Student Finance England (SFE) – Postgraduate Master’s funding for 2025/26

Information on funding for Postgraduate Master’s courses starting in 2025/26

This information is for students taking a full Master’s degree starting in the 2025/26 academic year and who are ordinarily resident in England and eligible for home fees status.

To fund Master’s study, students may be sponsored by their employers; access loans or charitable trusts and funds; self-fund with savings and/or working part-time alongside their studies

PGCE students can access the same funding as undergraduate students. View funding information for undergraduate and PGCE.

Tuition fees

Each course fee is set individually. View tuition fees list for postgraduate taught courses and postgraduate research courses.

Students who have previously graduated from University of Gloucestershire with an undergraduate degree (BA/BSc) will be eligible for a 15% discount on course fees. This will be applied to your account following online enrolment.

Postgraduate loan (PGL)

Key details:	Student Finance England (SFE) 2025/26
Value	£12,858 Important note: one loan per course
Courses	Full MA (taught or research) Full-time or part-time
Credits	Must register for 180 credits. Certificate/Diploma stages not eligible for this loan – must be full Master’s
Credits from previous study	If credits are applied to the new course you will not be eligible for this loan
Course duration	Full-time and part-time. Please note that a part-time course cannot be more than twice as long the full-time duration of the course.  For example:  If a full-time course is offered as 1 year – maximum duration for part-time must be 2 years
Eligibility	UK students ordinarily resident in the UK Not in receipt of funding for Healthcare and Social Work courses Must not already hold an equivalent or higher-level qualification
Age limit	Under 60 before 1st day of course
When to apply	From May/June 2025. Apply via your Student Finance account
Repayments	6% of gross taxable income above £21,000 via NIC in new tax year following end of course

Additional information

• Please note that Maintenance Loans and Dependents’ Grants such as the Childcare Grant are NOT available for most Master’s courses. However, Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is available from Student Finance
• Postgraduate Loans are not based on household income
• Age limit – students must be under the age of 60 on 1 September if course starts in September/October and 1 January if course starts in January/February
• Eligible courses may be taught or research based and includes professional Master’s courses such as MBAs. There are no subject restrictions
• If your course is integrated with a Doctoral Degree, you will need to apply for the Postgraduate Doctoral Loan rather than the Postgraduate Loan. For more information please contact us
• The loan is paid directly to your bank account in 3 instalments per academic year and can be used at your discretion towards fees, living costs or other costs
• If you have previously studied a Master’s course and received payments from the postgraduate loan but you did not complete the course due to compelling personal reasons – you may be eligible for another loan. For more information, please contact us
• If you have already achieved a postgraduate qualification, you will not be eligible for the postgraduate loan. You will be able to pay the tuition fees by direct debit instalments
• Tuition fees can be paid to the university over 10 monthly direct debit instalments if full time; 20 monthly instalments if part-time or by 3 instalments per year that coincide with your postgraduate loan payments. You can select your preferred payment option during online enrolment
• If your fees are being paid by your employer or other sponsor, they will need to complete a Sponsorship Authorisation Form. Once uploaded into your account, the Income Team will issue an invoice and full payment of Tuition Fees will be payable within 30 days from the date of the invoice. If sponsorship is less than 100% you can pay the balance of your fees by direct debit instalments as mentioned above.
• Following graduation, funding is repayable once you start earning over £21,000 and is repayable at 6% of income, so for example on gross earnings of £25,000, you would repay £20 per month.  Repayments will be deducted from your salary via your National Insurance Contributions.  If you are self-employed HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will work out how much you repay each year from your tax return. Your repayments will be based on your income for the whole year.  Repayments of the Postgraduate Loan will be in addition to Undergraduate loan repayments
• Apply for funding from Student Finance England from May/June 2025. 
• Funding for Postgraduate study will also be available in 2025/26 for students living in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.  Please check the following links for more information: 
  • Visit Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI)
  • Visit Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS)
  • Visit Student Finance Wales (SFW)

Disability

Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) is non-repayable and non-means tested. It comes in the form of practical support not additional funding.

You can apply for DSAs if you live in England and have a disability that affects your ability to study, such as a:

• learning difficulty, for example dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD
• mental health condition such as anxiety or depression
• physical disability, for example if you are partially sighted or have to use crutches
• long-term health condition such as cancer, chronic heart disease or HIV.

You must also:

• be an undergraduate or postgraduate student
• qualify for funding from Student Finance England
• be studying on a course that lasts at least a year

You are not eligible if you are:

• an EU student who is only eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan
• eligible for an NHS Disabled Students’ Allowance (this is a separate scheme)
• getting equivalent support from another funding source, either from your University or a Social Work Bursary.

Evidence requirements

Condition	Proof
Disabilities or long-term health condition	Report or letter from your doctor or consultant – you can also fill in the disability evidence form
Mental-health condition	Report or letter from your doctor or consultant – you can also fill in the disability evidence form
Specific learning difficulty like dyslexia	A ‘diagnostic assessment’ from a psychologist or suitably qualified specialist teacher – you will need to be reassessed if you had this done when you were under 16

For all students in 2024/25 the DSA allowance is simplified into one allowance.  An exception will be the Travel Allowance that will in effect be uncapped. The Travel Allowance helps with any extra travel costs students may have to pay to get to University because of their disability.

Allowance	Maximum Amount
Single DSA	£27,783
Travel allowance	As required

Application process

1. Apply for Student Finance online
2. Then apply for DSA online
3. Student Finance will contact you regarding the assessment of needs
4. A local Disability Assessor will assess you
5. Assessment of Needs Report will be produced
6. Report is sent to Student Finance for approval.

Important information: please note that Student Finance are currently changing the process required for needs assessments.  This may cause delays with your application, so please apply for DSA as soon as possible.

For more information please contact the University’s Disability Team or the Mental Health & Wellbeing Team before starting your course.

Email us [email protected]

Email us [email protected]

Call us on 01242 714541

Useful information

Enrolment

Before you start the new course, you will need to do the following to trigger the release of the first Postgraduate Loan instalment:

1. Enrol online – you will receive an invitation to enrol by e-mail
2. Upload a photo for your student ID card
3. Upload secondary evidence of your ID such as a photo of your Passport or Driving Licence

Please note that the above applies even if you previously studied at University of Gloucestershire. All students on new courses will need to follow this process.

Financial Assistance Fund

Once enrolled you can apply to the University’s Financial Assistance Fund for help towards paying for such things as field trips or accommodation etc. Money can’t be guaranteed from this source, but it is worth applying as awards do not have to be repaid. Apply online via your Student Record from the start of the academic year.

Please note that as a Postgraduate student, you will need to provide evidence that you have made reasonable provision to cover your Tuition Fees and basic living costs.

Trusts and charities

There are individual trusts and charities that offer support for Education. Research Councils also offer financial support. You can find resources on postgraduate funding via prospects.ac.uk and findamasters.com.

Council tax

Full time students are exempt from paying Council Tax. If you live with one adult who is not a full-time student the 25% Single Occupancy Discount will apply.

A certificate of exemption will be required by the Council.  This can be accessed via your Student Record Online once you have enrolled on the full-time course.

Benefits

If you are currently receiving benefits, please note that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will take 30% of the Postgraduate Loan into account when re-calculating your entitlement.

How much do I need to live on?

This will depend on the individuals’ circumstances so an exact figure cannot be given. Learning how to budget is crucial and we can help you to stay on top of your finances during your studies by helping you to create and stick to a budget. Please contact us for more information.

Important information

Students being targeted by cybercriminals is on the increase. Be careful of emails or texts asking for sensitive information to be provided urgently – these are phishing emails and smishing texts. Always check them out before replying and note that official organisations, such as the University, Student Finance, Student Loans Company, Banks and HMRC, never ask for personal information (e.g. bank account details) to be provided by email, text or phone. If in doubt, contact us before providing any information.

If you are approached by someone offering you a payment if you let them use your bank account to transfer money in and out again – do not accept. This is known as money muling. They want to use your account to launder money – this is a criminal offence and you could be prosecuted.

If you need further advice and guidance on funding please contact us by phone 01242 714535 or email [email protected].

Current students can also book an appointment to meet with the Money Advice Team via the Student Futures portal.