UK government Masters loans

Residency

In addition to the residency requirements outlined above, you may also be eligible if you're a non-EU national and are:

• the child of a Turkish worker
• a refugee, or the relative of a refugee
• under humanitarian protection, or the relative of someone under humanitarian protection
• staying in the UK as stateless, or the relative of someone staying in the UK as stateless
• aged 18 or over and have lived in the UK for at least 20 years or at least half your life
• aged 18 or over, having lived in the UK for at least 20 years (or at least half your life)
• granted indefinite leave to remain following the Calais camp clearance in 2016 (known as ‘Calais leave’) or the child of someone with Calais leave. You must also have lived in the UK for at least three years before the first day of the first academic year.

You will not normally be eligible if:

• you're a UK national or have settled or pre-settled status in the UK, but live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

UKCISA provides information on funding and loans for postgraduate students that live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Find out if you are eligible.

Part-time courses

You will be eligible if your course is:

• part-time, lasting two to four academic years, and no more than twice the length of the equivalent full-time course
• part-time for up to three years, where no equivalent full-time course exists.

Other eligibility factors

You will not be eligible if:

• you already hold:
• a Masters qualification
• an equivalent qualification
• a higher qualification
• you're aged 60 or above on the first day of the academic year in which your course begins
• 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 Masters course before - unless you got a Disabled Students’ Allowance or you left your course for a serious personal reason like illness or bereavement
• you're behind in repayments for any previous loans from the Student Loans Company.

What courses can I study?

You can receive a loan to study a postgraduate programme that awards a full Masters qualification. Eligible courses include:

• MSc
• MA
• MPhil
• MRes
• LLM
• MPA

Courses which are not covered include:

• PGCE - other funding is available for PGCE courses
• PGCert
• PGDip
• PhD - a separate loan of up to £27,892 is available for doctoral students
• Undergraduate courses with integrated Masters years - these courses will usually be covered by undergraduate student loans

Mode of study

Full-time, part-time and distance learning courses are all covered. Part-time courses must be at a minimum of 50 per cent intensity.

Course length

Your course should last no longer than two years full-time, or four years part-time.

Your loan will be paid to you in three instalments over the academic year, subject to confirmation of attendance by the University. These will be evenly spaced across your course. For example:

• If you're on a one-year programme, you'll receive £11,386 in three instalments.
• If you're on a two-year programme, you'll receive £5,918 in three instalments in your first year, and £5,918 in three instalments in your second year.

The loan will be paid directly to you. You will be responsible for using the money to contribute towards tuition fees and other expenses as you see fit.

Once you're earning more than £21,000 you'll start making payments on your Student Finance England loan. These payments will be set at 6% of anything you earn above £21,000. Payments will stop automatically if:

• you stop working
• your income goes below the threshold.

The earliest you'll begin repaying is:

• the April after you complete your course, subject to meeting the income threshold
• the April four years after the course started, if you're studying part-time.

Interest

• Loan interest is normally calculated at RPI+3% (gov.uk)
• Interest will begin to accrue from the date you receive your first instalment

The government has committed to beating commercial interest rates, or matching commercial rates but with better terms.

• Find out more about repaying your loan (gov.uk)

If you're an eligible EU national who joined the University in the 2019/20 or 2020/21 academic years, you'll have access to student loans for the duration of your course.

• For further details, see EU Nationals and Student Finance in England (gov.uk).

If you're unsure of whether you're eligible, or if you have further visa or immigration advice, please fill out the International Student Support self-referral form.