find your perfect postgrad program
Search our Database of 30,000 Courses
Postgraduate Funding In Wales
In 2019, Wales introduced a new postgraduate funding system, enabling masters students to claim up to £17,000 through a combination of loans and grants.
For courses starting in the academic year 2025/26, that amount has been increased to £19,255 as a non-means-tested loan towards tuition fees and living costs.
For the academic year 2026/27 postgrads can receive a maximum loan of £29,705, whether it is a full- or part-time course. In addition, some students may be eligible to claim a grant up to the value of £34,671 to help with additional costs due to disability.
Find your PERFECT POSTGRAD PROGRAMWho is eligible for Welsh funding?
The following are the eligibility criteria for the Wales’ Postgraduate Masters Finance scheme.
If you are a UK National or Irish Citizen or someone with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or indefinite leave to remain, you must have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three years before the first day of your first academic year and normally live in Wales to qualify for the scheme.
If you are an EU national or family member of an EU national, you must have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, be studying in Wales and have been living in the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA or Switzerland for the three years before the first day of your first academic year of your course to qualify for funding. EU nationals must be living in Wales for the duration of their course. Exceptions on additional categories like refugees, humanitarian protection and Ukraine schemes now apply — see Student Finance Wales for more details.
If you are a UK national or family member of a UK national who has been living in the EEA or Switzerland you must BOTH have lived in the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA or Switzerland for the three years before the first day of your first academic year and be studying in Wales to be eligible for funding.
If you’re studying by distance learning, you’ll need to be living BOTH in Wales on the first day of the first academic year of your course and in the UK for the duration of your course to qualify for funding.
Some conditions to keep in mind
You do not qualify for Postgraduate Masters Finance if:
a) you’ve already had Postgraduate Masters Finance or a Postgraduate Masters Loan
b) you already have a masters degree, or a qualification that’s equivalent or higher level
c) you’re getting funding from:
* the KESS 2 scheme
* any equivalent schemes in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland
d) you’re eligible to receive an NHS bursary.
Your course must also be a full standalone masters (not top-up), worth at least 180 credits, no longer than two years full time or four years part time, at a designated UK university/college, and you must be under 60 years old on day one of your first academic year. Please check with Student Finance Wales for up-to-date information on eligibility.
Value of funding
Students beginning a masters degree course in the 2025/2026 academic year can receive up to £19,255 as a non-means-tested loan towards tuition fees and living costs from Student Finance Wales. Unlike earlier systems, there is no separate means-tested grant unless you qualify due to disability; the full amount is available as loan (you can request less if preferred).
How are the payments made?
The money is paid to the student rather than the university in regular instalments for the duration of the course. The value of each instalment depends on how much loan is requested and how long the masters course is. If the masters course is longer than one year, the postgraduate funding will be divided across each year of the course. There are usually three instalments per year, at the start of each term; the final installment in each year may be slightly higher.
Notice of Entitlement letter
Once your application for Postgraduate Masters Finance has been approved, you will receive a Notice of Entitlement letter which will detail when you will receive the payments and how much you will be getting. Do take the time to ensure that the details on the letter are accurate and up to date.
What are the repayment terms?
Repayment terms will be similar to those for undergraduate loans. Graduates needn't repay anything until their income exceeds £21,000 a year, £1,750 a month, or £403 a week, before tax and National Insurance, at which point 6% of their income above that threshold will be deducted.
Repayments start the April after you leave the course.
If the full amount has not been repaid after 30 years, the remaining debt will be cancelled.
Interest accrues at RPI + 3%; concurrent with undergrad loans if applicable.
Eligibility criteria
Postgraduate funding in Wales is available to eligible UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man residents who have lived in Wales for the past three years and are ordinarily resident in Wales (not just living there to go to university) and certain EU students meeting residency rules who have lived in the UK, EEA or Switzerland for the past three years.
Applicants must also be under 60 years old on the first day of the first academic year of the course and not already hold a masters degree.
UK students who normally live in another part of the UK are unlikely to be eligible for Welsh Masters Funding. Please check with Student Finance Wales for up-to-date information on eligibility.
How to apply
Applications for Welsh Masters Funding are open for masters degree courses beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. The easiest and quickest way to apply is online at www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/postgraduate-finance/. Do keep in mind that you must apply no later than nine months after the start of the final academic year of your course. You do not need a confirmed place at university or college to apply. Also, you only need to apply once, even if your course lasts for more than one year. Go to Student Finance Wales for more information.
Find your PERFECT POSTGRAD PROGRAMRelated articles
Guide To Postgraduate Study In Wales
10 Things To Do If You're A Postgraduate Student In Wales
Top 10 Things To Do If You're A Postgraduate Student In Cardiff
