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Masters degree funding advice
Josh Du Sautoy is a Student Funding Manager at UCL.
Question: What help is there to fund your postgraduate course in the UK?
Answer: There are now more ways than ever to fund a postgraduate programme in the UK, however there are still some tips to follow, and pitfalls to avoid when you’re thinking about moving into postgraduate education.
The main source of funding for UK students is the Postgraduate Master’s Loan from Student Finance England. This works in a lot of the ways that your undergraduate loan did, but in case you didn’t need to take out an undergraduate loan from student finance (lucky you!) then here are the key points:
- As long as you meet the eligibility criteria, you’re eligible to take out a sizeable loan to pay for your study needs. In 2025 this amount was up to £12,858, and so if you’re thinking about applying for a loan for postgraduate study in 2026, we would expect the amount to be over £13,000.
- Unlike Student Finance England’s undergraduate loans, this goes straight to you and can be used for either tuition fees or maintenance costs.
- You repay it in largely the same manner as you pay off an undergraduate loan, except that you’ll be asked to repay 6% of whatever you earn over £21,000 – this is from the April after you’ve graduated.
Now, I talked about pitfalls, so here are a few things to be aware of:
- Don’t think that the Postgraduate Loan is all you’ll need.
- Unfortunately, we do see students arrive at university with just the Postgraduate Loan as preparation for the costs of their study needs. While that might cover their tuition fees, they still need to pay rent, travel into university and eat. It helps to factor these in early on when you’re adding up the full costs of postgraduate study.
If you count the Postgraduate Loan as roughly half of what you’ll need, then it’s time to start preparing for the other half.
Other funding:
- Have a look at the postgraduate scholarships on offer from different universities. Each university will have a range of postgraduate scholarships available; just make sure you apply on time:
Please note, scholarships normally open from January onwards and can close in July before your course has started. It’s very rare that scholarships are still open by the time your course has started, so it’s best to prepare early.
- Take a look at alternative forms of postgraduate funding. For example, there are some charities, local councils and foundations that can help students with their funding needs.
Be prepared to apply to more than one. Charities and foundations aren’t likely to give you £15,000 in one go, but if you apply for several charities and each one gives you £1,000 or £2,000…then you’re on your way.
Charities and foundations can take applications for funding all year round, so you can still apply if your course has already started.
At UCL, we’ve brought together information on a wide range of other postgraduate funding routes in one place with our postgraduate funding guide.
And finally, reach out to your university for advice! We’re here to help with your funding needs.
Find out more about student funding at UCL.
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