Postgraduate student finance

You may be eligible for a postgraduate loan if you:

• are a UK national ordinarily resident in the country where you’re applying for the loan (for example, you’re a UK national who usually lives in Wales and you’re applying to the Welsh Government for a loan)
• you want to study at a UK university (note that if you apply for a loan in Scotland, you should also intend to study at a Scottish university; you may be able to study at other UK universities if a course isn’t offered in Scotland)
• are aged under 60 at the beginning of the academic year in which you begin your course (usually 1 September or 1 January). Note that age restrictions do not apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland
• are studying on an eligible course (see below)
• don’t have student loan arrears (overdue debt)
• don’t already hold a Masters qualification (or equivalent or higher level qualification)
• a UK national or Irish citizen or have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or indefinite leave to remain. You should have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for three years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course (apart from temporary absences such as holidays).

You may also be eligible if you:

• have the residency status of refugee, humanitarian protection, a family member of the previous categories or a child of a Turkish worker who has permission to stay in the UK
• are aged 18 or over and have lived in the UK for at least 20 years or at least half your life
• a stateless person, including family members
• meet one of the other criteria, which can be subject to change. Check the Gov.UK website for current Doctoral Loan eligibility.

You may also be able to apply for a Postgraduate Loan if you’re:

• a member of the Armed Forces, or a relative of someone in the Armed Forces, and studying on a distance learning course at a UK university while you’re posted abroad

Students from England and Wales can borrow up to £11,836 to study a Masters degree.

In Northern Ireland, a loan of £5,500 is available.

Students from Scotland can borrow a total of £10,000: £5,500 for tuition fees and £4,500 for living costs.

You don’t have to borrow the full amount. You can also amend the amount you requested up to one month before the end of the academic year.

Postgraduate loans are not means-tested.

In England, Northern Ireland and Wales, you don’t have to declare how you plan to use the funds. They could help pay your fees, accommodation or other living costs you may have while studying.

In Scotland, up to £5,500 is allocated for tuition fees, and up to £4,500 for living costs.

Yes, if you’re eligible for a postgraduate loan you can still receive scholarships, bursaries or other funding you have applied for.

However, note that if you're receiving certain types of funding – such as an NHS bursary for nursing, or funding for teacher training – you may not be eligible for a postgraduate loan. It's best to check with postgraduate loan providers for more information.

There are no subject restrictions with the postgraduate loan. However, if you are receiving alternative funding – such as an NHS bursary for nursing, or funding for teacher training – you may not be eligible for a postgraduate loan.

Your course should last up to two years full-time, or four years part-time. It should also result in a full Masters degree.

Eligible courses include:

• MSc (Master of Science)
• MA (Master of Arts)
• MPhil (Master of Philosophy) on entry
• MRes (Master of Research) on entry
• LLM (Master of Law)
• MLitt (Master of Letters)
• MFA (Master of Fine Arts)
• MEd(Master of Education)
• MBA (Master of Business Administration)

The following aren’t eligible for a postgraduate loan. However, you may be able to apply for a doctoral loan – you'll find information about the doctoral loan on this page.

• GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law)
• LPC (Legal Practice Course)
• MEng (Master of Engineering
• PGCert (Postgraduate Certificate)
• PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education)
• PGDip (Postgraduate Diploma
• PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
• Integrated Masters and other courses currently funded by the undergraduate support system.

If you live in Northern Ireland, the Government will offer loans for courses up to Masters level, including PGCert and PGDip qualifications. As these courses typically cost less than a full Masters, the amount you can borrow may be capped accordingly.

If you’re part-time, you must be studying at a minimum of 50% intensity (ie, progressing through your course at at least half the ‘speed’ of someone studying it full-time).

From 2017, part-time students will be able to receive payments throughout their course. For example, if you’re borrowing £10,280 in total and your degree lasts for four years, you can receive £2,570 in each year of study.

In England, Northern Ireland and Wales postgraduate loans are portable, which means you can study anywhere in the UK.

If you’re studying by distance learning, your course should be offered by a UK university. You’ll also need to be resident in the country in which you apply for your loan, while you’re studying. Your course can be offered by a university outside of that country – as long as it’s in the UK.

The rules governing postgraduate loans in Scotland are slightly different. If you’re applying for a postgraduate loan in Scotland, you should intend to study at a Scottish university. However, you may be able to study at other UK universities if a course isn’t offered in Scotland.

If you’re interested in distance learning, the postgraduate loan will apply to eligible Masters degrees offered by the Open University. It won’t apply to distance learning courses offered by ‘physical’ universities with a campus in the UK.

To apply for a postgraduate loan visit:

• England: Student Finance England
• Northern Ireland: Student Finance NI
• Scotland: Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)
• Wales: Student Finance Wales

You’ll need your National Insurance number to apply.

Follow us @angliaruskin on Twitter for general updates on courses, study options, funding and more.

If you are eligible for the postgraduate loan it will be paid directly into your UK bank account in three equal instalments each academic year, once we have confirmed your status as a student.

• Payment 1 – in month one of the academic year
• Payment 2 – month four of the academic year
• Payment 3 – month seven of the academic year

In England and Wales, interest will accrue on your loan at different rates, depending what plan you are on. The Gov.UK website has full details of the different plans and repayment arrangements.

In Northern Ireland, interest currently accrues at 1.25%.

In Scotland, interest is linked to inflation via the Retail Price Index.

The Retail Price Index can change each September, so the interest rate may also be adjusted at this time.

You can pay back some or all of your loan at any time without penalty. Any remaining loan will be repaid under income contingent repayment terms. The repayment due date for postgraduate loan balances will be 6 April following the academic year in which the course is completed.

If you’re scheduled to repay in full within two years you can switch to direct debit repayments.

In England and Wales, repayments are either 6% or 9% of your income above the relevant threshold, depending which plan you are on. The Gov.UK website has full details of the different plans and repayment arrangements.

In Northern Ireland, repayments are 9% of your income once you are earning over £19,895 per year.

In Scotland, repayments are 9% of your income once you are earning over £25,000 per year.

Any outstanding balance will be written off on the 30th anniversary of the date that the loan became due for repayment (25 years in Northern Ireland).

If you’re overseas, the threshold will be based on the cost of living in your country of residence – these payments will be made directly to the Student Loans Company.

• If you want to transfer to a course at Anglia Ruskin University please let our Admissions Customer Service Team know you have a loan so we can make sure you receive future instalments. You can do this by emailing answers@aru.ac.uk.
• If you suspend and resume a course no payments will made during the suspension period. Repeated years won’t be funded unless there are compelling personal reasons for repeating.
• If you withdraw from a course you should let the university know immediately as any payments made after that date will be treated as an overpayment and be reclaimed by the Student Loans Company.
• If you are nominated to the NHS Business Services Authority for a bursary for MA Social Work you will become ineligible for the Postgraduate Loan and must inform the Student Loans Company immediately to cancel your loan application.

Your eligibility depends upon your age, course, and country of residence.

You must be:

• aged 59 or under at the start of your course on the 1st day of the first academic year (ie 1 September)
• starting your first doctoral degree (or equivalent level qualification)
• starting a full, standalone doctoral course (not a top-up) on or after 1 August 2018
• working towards a specific award: see the section ‘What subjects, research topics and types of degree are eligible?’
• intending to complete within three to eight academic years
• studying at a university in the UK (see also ‘Where can I study?’)
• a UK national or Irish citizen or have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or indefinite leave to remain. You should have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for three years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course (apart from temporary absences such as holidays).

You may also be eligible if you:

• have the residency status of refugee, humanitarian protection, a family member of the previous categories or a child of a Turkish worker who has permission to stay in the UK
• are aged 18 or over and have lived in the UK for at least 20 years or at least half your life
• a stateless person, including family members
• meet one of the other criteria, which can be subject to change. Check the Gov.UK website for current Doctoral Loan eligibility.

You may also be able to apply for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if you’re:

• a member of the Armed Forces, or a relative of someone in the Armed Forces, and studying on a distance learning course at a UK university while you’re posted abroad

You can choose to study full-time or part-time, as long as your course lasts between three to eight years.

Distance learning students can apply so you do not need to be based at a specific university campus. You must, however, be living in England on the first day of the first academic year of your course, and live in the UK for the whole duration of the course. An exception is members of the Armed Forces and their spouse/partner and dependants (as long as they are living with them).

Your course can be taught, research-based, or both.

Note that if you already have a doctoral degree (or equivalent or higher qualification), you won’t be eligible for the loan.

Eligible students can borrow up to £27,892 to cover the costs of a postgraduate doctoral course, such as a PhD or a Professional Doctorate.

You don’t have to borrow the full amount and doctoral loans are not means-tested.

You can apply in any year of study but the maximum you can receive in any one year is capped at £11,836 so you may not receive the full £25,000 if you apply after your first year.

Your doctoral loan can help with the costs associated with postgraduate study, including fees, study-related expenses, and living costs. It will not necessarily cover all your costs, but should make a significant contribution.

You may still qualify for other sources of funding, such as grants from charities and trusts.

If you have a disability, a long-term health condition or a specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia), you can also apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance. You can get this allowance on top of other funding, including the doctoral loan.

You won't be eligible for a doctoral loan if you already receive (or will receive):

• Research Council funding (including studentships)
• a social work bursary
• funding from Student Finance England for another course if you’re studying that course at the same time as you take your doctoral qualification. If you’ve received funding in the past (for example, a tuition fee loan for an undergraduate degree) this won’t affect your eligibility.

If you’re eligible for an NHS bursary (even if you’re not receiving one), you cannot apply for a doctoral loan.

There are no subject restrictions. (However, if you are receiving alternative funding – such as an NHS bursary or Research Council funding, you will not also be eligible for a doctoral loan.)

Equally, there are no restrictions on research areas or topics.

There are some restrictions on the type of degree. Eligible degrees include:

• PhD/DPhil (Doctor of Philosophy)
• Professional Doctorates
• EdD (Doctor of Education)
• DBA (Doctor of Business Administration
• EngD (Doctor of Engineering)
• MPhil (Master of Philosophy) if you are later ‘upgraded’ to a PhD. You must have registered for the full doctoral degree even if you are registered on an MPhil for the initial part of the course.

The following aren’t eligible for a doctoral loan:

• PhD by publication
• a standalone MPhil.

You can choose to study at any UK university with degree-awarding powers.

If more than one university delivers your course and one is based outside the UK, you will still be eligible for the doctoral loan if the UK university is the lead institution and you spend at least 50% of your total study time in the UK.

You can apply online or by post. You only need to apply once for the duration of your course.

If you already have an online account with Student Finance England, log in to apply for a doctoral loan.

If you don't have an account, you can set one up and apply.

Alternatively, visit the Gov.UK website to download an application form and apply by post.

Follow us @angliaruskin on Twitter for general updates on courses, study options, funding and more.

If you’re eligible for the doctoral loan it will be split evenly across each year of study, and paid directly into your UK bank account.

You’ll receive the money in three termly instalments each academic year. The first instalment comes after your course start date, once your university confirms that you are in attendance.

Interest will accrue on your loan at the Retail Price Index plus (as of May 2022) 4.5% on your outstanding balance.

The Retail Price Index can change each September, so the interest rate may also be adjusted at this time.

Currently, repayments are 6% of your income above the minimum ‘threshold’. This will be £21,000 in the 2022-23 academic year (equivalent to £1,750 per month or £404 per week).

As an example:

You earn £2,500 a month before tax. This is £750 over the monthly threshold of £1,750. You’ll repay £45 (6% of this amount) each month.

You won’t need to start repaying your loan until the April after you complete your course.

If you already have a postgraduate (Masters) loan you’ll make a combined repayment of 6% covering both postgraduate loans. You must repay any undergraduate student loans you have at the same time.

If you’re overseas, the threshold is likely to be based on the cost of living in your country of residence.

• If you want to transfer to a course at Anglia Ruskin University please let our Admissions Customer Service Team know you have a loan so we can make sure you receive future instalments. You can do this by emailing answers@aru.ac.uk.
If you suspend and resume a course no payments will made during the suspension period. Repeated years won’t be funded unless there are compelling personal reasons for repeating.
• If you withdraw from a course you should let the university know immediately as any payments made after that date will be treated as an overpayment and be reclaimed by Student Finance.

Our ARU Bursary is for UK (and eligible EU/EEA students) who are studying an integrated Masters degree, and have an annual household income of £42,875 or less.

Our International Excellence Scholarship is awarded to students who can demonstrate exceptional academic and extra-curricular achievement.

To apply, complete an application form and send it to us, along with a supporting statement. Find out more.

Every year, we award a number of International Merit Scholarships to students who achieve (or exceed) certain grades.

There's no need to apply. You’ll automatically receive our International Merit Scholarship if you meet the eligibility criteria. Find out more.

If you have completed an undergraduate degree at ARU and want to move on to postgraduate study, you may be eligible for our International Alumni Scholarship.

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be awarded this scholarship. Find out more about eligibility.

Boost your career prospects with our prestigious Master of Business Administration (MBA). Study in Cambridge and take advantage of our scholarship, which takes the form of a fee reduction. UK, EU and international students are eligible.

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be awarded our MBA Scholarship. Find out more about eligibility.

Our Sport Scholarship is for talented athletes who are competing at regional, national or international level. It's available to UK, EU and international students.

Each award is tailored to suit individual needs and combines high-quality performance support services with fantastic facilities that will add value to your existing training programme. Find out more and apply.

MA Children's Book Illustration
Our MA Children's Book Illustration course offers the Inclusivity Bursary and Mentorship, worth £11,200 to encourage and support talented students from under-represented groups to study the MA Children’s Book Illustration course at ARU’s Cambridge School of Art.

The Mark Wood Art and Design Scholarship
Students taking up a place on the following Masters courses can apply for this scholarship: MA Film and TV Production, MA Fine Art, MA Printmaking, MA Graphic Design and Typography, MA Illustration and Book Arts, MA Computer Games Development (Art). For more details and the application form, visit our fundraising pages.

Our Vice Chancellor's PhD Studentships are fully-funded studentships (fees and a stipend), offering the chance to undertake research in a selected range of disciplinary areas. Studentships start in September each year. Find out more.

Professional doctorates are another option: they're typically funded by employers. Contact our postgraduate research degree team for information about our range of professional doctorates.

From time to time, we may also advertise funded PhD studentships on our University jobs website.

Some charities, trusts and foundations make partial funding awards for postgraduate study. You can find out more about charities and trusts at your local library. Useful publications include: The Educational Grants Directory; The Grants Register; The Directory of Grant Making Trusts; and The Charities Digest.

There's a useful online guide to funding from charities and trusts, the Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding, which is co-written by a postdoctoral researcher at ARU. Anyone can access it but if you're currently studying at ARU, you can login for free here.

You can search for funding from educational trusts on the Turn2Us website.

There are seven research councils which award grants to institutions (though not to individual students):

• Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
• Medical Research Council (MRC)
• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
• Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

Visit the Prospects website for details of the grants available, and how to apply.

MA Social Work students might be eligible for funding through either a bursary or the Postgraduate Loan (see the separate tab on this page about the Loan). As a university, we're offered a limited number of bursaries, so we cannot guarantee that you will get one. Bursaries are allocated according to your interview score, which reflects current Department of Health guidance.

Social work bursaries are available if you:

• don’t get funding from your employer
• are studying an approved postgraduate course in social work
• don’t already have a higher education social work qualification
• are nominated by your university.

Your bursary will be paid in three instalments, at the start of each semester.

To apply, download the postgraduate application form from the NHS Business Services Authority website. The website also has details of funding levels and application deadlines.

If you have any questions about social work bursaries, you can find answers on the NHS Business Services Authority website which includes links to an enquiry form and helpline.

As well as the postgraduate social work bursary, it's worth exploring other funding options that might apply to you. These include:

• Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA)
• Adult Dependent Grant
• Parents' Learning Allowance
• Childcare Grant towards the cost of registered or accredited childcare costs

As Health Education England’s (HEE) ‘Preferred Provider’ for Essex, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, HEE may be subsiding the tuition fee for students starting our MSc Physician Associate. If you're invited to attend an interview for this course, we hope to be able to give you more details.

Graduate loans are available through high street banks. You should discuss your needs with the bank and shop around for the most suitable loans.

If you’re a postgraduate student taking either a full or part-time recognised taught or research course you’re now eligible to apply for DSA. The course must last for a minimum of one year full-time or, if taken part-time, must be the equivalent of 50% of a full-time course. For more information and to download an application form, visit Gov.UK.

The two main types of tax credit – Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit – have been replaced by Universal Credit for most people. There are several rates of standard allowance. You may get more money on top of the standard allowance if you have children, a disability or a health condition, or you care for a severely disabled person.

Universal Credit is income-based, but certain types of student income aren't counted. Find out more at Gov.UK.

If you’re a registered full-time student you don’t have to pay a council tax bill unless you live with someone who isn’t a student. If you do live with non-students you may still be able to get a discount on the total cost.

To get a discount you may need to get proof that you’re a registered student from our University iCentre. You can do this once you’ve started your course.

Visit Gov.UK to find out more about council tax discounts.

You might be eligible for help with health costs such as prescriptions, glasses and dental treatment through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Being a student doesn't mean you’re entitled to help with these costs, each claim is assessed individually and depends on your financial circumstances.

You’ll need an HC1 claim form to apply. You can get this from Student Services on the campus you’re studying at or from any benefits office, NHS hospital, dentist, doctor or optician. You can also request an HC1 form and get more information on the Low Income Scheme from the National Health Business Services Authority.