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Posted Feb. 24, 2025

Funding for postgraduate students in the UK

Student Funding in the UK

There are various funding options available for postgraduate students in the UK – including UK government masters loans, university scholarships and company bursaries.

In this blog we’re going to take a look at these options in greater detail to help you find a way to fund your masters degree or PhD program.

UK government masters loans

A UK government postgraduate masters loan is available to help UK students cover their living costs and tuition fees. The amount of the masters loan, and the repayment terms differ depending on whether you normally live in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

  • As a UK student that normally lives in England, you can get up to £12,471 if your course started on or after 1st August 2024.
  • As a UK student that normally lives in Scotland, you can get up to £7,000 tuition fees loan and £6,900 living costs loan, if your course started on or after 1st August 2024.
  • As a UK student that normally lives in Wales, you can get up to £18,950 if your course started on or after 1st August 2024.
  • As a UK student that normally lives in Northern Ireland, you can get up to £6,500 if your course started on or after 1st August 2024.

UK government PhD loans

A UK government doctoral loan is available to help UK students cover their living costs and tuition fees whilst they are studying a PhD program. You can get up to £29,390 if your course started on or after 1st August 2024. You can apply for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan in any year of your doctorate, however if you apply after your first year, you may not get the full amount.

University scholarships for postgraduate students

UK universities and HEIs offer a great selection of postgraduate scholarships for home and international students choosing to study at their institution. These scholarships are designed to alleviate the pressure of funding a masters degree or PhD program and vary widely in their financial offerings, from providing a discounted tuition fees – in many cases for the institution’s alumni, to covering the full costs of the tuition fees and even providing a stipend to cover living costs.

Different types of university scholarships

Type of postgraduate scholarship

Details

Merit-based scholarship

Based on exceptional academic results or other achievements

Needs-based scholarship

Based on the student’s needs, ie social background, financial needs, disabilities

International scholarship

For students from particular countries that the university is trying to attract, eg nations with less educational infrastructure

Under-represented student scholarship

To help students from under-represented groups, eg women in certain study areas or people from specific countries

Our postgraduate scholarships section has details of an excellent range of university scholarships to help fund postgraduate courses at different UK universities.

Chevening Scholarships

Chevening Scholarships are for international students wishing to study a masters degree at a UK university. They are among the most sought after and respected postgraduate scholarships in the world, and each year, between 1,000 and 2,000 Chevening Scholarships are awarded to international students. These prestigious scholarships offer students full financial support – covering tuition fees and living costs. The application window for a Chevening Scholarship for students wishing to start their postgraduate program in Autumn 2025 has now closed, but it’s the perfect time to start researching into your options for 2026. Take a look at the Chevening course finder and discover your perfect PG program.

Marshall Scholarships

Marshall Scholarships help fund US postgraduate students to study at any British university in almost any subject area. The aim of Marshall Scholarships is to grow UK/US cooperation by developing future American leaders’ cultural understanding of the UK. The Marshall Scholarships are prestigious, and the students who are awarded them are extremely academically accomplished – many former Marshall scholars go onto leadership roles across many parts of US business, public life and society. Marshall Scholars are encouraged to apply to a broad range of universities throughout the UK – and our bespoke course search is a great way to find the right course to apply for.

Commonwealth Scholarships

Commonwealth Scholarships enable outstanding international postgraduate students from low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries to study at UK universities. It is a UK government funding scheme run by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) – an executive non-departmental public body that is sponsored by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. The aim of the Commonwealth Scholarships is to educate future leaders and innovators from Commonwealth countries – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds – by funding them to study at British universities. In a similar way to the Chevening Scholarships and Marshall Scholarships – one of the purposes of the Commonwealth Scholarships is to encourage better international cooperation between the UK and the eligible countries.

Private and company scholarships

Many private organisations and companies provide scholarships to help with postgraduate study. This could be to promote particular areas of study – for example STEM scholarships or business-related course funding to help cover the costs of expensive MBA program tuition fees.

Postgrad Solutions offers x5 postgraduate bursaries worth £2,000 each to students from any country studying any postgraduate program at any recognised institution worldwide.

Postgrad Solutions £2,000 bursary winner

See how this £2,000 funding is going to help recent scholarship winner Benjamin Prideaux with his MA in Editing at the National Film and Television School this year.

Related articles

University Scholarships for Postgraduate Students

Why Isn’t There A Maintenance Loan For Masters Students In The UK?

Chevening Scholarships

Marshall Scholarships

Postgrad Solutions Study Bursaries

 

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