Master's Loan
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1. Overview
A Postgraduate Master’s Loan can help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate master’s course.
Funding for postgraduate loans is different if:
Moving somewhere to study does not count as normally living there.
You can also get extra support if you have a disability.
You will not be eligible for an Adult Dependants’ Grant, a Childcare Grant or Parents’ Learning Allowance from Student Finance England if you’re studying a master’s course.
When you can apply
You can now apply for funding for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
When you repay your loan
You’ll have to start repaying your loan when your income is over a certain amount (the ‘threshold’ amount).
You’ll be charged interest from the day you get the first payment.
2. What you'll get
You can get up to:
- £12,167 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2023
- £11,836 if your course started between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023
- £11,570 if your course started between 1 August 2021 and 31 July 2022
The amount you’ll get is not based on your income or your family’s.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) may take account of the loan when working out any benefits you receive.
The loan is paid directly to you. You can use it for your course fees and living costs.
If your course lasts for more than a year, the loan will be divided equally across each year of your course.
When you’re paid
You get the first payment after your course start date, once your university or college confirms that you’ve registered.
The loan will be paid in 3 instalments of 33%, 33% and 34% each year. After your application has been approved, you’ll be sent a letter with your payment dates. You can also check them in your online account.
If you change university or college
Your new university or college has to confirm the change with Student Finance England before you receive any more payments.
3. Eligibility
Whether you qualify depends on:
- your course
- your age
- your nationality or residency status
You will not be able to get a Postgraduate Master’s Loan if:
- you’re already getting payments from Student Finance England for another course that you’re studying
- you’ve received a loan or grant for a master’s course before - unless you only got a Disabled Students’ Allowance or you left your course for a serious personal reason like illness or bereavement
- you already have a master’s degree, or a qualification that’s equivalent, such as an integrated master’s degree
- you already have a qualification that’s higher than a master’s degree
- you’re behind in repayments for any previous loans from the Student Loans Company
You’ll still be eligible if you have a PGCE or a postgraduate diploma or certificate.
You will not get extra money if you repeat a year of your course.
Your course
It must:
- be a full, standalone master’s course (not a top-up course)
- be worth at least 180 credits - check the course provider’s website if you’re not sure
- have started on or after 1 August 2016
Your course must be provided by an eligible university or college in the UK (including the Open University). Check with the university or college that your course is registered.
Your course can be taught or research-based.
It can be:
- full-time, lasting 1 or 2 academic years
- part-time, lasting 2 to 4 academic years - no more than twice the length of the equivalent full-time course
- part-time for up to 3 years, where no equivalent full-time course exists
Examples of postgraduate master’s qualifications include:
- MSc (master of science)
- MA (master of arts)
- MPhil (master of philosophy)
- MRes (master of research)
- LLM (master of law)
- MLitt (master of letters)
- MFA (master of fine art)
- MEd (master of education)
- MBA (master of business administration)
You cannot get a Postgraduate Master’s Loan for a postgraduate certificate or diploma.
Distance learning
To qualify for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan for distance learning, you’ll need to be living in England on the first day of the first academic year of your course. You’ll also need to live in:
- England for the whole of your course, if you’re an EU national
- the UK for the whole of your course, if you’re not an EU national
This usually does not apply if you’re:
- serving in the armed forces
- a spouse or civil partner of a serving member of the armed forces
- a dependent parent living with a serving member of the armed forces
Integrated courses
You will not be eligible for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan if your course is:
- integrated with an undergraduate degree - apply for undergraduate funding instead
- integrated with a doctoral degree - apply for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan instead
Intercalated year
You might be eligible for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan if you’re taking a year out of an undergraduate course to study for a master’s.
This will generally mean you’re not entitled to undergraduate funding anymore because you’ll hold a higher level qualification.
You are still eligible for undergraduate funding if your course leads to a qualification in:
- architecture
- dentistry
- medicine
- social work
- undergraduate Initial Teacher Training
- veterinary science
Master of architecture
If you plan to study for a master of architecture (MArch Part 2) qualification full-time, apply for undergraduate funding support. Your course must be accredited by the Architects Registration Board (ARB) to be eligible.
You can only apply for the Postgraduate Master’s Loan to support your MArch course if one of the following applies:
- you’re taking a part-time course
- you’re not eligible for undergraduate funding support
- the course does not lead to an accredited qualification as an architect
Healthcare and social work
You cannot get a Postgraduate Master’s Loan if you:
- are eligible for an NHS bursary
- get a Social Work Bursary - unless you only get a Placement Travel Allowance
This also applies for health and social work bursaries in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
You also cannot get a Postgraduate Master’s Loan if you’re starting a full-time postgraduate pre-registration healthcare course on or after 1 August 2018. You may be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan instead. If the course is part-time you can get a Postgraduate Master’s Loan.
Your age
You must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your course.
The academic year is a period of 12 months starting on:
- 1 September, if your course starts between 1 August and 31 December
- 1 January, if your course starts between 1 January and 31 March
- 1 April, if your course starts between 1 April and 30 June
- 1 July, if your course starts between 1 July and 31 July
Your nationality or residency status
You can apply for the Postgraduate Master’s Loan if all of the following are true:
- you’re a UK national or Irish citizen or have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or indefinite leave to remain so there are no restrictions on how long you can stay
- you normally live in England
- you’ve been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course (apart from temporary absences such as holidays)
If you’ve been living in Ireland or a British overseas territory, you do not need to normally live in England. You can apply for the loan if you attend your course in England or do distance learning in England.
You might also be eligible if you’re a UK national (or family member of a UK national) and you’ve been living in the UK, the EU, Gibraltar, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein for the past 3 years. To be eligible, you must have either:
- returned to the UK on or after 1 January 2018 and by 31 December 2020 after living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
- been living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein on 31 December 2020
If you’re an EU national or a family member of an EU national
You may be eligible if you’re an EU national, or a family member of an EU national, and all the following apply:
- you have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (no restrictions on how long you can stay)
- you’ve normally lived in the UK, the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland or overseas territories for the past 3 years (this is also known as being ‘ordinarily resident’)
- you’ll be studying at a university or college in England
You could also be eligible if you’re:
- the child of a Swiss national and you and your parent have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
- a migrant worker from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein with pre-settled status, or a family member of a migrant worker where both have settled or pre-settled status
- a resident of Gibraltar who is a UK or EU national, or their family member
- an EU national and have pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the past 3 years
Student finance for EU, Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic or Liechtenstein nationals from August 2021
If you started a course on or after 1 August 2021, you usually need to have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get student finance.
You need to have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. The deadline to apply was 30 June 2021. If you’re joining family members in the UK who have settled status, you can apply for student finance before you have been granted pre-settled status.
Irish citizens do not need to apply for a visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme. They can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme if they wish to, for example, to apply on behalf of a child.
If you have a different residency status
You may also be eligible if your residency status is one of the following:
- refugee (including family members)
- humanitarian protection (including family members)
- child of a Turkish worker who has permission to stay in the UK - you and your Turkish worker parent must have been living in the UK by 31 December 2020
- a stateless person (including family members)
- an unaccompanied child granted ‘Section 67 leave’ under the Dubs Amendment
- a child who is under the protection of someone granted ‘Section 67 leave’, who is also allowed to stay in the UK for the same period of time as the person responsible for them (known as ‘leave in line’)
- granted ‘Calais leave’ to remain
- a child of someone granted ‘Calais leave’ to remain, who is also allowed to stay in the UK for the same period of time as their parent (known as ‘leave in line’)
- you’ve been given settled status but not under the EU Settlement Scheme
- you’ve been given indefinite leave to remain because you’ve been the victim of domestic violence
- you’ve been granted indefinite leave to remain as a bereaved partner
- you or your family member have been granted leave under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) or the Afghan Citizen’s Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)
- you or your family member have been granted leave to enter or remain in the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme, the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme or the Ukraine Extension Scheme
If you’re a non-UK national and have lived in the UK for a certain number of years
You could also be eligible if you’re not a UK national and are either:
- under 18 and have lived in the UK for at least 7 years
- 18 or over and have lived in the UK for at least 20 years (or at least half of your life)
You must have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course.
4. How to apply
You can apply now for courses that start or started in the following academic years:
- 2023 to 2024
- 2022 to 2023
Check whether you’re eligible before you apply.
You only need to apply once for the Postgraduate Master’s Loan, even if your course is longer than one year. Student Finance England will write to you in the summer to tell you how much you’ll get in the next academic year.
You’ll not be eligible for an Adult Dependants’ Grant, a Childcare Grant or Parents’ Learning Allowance from Student Finance England if you’re studying a master’s course.
Apply online
If you’ve taken out a loan with Student Finance England before, use your account to apply.
If you do not already have one, set up an account.
Apply by post
If you cannot apply online, apply by post - the address is on the form.
Read the student finance privacy notice to find out how the information you provide will be used.
Courses that start in the 2023 to 2024 academic year
Courses that start in the 2022 to 2023 academic year
Courses that started before 1 August 2022
Contact Student Finance England Postgraduate Loan Team if you cannot apply online.
When to apply by
You need to apply within 9 months of the first day of the last academic year of the course.
The academic year
The academic year is a period of 12 months.
The first day of your academic year depends when your course starts.
| Course start date between | First day of academic year |
|---|---|
| 1 August and 31 December | 1 September |
| 1 January and 31 March | 1 January |
| 1 April and 30 June | 1 April |
| 1 July and 31 July | 1 July |
Example
If your course started on 17 October 2023 and you’re studying for 2 years, you need to apply within 9 months of 1 September 2024.
Proof of identity
Include valid UK passport details in your application. Use the ‘UK passport details’ form if you need to send the details after your application. Do not send the passport itself.
If you do not have a UK passport (or it has expired), send your original birth or adoption certificate to Student Finance England.
Include your name and address. You should also include your customer reference number if you have one. This is an 11-digit number. You can find it on letters or emails you’ve had from Student Finance England.
If your course starts in the 2023 to 2024 academic year:
If your course starts in the 2022 to 2023 academic year:
If you’re an EU national
If you have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you only need to provide your share code to prove your immigration status and identity. You do not need to send your passport. Someone will contact you to ask for your share code after you apply.
If you do not have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, send your non-UK passport or identity card the first time you apply.
Supporting information
You should use the evidence return form for extra information to support your application, for example evidence of your residency status.
You may also be asked to complete the UK employment status form.
If your course starts in the 2023 to 2024 academic year:
If your course started in the 2022 to 2023 academic year:
Change an application
Use your online account to change your personal details, for example bank or contact details. Contact Student Finance England directly if you do not have an account.
If your course starts in the 2023 to 2024 academic year:
If your course started in the 2022 to 2023 academic year:
Other changes
Use the change of circumstances form if you need to change any other details, for example your university or course. You cannot do this online.
If your course starts in the 2023 to 2024 academic year:
If your course started in the 2022 to 2023 academic year:
If you would like to change something else contact Student Finance England Postgraduate Loan Team.
If your course started before the 2021 academic year
If your course started before the 2021 academic year and you would like to make changes contact Student Finance England Postgraduate Loan Team.
Taking a break or withdrawing from your course
Contact Student Finance England Postgraduate Loan Team and your institution straight away if you need to withdraw from your course. It may affect your future payments and eligibility for funding.
5. Extra help
You may qualify for other funding, for example grants from charities or trusts.
Student Finance England also has more information about other kinds of student finance.
You will not be eligible for an Adult Dependants’ Grant, a Childcare Grant or Parents’ Learning Allowance from Student Finance England if you’re studying a master’s course.
Disabled students
If you have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty (for example dyslexia) you can apply for:
- Disabled Students’ Allowance
- extra help if you’re experiencing financial hardship
You may also qualify for disability related benefits.
6. Further information
You can learn more about the Postgraduate Master’s Loan on the Student Room website.
Contact Student Finance England if you have further questions.