Back to menu

Browse your subject areas


Your guide to

Postgraduate Funding

Postgraduate Funding

You can get funding for postgraduate study through loans, studentships, bursaries and grants - you might also get help from your employer. See https://www.gov.uk/funding-for-postgraduate-study for more information

Masters Loan

A Master’s loan of up to £13,206 may be available through Student Finance England for students commencing an eligible full-time or part-time taught postgraduate course in 2026/27.

Students must be studying a full 180 credit Masters course. The loan can contribute towards the costs of tuition fees and living costs.

You will not start paying it back until you have finished or left your course and are earning over £21,000 p.a.

Full details of the loan scheme can be found here.

PhD Doctoral Loans

The UK government introduced doctoral loans in September 2018.

  • non-means tested loans of up to £31,122 are available to eligible students under the age of 60 as a contribution towards the costs of completing a doctoral qualification
  • eligible students ordinarily resident in England will be able to take their loan to any UK university with degree awarding powers. Individuals ordinarily resident in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not eligible for loans
  • the repayment rate for the loans is currently 6.2%. For students also with a master’s loan, repayment will be taken through one single postgraduate loan repayment of 6.2%
  • repayment will be made concurrently with repayment of any undergraduate student loans
  • the repayment threshold is currently £21,000.

To find out more information about PhD funding, please visit www.gov.uk/doctoral-loan.

Research Degree Funding

For further information on research degree fees, and other sources of research degree funding, visit here.

Page last reviewed and updated September 2025.

myBolton

Download the app for your smartphone from: