Government loans widen access to PG study but rising tuition fees risk wiping out progress

Posted on 25 June 2021

Government loans to cover the cost of postgraduate study have increased access - but rising tuition fees risk wiping out these gains, according to new research.

The study – by academics from the University of York and published by the Sutton Trust - found that the proportion of working-class graduates progressing on to a taught masters increased between 2013/14 from six per cent to 12.9 per cent in 2017/18.

Graduates from better off backgrounds are still more likely to progress on to postgraduate study, with 14.2 per cent doing so in 2017/18 compared to 8.6 per cent in 2013/14.

However, the rate of entry for poorer students has grown at a faster rate since loans were brought in during 2015, meaning the access gap has reduced, from 2.6 percentage points in 2013/14 to 1.3 percentage points in 2017/18.

Read the full story title, 'Government loans widen access to PG study but rising tuition fees risk wiping out progress'.