Postgraduate Government Funding

Applications for the Welsh master's funding package are expected to open in summer 2021 for courses starting from September 2021. We will update this page with more information as soon as possible. 

For more information, please visit the Student Finance Wales website, or contact Student Finance Wales by telephone: 0300 100 0494

Master's funding for Welsh students 

The Welsh Government will continue to provide a funding package for master’s students living in Wales. This is the most generous funding package available to postgraduate students in the UK.

Funding will be available to students starting eligible master’s courses from September 2021. You may be able to receive a maximum of £18,025 for the duration of your course. Money will be paid directly to you, and you choose how to spend it. Funding will comprise of three elements:

• A non-means-tested base grant of £1,000 available to all eligible students
• A means-tested grant of £5,885, available to eligible students with a household income of up to £18,370 per year. If your household income exceeds £18,370, the amount of grant you will be eligible to receive will reduce (For every £6.937 of household income per year over the £18,370 threshold, the amount of grant you receive will reduce by £1)
• A non-means-tested loan available to all eligible students. The amount of loan that you will be eligible to receive will be calculated as follows:

Max. amount of funding (£18,025) minus base grant (£1,000) minus means-tested grant equals student loan amount

For example, if your household income is £18,000 a year, you would be eligible to receive:

• A non-repayable grant of £1,000
• An additional non-repayable grant of £5,885
• A repayable loan up to a maximum value of £11,140

Eligibility

• Available for master’s courses at Swansea University including MA, MSc, LLM, MRes, Master’s by Research and MPhil. PGCert and PGDip courses are not eligible.
• Your course must be a full standalone master’s programme (not a top up course such as an integrated master's programme). If you are intending to complete doctoral study with the support of a PhD loan after your master’s degree, your course must be a full standalone PhD programme,  and not ‘topped up’ from a master’s qualification such as Master’s by Research or MPhil.
• You must normally live in Wales, and not have moved there for the purposes of study.
• You must be under the age of 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your course.
• Your course must be worth a minimum of 180 credits - please check with our Admissions team if you're unsure.
• Available to those who do not already hold a master's (or higher) level qualification (PGCert and PGDip holders are eligible to apply for funding).
• The course can be studied at Swansea University, or by distance learning. It can be taught or research-based and studied:
  • Full-time, lasting one or two academic years;
  • Part-time, lasting two, three or four academic years.

Applications and repayments

For more information, please visit the Student Finance Wales website.

Student Finance England master's loan applications are now open for courses starting from September 2020.

 Start your online application now.

Student Finance England is providing postgraduate loans for English domiciled students starting a master's level course at any UK university (including Swansea) from September 2020. 

You could borrow up to £11,222 towards the costs of postgraduate study, including tuition fees and living costs (paid directly to you).

Residency eligibility 

You can get the Postgraduate Master’s Loan if all of the following apply:

• you’re a UK or EU national (settled or pre-settled status), or have ‘settled status’, so there are no restrictions on how long you can stay
• you normally live in England, and did not move there just to study
• you’ve been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years before starting your course

Your course

It must:

• be a full, standalone master’s course (not a top-up course)
• be worth at least 180 credits - please check with our Admissions team if you're unsure.
• have started on or after 1 August 2016

Your course can be taught or research-based.

It can be:

• full-time, lasting 1 or 2 academic years
• part-time, lasting 2 to 4 academic years - no more than twice the length of the equivalent full-time course
• part-time for up to 3 years, where no equivalent full-time course exists

Examples of eligible postgraduate master’s qualifications at Swansea include:

• MSc (master of science)
• MA (master of arts)
• MPhil (master of philosophy)
• MRes (master of research)
• LLM (master of law)
• MBA (master of business administration)

Your age

You must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your course.

Restrictions

You will not be able to get a Postgraduate Master’s Loan if:

Visit Student Finance England for more information. You can also learn more about the postgraduate loan scheme by attending one of our Postgraduate Open Days.

Student Finance England master's loan applications are now open for courses starting from September 2020. Start your online application now.

The Scottish Government has confirmed plans for a Scottish loan scheme in 2020/21. Scottish students are able to borrow up to £10,000, but only those studying at a Scottish university will be eligible.

If you are a Scottish domiciled student and would like to study at Swansea University, please visit our scholarships and alternative sources of funding pages for advice on how to fund your course.  

Student Finance NI provides loans of up to £5,500 to Northern Irish domiciled students who wish to study postgraduate courses (up to master's level) at a UK university (including Swansea University).

EU students starting their studies on or after 1 August 2021 must have settled or pre-settled status in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme to receive student finance. 

It’s important that you’re aware of this requirement before applying for student finance, otherwise you will not be eligible for funding from Student Finance Wales. 

To check whether you are eligible, please visit the Student Finance Wales website. 

Students will be able to study and do work placements across the world through a brand new scheme, the Turing Scheme, which replaces the UK’s participation in Erasmus+. 

The scheme will be providing funding for students in universities, colleges and schools to go on placements and exchanges overseas, starting in September 2021. 

Please visit the Erasmus+ website for information on the transition period.

Applications for the English and Welsh doctoral loan schemes are NOW OPEN for PhD programmes starting after 1 August 2020.

Welsh students: for more information and to apply, please visit the Student Finance Wales website

English students: for more information and to apply, please visit the gov.uk website

Please note, doctoral loans are designed to complement other sources of funding so you may also wish to explore alternative funding sources and paid work opportunities during your study. 

Doctoral loans for new students undertaking PhD level programmes are now available:

Welsh students:

The key features of the loan scheme in 2020 include:

• Borrow up to £26,445 towards the cost of any PhD level programme
• Available to Welsh domiciled students aged 59 or under who are not in receipt of a Research Council scholarship
• Available for programmes at any PhD-awarding UK university (including Swansea University)
• Repayments are 6% of income over £21,000 p.a. (combined with master’s and/or undergraduate degree loan if applicable)
• Students already holding a PhD level qualification are not eligible to apply for a loan
• Your course must be a full standalone PhD programme, and not ‘topped up’ from a master’s qualification such as Master’s by Research or MPhil.
• Available for full or part-time programmes
• Non means-tested

Find out more about the Welsh PhD loan scheme.

English students:

The key features of the loan scheme in 2020 include:

• Borrow up to £26,445 towards the cost of any PhD level programme
• Available to English domiciled students aged 59 or under who are not in receipt of a Research Council scholarship
• Available for programmes at any PhD-awarding UK university (including Swansea University)
• Repayments are 6% of income over £21,000 p.a. (combined with master’s and/or undergraduate degree loan if applicable)
• Students already holding a PhD level qualification are not eligible to apply for a loan
• Your course must be a full standalone PhD programme, and not ‘topped up’ from a master’s qualification such as Master’s by Research or MPhil.
• Available for full or part-time programmes
• Non means-tested

Find out more about the English PhD loan scheme.

Applications for the English and Welsh doctoral loan schemes are NOW OPEN for PhD programmes starting after 1 August 2020.

Welsh students: for more information and to apply, please visit the Student Finance Wales website

English students: for more information and to apply, please visit the gov.uk website