The new scheme is designed to help mend the ‘broken bridge’ between undergraduate and doctoral level study.
Government-backed postgraduate loan scheme confirmed
Masters students will soon be eligible to apply for the first government-backed student loans scheme available to them, unlocking up to £10,0000. Masters students who reside in England will be eligible to apply, with full-time, part-time and distance-learning programmes all included.
Initially announced as part of the Chancellor’s 2014 Autumn Statement, the student loans are set revolutionise postgraduate funding in England, with potential roll out to the other home nations at a later date.
The new scheme is designed to help mend the ‘broken bridge’ between undergraduate and doctoral level study, and provide thousands of students with the opportunity to fund postgraduate degrees that would otherwise have otherwise been unaffordable to them.
As with undergraduate student loans, the scheme is fulfilled by the Student Loans Company, and application will be processed via Student Finance England with repayments linked to income once earnings reach £21,000.
Sally Rutterford, Head of Admissions and Student Records at the University of Exeter, commented: “We are pleased that the Government is recognising the benefits that postgraduate study brings in terms of employability and economic development. This loans scheme will mean that Masters study is far more accessible, and is no longer the reserve of only those who can afford it, but is open to all talented graduates.’
You can find out more about the postgraduate loans scheme on our postgraduate study webpages, or find out more at our forthcoming postgraduate open days in Exeter and Cornwall.
Date: 10 February 2016
