If you're a UK student looking to study a master's or PhD level course at Swansea University, you may be eligible to apply for Government funding to help towards the cost of your studies.
Explore your options below:
Postgraduate Government Funding
Master's funding for Welsh students
Applications for master’s and PhD loans for Welsh and English Students are NOW open!
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 2023. You may be able to receive a maximum of £18,770 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 means-tested grant of £6,885, 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 (£18,770) 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 £6,885
- A repayable loan up to a maximum value of £11,885
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.
Master's loans for English students
Applications for master’s and PhD loans for Welsh and English Students are NOW open!
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 2023.
You could borrow up to £12,167 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)
You cannot get a Postgraduate Master’s Loan for a postgraduate certificate or diploma.
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.
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:
- you’re already getting payments from student finance for another course that you’re studying
- you received a Postgraduate Master’s Loan before - unless you left your course due to illness, bereavement or another serious personal reason
- you already have a master’s degree, or a qualification that’s equivalent or higher
- you’re behind in repayments for any previous loans from the Student Loans Company
You’ll still be eligible if you have a PGCE or a postgraduate diploma or certificate. You will not get extra money if you repeat a year of your course.
Repayments
- Repayments begin when you are earning over £21,000 per year. Repayments will be 6% of your income over this amount (undergraduate loans are paid back at 9% of income).
- If you have an undergraduate loan from the Student Loans Company, you will pay this back at the same time as the postgraduate loan.
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.
Master's loans for Scottish students
The Scottish Government has confirmed plans for a Scottish loan scheme in 2023/24. Scottish students are able to borrow up to £11,500.
Please visit the Student Awards Agency Scotland website for more information on eligibility.
Master's loans for Northern Irish students
Student Finance NI provides loans of up to £6,500 to Northern Irish domiciled students who wish to study postgraduate courses (up to master's level) at a UK university (including Swansea University).
Please visit the Student Finance NI website for more information on eligibility.
Turing Scheme (replacing Erasmus+)
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+.
If you are a Welsh student, the Welsh Government’s international learning exchange programme, Taith, is also available to you.
PhD loans
Applications for master’s and PhD loans for Welsh and English students are NOW open!
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 2023 include:
- Borrow up to £28,395 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 2023 include:
- Borrow up to £28,673 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.