Using a Student Finance Master’s Loan to fund your Postgraduate course.
It’s an exciting time, considering postgraduate study, but it can take more thought and organisation than an undergraduate course as often work and life must fit in around it. However, there is help that may make the decision easier than you may have first thought.
Master’s students can now apply for a Postgraduate Loan of up to £11,222 from Student Finance England, terms and conditions apply. If you’re eligible and approved, the loan is paid directly to you, leaving you in control of how you use it, giving you the freedom to ensure your study fits into your life. You can apply for the maximum loan, even if your course costs less, which you’ll only need to start to repay if you earn enough once the course ends.
Eligibility
To be eligible you must be under 60, living in England and doing your first master’s course. Your course must be a full postgraduate master’s degree which can be full or part-time. The Government website has a full list of eligibility criteria.
Payment
Students can apply for up to the maximum amount of £11,222. The loan isn’t linked to tuition fees so you can borrow up to the maximum amount, regardless of how much your master’s degree costs. The remaining money can be used for accommodation, living expenses or other things-it’s up to you.
The loan is paid directly to you, not to the university. Payments are divided equally across all the academic years of your course and paid in three instalments per academic year, straight into your bank account. You can only have one postgraduate loan, but you can combine this support with other postgraduate funding.
Repayment
The Master’s Loan is complementary to any undergraduate student loan you may have, only repaying when you’re earning over £21,000 a year.
You are eligible to start repaying in the April after graduation, from then you’ll repay 6% of earnings above £21,000, if you earn less you don’t repay. Payment is taken directly through company payroll, keeping it simple and no debt collectors involved. If you already have a previous undergraduate student loan you repay both, but they are kept separate.
Interest will be charged above inflation, the Government website can provide further details. After 30 years all and any remaining debt is wiped, postgraduate loans do not go on credit files.
Assurances
Loans are guaranteed for courses beginning before the end of 2020–21. Provided you start your course by then you will continue to receive loan payments for the rest of your degree (including after Brexit).
A word of warning…as ever, do your homework. This is the information produced by the Government at the of time of publishing, but things can change.
Find further information regarding the loan on the Government website, you can also find contact details for Student Finance England, and for more information on our postgraduate courses visit the University of Northampton.
