Postgraduate funding

Our guide to postgraduate funding outlines the options available, providing information and links to funding resources that could make postgraduate study a reality for you.

Also, for Marjon alumni there is a 20% discount when you progress from our undergraduate to postgraduate programmes (this discount does not apply to PGCE).

Postgraduate loans in England

A Postgraduate Loan (PGL) of up to £12,167 (figure based on courses starting in academic year 2023/24) is available from Student Finance England. This is available for students starting an eligible Postgraduate Master’s course. It is not means-tested meaning the amount you can receive does not depend on your financial background. You choose how you use it to pay your course fees and living costs - there is no tuition fee element of it paid to the university so you will need to plan for these costs. You will be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from summer 2023. You only need to apply once per course – there is no need to apply each year.

For more information regarding the Postgraduate Loan and how to apply please visit the GOV.UK website.

For further information regarding Plymouth Marjon University tuition fees for Masters and PGCE courses please see our student finance, fees and funding webpage.

It is important to plan early how you will fund yourself, beyond the postgraduate loan, if you decide to study for a postgraduate degree. If you want advice early on, please contact us on studentfunding@marjon.ac.uk or attend the fees and funding talks at our postgraduate open events.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for a postgraduate loan your course must award a full masters degree, usually worth 180 UK credits. It must be a postgraduate course and not part of a longer, four year, undergraduate masters. It cannot last longer than 2 years full-time or 4 years part-time. Eligible courses include MSc, MA and MRes.

You'll still be eligible if you have a PGCE or a postgraduate diploma or certificate.

You have to be aged under 60 before the first day of the first academic year of the programme. Having a loan from a previous undergraduate course won’t affect your eligibility for the postgraduate loan – unless you have outstanding arrears. You can only get a loan if you don’t already have a postgraduate Masters qualification or a higher level qualification like a PHD.

For further eligibility information including nationality and residence status can be found here.

Postgraduate loan repayments

The earliest you start repaying your PGL is when your annual income is over £21,000 and it's either the first April after you leave your course or April 4 years after the course started.
You'll pay back 6% of your income over the minimum amount ('threshold').
You must repay any undergraduate student loans you have at the same time.
You can make voluntary repayments at any time.
Any PG Loan balance will be written off 30 years after the date you enter repayment.
Further repayment information available here.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

There are separate postgraduate loans if you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland They are available to students who are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland and provide up to £6,500.

Wales Welsh-resident UK students will be able to borrow up to £18,770 (2023-24 figures) as a combination of grant and loan for taught and research Masters degrees across the UK.

Scotland offers postgraduate loans of up to £11,500 for Masters degree and postgraduate diploma students beginning study at any UK university (if course is not available in Scotland). Scotland offers two separate postgraduate loans for tuition fees and living costs. Their eligibility criteria differ slightly.

Doctoral loans

Student Finance England provide a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan (PDL) for students undertaking a full postgraduate Doctoral course such as a PhD.

Students starting an eligible course after 1st August 2023 could be eligible for up to £28,673
The amount you'll get is not based on you or or family's income.
The loan is paid directly to the student for them to use towards their course fees and living costs.

For further details including eligibility and how to apply please visit the GOV.uk website linked.
The UCAS website also gives further information regarding the PDL.

Student Finance Wales also offer a PDL. Further information can be found here.

Funding your teacher training course

PGCE students can receive funding from Student Finance England. Previous undergraduate funding is not taken into account. You can apply for the same type of funding as undergraduate students – tuition fee loan, maintenance loan (standard amount and higher income assessed amount) and any relevant grants.

In some cases funding is available towards teacher training courses and here is a link to funding opportunities for the academic year 2022 to 2023.

As a quick guide, the following bursaries are available for UK students in 2022/23:

Course name	Bursary amount
PGCE with Art and Design	£10,000
PGCE with English	£10,000
PGCE with Biology	£25,000
PGCE with Geography	£25,000
PGCE with Modern Foreign Languages	£25,000
PGCE with Chemistry	£28,000
PGCE with Maths	£28,000
PGCE with Physics	£28,000
PGCE with Religious Education	£10,000

For those aspiring to Early Years Teacher Status the Postgraduate diploma in Early Years with Initial Teacher Training is fully funded. Please refer to our fees and funding page for further information regarding teacher training funding.

Other options

Here are some further postgraduate funding resources:

POSTGRAD.com offer £500 bursaries across a number of different subject areas to students across the UK. Visit their website for more details.
For other types of funding including research council grants, employer sponsorship, crowd funding and more see the Prospects postgraduate funding guide.
A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan is also available from SFE.

Phone us

01752 636891
(ext. 5516)

Email us

Debra Smitham - Student Funding Adviser

studentfunding@marjon.ac.uk