduate loan options vary between each nation in the United Kingdom, with different amounts of money available for different qualifications. UK-resident students must apply for a loan in the nation that they ‘normally live’, not the one that they are looking to study in (unless you moved there to study for undergraduate and stayed there to work after your degree).
Master’s students in England can get a Master’s Loan of up to £11,836 if the course starts after 1 August 2022 to help cover tuition fees and living costs. The loan is not means-tested and doesn’t need to be paid back until you are earning over £21,000. The loan is paid in three installments over the academic year, or equally across each year if you are taking a multi-year course.
To be able to receive this Master’s Loan, you must have normally lived in England, be under 60 years old when your course starts and it must be an eligible master’s course. Only full master’s courses worth at least 180 credits are eligible – top-up courses, degrees integrated with undergraduate courses, PGDips and PGCerts all do not qualify for the loan.
Students in England looking to take a doctoral degree can get a Doctoral Loan of up to £27,892 if the course starts after 1 August 2022. Just like the Master’s Loan, it is not means-tested and it doesn’t need to be paid back until you are earning over the threshold of £21,000. It’s paid in three equally divided installments each year.
Students must normally reside in England, be under 60 years old when their course starts and be studying an eligible doctoral course to qualify for this loan. Eligible degrees are full standalone courses that last between three to eight years, which includes PhD, EngD and EdD. They cannot be top-up courses.
The Master’s Loan in Wales works a little differently to the one in England. Students in Wales can get funding of up to £18,430 for their master’s degree, split into a loan (which will need to be repaid) and a grant (which will not need to be repaid). The split between loan and grant will depend on your household income. For example, if your household income is below £18,370, the loan will be £11,545 and the grant will be £6,885, while if your household income is above £59,200, the loan will be £17,430 and the grant will be £1,000.
To qualify for a Master’s Loan in Wales, students must normally live in Wales, be under 60 years old when the course starts and be studying an eligible master’s course. Eligible courses are worth at least 180 credits and are full standalone master’s courses, not top-up or integrated into an undergraduate or doctoral course.
While Wales and England have rather different Master’s Loans, the Doctoral Loans are quite similar. In Wales, Doctoral students can get a loan of £27,880 if the course starts between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023. It’s not means-tested and it only needs to be repaid once you’re earning over £21,000. The loan is paid in three equal installments each year of your course.
Students are eligible for a Doctoral Loan if they normally live in Wales, are under 60 years old when the course starts and are taking a full standalone doctoral course lasting between three and eight years, and is not a top-up course.
Go to: Read more about Funding for Welsh Postgraduate Students
In Scotland, postgraduate students can get a loan of up to £10,000 consisting of two parts, a tuition fee loan and a living-cost loan. The tuition fee loan is up to £5,500, while the living-cost loan is up to £4,500. The loan is not means-tested, and it will only need to be paid back when you’re earning over £25,375. The tuition fee loan is paid directly to your university, while the living-cost loan is paid to you split equally across each year of your course.
To be able to receive the postgraduate loan in Scotland, you must normally live in Scotland. There is no age limit for the tuition fee loan, but you must be under 60 years old to receive the living-cost loan. Only master’s and PGDips are eligible for Scotland’s postgraduate loan – doctoral and PGCert qualifications are not supported by the loan. Part-time students are also not eligible for the living-cost loan.
Students from Northern Ireland looking to study for a postgraduate degree can get a loan of up to £5,500. It isn't a means-tested loan and will only need to be repaid when you’re earning over £20,195. The loan is paid directly to your university in three lump sums throughout the year.
To be eligible for this loan, you just have been normally living in Northern Ireland. There is no age limit on the loan. It can be used for master’s, PGCert and PGDip courses, and unlike in England, Scotland and Wales, it can be used for top-up courses if you have a PGCert or PGDip and want to top-up to a master’s. Your course must also not last longer than three academic years.
In previous years, the Professional and Career Development Loan scheme was often used by postgraduate students to fund their education. However, the government closed the scheme in 2019, so students can no longer apply for these loans, though students who already took out one of these loans will still need to repay it.
Next: Search for postgraduate scholarships and bursaries
Not sure where to start when it comes to writing a PhD personal statement? We have...
CONTENTS Do background research Find out about interview format Review...
CONTENTS Why do postgraduate students report higher levels of poor mental...