Government introduces postgraduate loan of up to £10,000

The government has recently announced that students starting a Masters degree after 1 August 2016 can apply for a Postgraduate Loan, enabling them to borrow up to £10,000 to pay fees and help with living costs.

At present, students studying postgraduate degrees have to arrange to pay their fees by taking out bank loans, or applying for scholarships and bursaries available from their universities.

The funds available for postgraduates at most universities are restricted, meaning that the introduction of the new loan will provide students with another dependable option to cover their expenses, despite adding to their ultimate debt.

The new loan, which will not be dependent upon personal or family income, will be available to apply for in June this year. It will be available for postgraduate students for all subject areas, and for both taught and research degrees.

Those students eligible should be under 60, usually live in England and not already have a master’s degree.

The loans will undoubtedly provide prospective students with more options than they previously had, but do not go to the heart of postgraduate widening participation in any discernible evidence-based way.

Nat Panda, Postgraduate Officer

In an article for The Independent, the director of admissions at Warwick, Delyth Chambers said: “The current lack of finance has been deterring graduates from going straight on to do a masters.”

Chambers also described how the average age of students on postgraduate courses at the university is 25, suggesting that postgraduates have been delaying the commencement of these courses.

It is hoped that these loans will encourage students to pursue a Masters degree, by reducing the financial burden of paying for it but the loan will not be enough to cover living expenses and tuition fees.

Nat Panda, Postgraduate Officer, commented: “The loans will undoubtedly provide prospective students with more options than they previously had, but do not go to the heart of postgraduate widening participation in any discernible evidence-based way.”