Postgraduate loans and funding in 2024

When it comes to postgraduate funding, the main source for many students is a postgraduate loan. Depending on the qualification, you could be eligible for a postgraduate Master's loan of up to £12,471 in 2024 and 2025.

Am I eligible for a postgraduate Master's loan?

There's quite a lot of guidance on whether you'll be eligible for a postgraduate Master's loan. It will all depend on you and the course you want to study. Let's break this down!

You'll be eligible for a postgraduate loan if you:

• Are a British citizen or have been an ordinary resident in England for three years on the first day of your course
• Are under 60 years old on the first day of your course
• Are studying a recognised taught or research Master's degree
• Don't already have a postgraduate Master's qualification or higher qualification like a PhD

You may also be eligible for a postgraduate loan if:

• You are an Irish national
• You or a family member have been granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK
• You are a non-UK national - are 18 or over and have lived in the UK for a least 20 years or half of your life

The course you want to study must be:

• A full degree - the loan does not cover "topping up" a qualification you already have
• A postgraduate degree and not an integrated Master's or undergraduate degree
• With 180 credits and a Master's degree - this doesn't cover postgraduate certificates or diplomas

You can be studying any type of Master's - an MSc, MRes, a research or taught Master's programme. The course can be full-time, part-time or taught through distance learning. There are some restrictions on how many years it can take you to complete your course (1-4 years) and you must live in England on the first day of your course and the UK for the duration of your course.

How much is the postgraduate loan?

Currently, you can receive up to £12,471 for a postgraduate Master's loan if your course starts on or after 1st August 2024. The amount you're eligible for will depend on the course you study, where you're studying and how long the course is.

Can you get a maintenance loan for a Master's?

Unlike an undergraduate degree, where you can receive a maintenance loan and a tuition loan that is sent directly to your university, you only receive one postgraduate loan to cover tuition fees and your living costs.

The money you borrow from the government will be paid directly into your bank account and it's then up to you to set up payments for your tuition fees to the university and decide how you best use this loan to cover your time studying.

How is the postgraduate loan paid?

You will receive your loan in three instalments per academic year. This will breakdown as:

• 33% at or near your course start date
• 33% on the last Wednesday of the 4th month of your course
• 34% on the last Wednesday of the 7th month of your course

The exact amount you receive will depend on the amount Student Finance England confirms you're eligible for and how much you choose to borrow. Some students choose to borrow less and combine this with other funding such as grants, bursaries, and Master's scholarships. However, some postgraduate funding options like studentships can't be combined with a postgraduate loan, so make sure you read the fine print!

How to apply for a postgraduate loan

Once you've worked out your eligibility, the rest should be simple! The process is:

• Check your eligibility against the criteria
• Apply online or by post up to nine months before your course starts
• Student Finance England will write to you over the summer to confirm how much you'll get for the next academic year

Make sure to leave plenty of time before your course starts to apply for your loan. While the postgraduate loan process is pretty relaxed, make sure to apply within nine months of the first day of your application year. For each academic year, applications open from May.

If you leave it too late, there may be delays when it comes to sending you your first payment and, in some cases, can stop you from paying and starting your course.

Applying online

If you've previously used Student Finance England for your undergraduate degree, you can use your existing login details to apply for a postgraduate loan. If not, you can register for an account on the Student Finance website.

Applying by post

To apply by post, download and fill out the correct postgraduate Master's loan application form for your start year. Send this to the address on the form and Student Finance England will be in touch to confirm the amount you'll receive.

What about PhD students?

If you're starting a doctoral degree, you can get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan. Currently, for those starting after 1st August 2024, you can receive up to £29,390. Unlike other loan types, doctoral loans aren't based on your household income. You'll receive three instalments per academic year.

Eligibility is similar to the Master's loan but also includes the following:

• You don't already have a PhD or doctorate
• You won't be receiving UKRI funding (or haven't been funded by a Research Council)
• You aren't receiving any other UK public funding
• Your doctorate isn't eligible for NHS bursary

The PhD loan is available for all doctorate types. This could be an academic doctorate such as a PhD or DPhil, as well as EngD and professional doctorates like an EdD.

However, your doctorate course must:

• Be a full, standalone doctoral course (not a top-up)
• Last between 3 and 8 years
• Be provided by a university in the UK with research degree awarding powers

You can apply for a loan if your doctoral degree includes an integrated Master's degree but you won't be able to apply for a separate postgraduate Master's loan.

Currently, postgraduate doctorate loans are only available through Student Finance England and Student Finance Wales.

How do you pay back your loans?

Loan repayments will start on the first of April after you finish your course. Repayments are then made depending on your income level. Repayments will begin once you start receiving a salary of £21,000 with 6%.

If you have other student loans, you may need to pay these alongside each other:

• PhD and Master's repayments are combined - you will make one repayment of 6% of your income towards a single postgraduate loan debt.
• Postgraduate and undergraduate repayments are concurrent - you will repay 6% of your income towards your postgraduate loans as well as 9% of your income over £26,575 towards your undergraduate loan (this can vary depending on your plan).

Your postgraduate loans will gain the interest of +3% RPI (Retail Prices Index). Any remaining loan (including interest) is cancelled after 30 years from the point you began your repayments.