Student loans

Students living in England may be eligible for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan to cover some of the costs of your postgraduate programme. If you are not eligible for a student loan, we offer a simple monthly payment plan to spread the cost of your tuition over the duration of your studies. 

Students in England 

Postgraduate Master’s Loans are not dependent on household income, although you must fulfil all of the below criteria in order to be eligible: 

Your course must be a full standalone master’s course worth at least 180 credits; and  
You must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your programme; and  
You must be a UK national, or have EU ‘settled status’, or indefinitely leave to remain; and  
You must normally live in England and didn’t move there just to study; and 
You must have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for a minimum of three years before starting your programme.  

You will not be eligible for a postgraduate loan if:  

You are currently receiving payments from student finance for another programme in the same academic year; or  
You received a postgraduate loan before – unless you left your programme due to illness, bereavement or another serious personal reason; or
You already have a master’s degree or a qualification that’s equivalent or higher; or  
You are currently behind in payments for any previous loans from the Student Loans Company.  

Eligibility for EU and international students

You may be eligible a Postgraduate Master’s Loan if you are an EU National and all of the following apply: 

You have normally lived in the European Economic Area or Switzerland for the past three years; and 
You will be studying at a university or college in England.  

You may also be eligible if you are: 

The child of a Swiss national  
The child of a Turkish worker  
A refugee or a relative of one  
An EEA or Swiss migrant worker, or a relative of one  
Under humanitarian protection or a relative of someone who has been granted it
Staying in the UK as a stateless person or a relative of one  
Aged 18 or over and have lived in the UK for at least 20 years or at least half your life.

Update for EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals 

If you are starting your programme on or after 1 August 2021, you must have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get student finance. This does not apply if you’re an Irish National.  

Receiving loan payments  

If you are eligible for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan, you will receive up to:  

£11,222 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2020. 

The amount you receive is not based on your household income. The loan will be paid directly to you.  

Loan repayments 

The earliest you will start repaying your Postgraduate Master’s Loan is either:  

The April after you leave your course; or  
The April four years after the course started, if you are studying part-time. 

You will only start repaying your loan when your income is over the threshold amount, which is updated on an annual basis. The threshold is currently £404 a week or £1,750 a month (before tax and other deductions).  

You will repay 6% of the amount you earn over the threshold for the Postgraduate Master’s Loan. Interest starts being added to your loan from when you receive your first payment.  

If you are an employee, your repayments will be taken out of your salary at the same time as tax and National Insurance. If you are self-employed, HMRC will calculate how much you must pay from your tax return. If you leave the UK for more than three months you will need to tell the Student Loans Company (SLC), and they will work out if you have to repay while you’re not in the UK and if so, how much you need to pay.  

There is no penalty for making extra repayments to pay some or all of your loan off early.  

Applying for a tuition fee loan 

Our specialist student finance team are available to guide you through the application process – simply call us on +44 (0) 151 318 4466. 

Note: while our team can advise you on your eligibility and the Postgraduate Master’s Loan, the final decision about your loan will be made by the Student Loans Company.  

Your loan will need to have been approved by the Student Loans Company before your programme start date.