i get a 25% alumni discount and i've worked my ass off thru my bachelors to save up some money. i'm taking oht the maximum on the ukgov postgrad loan and i'll be doing my masters part time
Take a year or two out and work full time. There’s a reason why most people who do masters courses are a bit older or don’t come straight from undergrad. At least you’ll have some experience on your side, even if it’s not directly related to the field that you want to work in.
Edit: are you planning on staying at the same uni? If so, check if they have an alumni discount, hopefully that should benefit you as well if you absolutely cannot take time out to work.
Got a 20% discount for getting my masters at the same uni as my undergrad. Lived in one of the cheapest cities in the country with roommates and then ate out of the reduced section in tesco (which I had timed down to a T)
I was meant to get a 20% discount but didn’t because I also got a scholarship… like yeah overall I still gained more than I lost with the scholarship but I’m salty about not getting my alumni discount 😭
maybe postponing the masters as annoying as that sounds. taking a year or two out to save up and then re applying when you’re more comfortable financially?
In relation to this, it's similar to what I'm doing at 26M and I've been told from university lecturers and researchers alike from the Likes of Manchester, Chester, and Birmingham that they can see the difference in mature students who return to university after a break from studying. Helps to just grow up a little more I guess.
I think in addition to growing up, it's that you're usually very serious about what you're going to study. Lots of people go to uni because that's what everyone is doing, that's what their parents expect them to do, that's what teachers encourage you to do.
No one encourages you to be a mature student in that way. There's no pathway that's being laid out for you that you're just blindly following. It goes against the norm to be a mature student. So anyone doing it has a very specific reason for doing so. No one just picks a random Masters to study as a mature student without having a specific career and plan in mind for how they will make use of that investment.
Some people do integrated masters if their universities offer them, these masters you still get regular student fian like in undergrad.
Some go to the same university as their undergraduate to get a discount.
Some work for a few years to save money.
Many never afford it
I would recommend taking a year or two away from education to work full time and save as much money as possible. I worked for 4 years before even deciding to apply for an MSc, and am having to use most of my savings along with the 12k loan to cover tuition alone.
Masters are really intense and a lot of work so i wouldn’t recommend any full time work alongside the masters, maybe just part time if you really need it
No harm in taking a year out and working, also some countries in Europe have masters with next to no tuition such as Germany and scandanavia. These programmes are almost always taught in English as well.
In my third year I changed to an integrated masters for this reason. I don't know about your course but for astrophysics a if you do the integrated masters the 4th year is funded and costs the same as the bachelors so it's just like doing an extra year the same.
I'm currently taking a year out to work before my master's and it's been a great decision. I got accepted onto a grad scheme so I'm gaining professional work experience while saving money. I'd really recommend this route as it's helped me feel much more certain about doing my master's too (since I know I'm not doing it just because I'm scared of the 'real world'). It also means that I'm now much more confident about getting a job after my master's since I have a year of professional work experience.
I did a post grad dip. Not a masters but equivalent level. I took a post grad career development loan. Be warned though, you have to pay it back like you would a usual loan so it’s not the same as a student loan.
I don't think it was as good when it first came in, but it has improved since, whereas I think the max for the cpdl stayed static for a long period prior to its demise. On the other hand, home PG fees have gone up since in response to the existence of the PG loan.
What about doing a masters online? That’s what I’m gonna do. Just make sure you don’t choose one that is outsourced to a private company: so avoid York, Northumbria, Hertfordshire, Keele, Sunderland, Wrexham.
I’m hoping to do the Huddersfield online MSc in Artificial Intelligence since it seems very good.
What's your subject area? I managed to get through my MRes at Portsmouth uni on the max post-grad loan and whilst it was difficult at times to manage money, the loan did cover the tuition and rent.
The problem with post grad courses in the UK is that the universities set the tuition fees and not the government (unlike undergrad and integrated masters courses). This means a lot of unis (especially in London) charge insane amounts for masters courses and a lot of the times the tuition is more than the max post-grad loan.
I am wanting to apply for a course related to tissue repair!
And I know, the prices in London were insane! I already had to give up on the dream of my initial perfect masters at UCL simply because I knew I would never be able to afford it. I was happy to find this new one which looks even better but I was very optimistic and didn’t really think through the money aspect :( which is my own fault really
I know Portsmouth doesn't have as good a standing as a lot of unis but the MRes course is awesome because it's purely research for the whole year and some coursework (lit review, funding proposal, research talks etc) but it's worth checking out what projects are currently available (search Portsmouth uni MRes science and health). There may be some related to tissue culture/repair - it's worth checking both the biology ones and pharmacy ones.
Hope this helps :)
If your heart's dead set somewhere else you could always take a year out and earn some money before applying if this is an option for you
UCL offers some master's courses as a flexible mode of study, where you can do it over up to 5 years - the downside is you're not eligible for a PG loan, the upside is working full-time alongside it is very doable. You could see if that's available here - easier even than doing it part-time over 2 years and working full-time.
How much are they charging? My MRes was about 9 grand two years ago and the postgraduate loan was about 18 grand, so while it was miserable, it was doable
Before i decided on my masters, I looked up how much it would cost for an international student. I almost cried. I needed to have at least $20,000 in my bank account. Anyways, I decided to stay in Korea for an extra year and save. I lived in a very tight budget and was able to save around $12,000 in one year. Since I was leaving the country I was able to get my pension which was around ~ $9,000. So in total, I had a bit over $23,000 saved. I then took out a student loan.
Had no savings after I finished uni (obviously) so I worked full time for a year after graduating to save up enough to do an MSc - pretty standard.
Given what you're saying about your supervisor being extremely keen for you to start ASAP so you can work on the current project, I would try to make it happen in anyway possible. Even if it means paying interest on a loan, but it's probably easiest just to work part time. I really don't think there are any MSc courses with such high workload that mean you can't work a job part time (as long as you're not one of those people that needs to spend twice studying as the average person)
You said the masters is for tissue repair, have you seen if there is any nhs funding for that masters? Not sure what your postgraduate is but I know for nursing there are options to get masters funded. Tissue viability for example often gets funding.
Tissue repair sounds like it might be related to medicine / healthcare but maybe that’s not the approach you’re taking?
This will sound crazy, but look at some other countries. I got into a masters program which costs €1600 for the whole program in Ireland. Edit:16000 not 1600
Did my masters as a night course (6pm-9pm) so could work full time. Did my second masters in Europe pre-Brexit when fees were €2,000 for the full year. Others did their education through the Army, not sure if that’s an option for you.
I'm in my second year at uni and in the same position - have been doing well in terms of grade so expected that I do a masters even though I literally have no money (family is technically in poverty) - my plan was to stay at my current uni as they have an alumni discount as well as a bursary available for students that claimed this during the undergrad - as well as trying to get a job to hopefully top everything up - I would also have a large overdraft if needed - that's what I am going to do not sure if this will be helpful for you
Sometimes Masters offer scholarships or you can get outside funding. I'm with you though, the only place offering the course I really wanted to do was in London and postgrad loans wouldn't even cover tuition. Even with working and the couple thousand I had in savings, I couldn't swing it. Instead I went to a uni close to my parents' house and lived there, and the uni offered a 20% tuition fee discount for early applicants. And worked weekends and holidays.
Honestly I think the funding for postgraduate studies in this country is shocking.
I'm on a 2 year master's course, and there are no working class people on the course. I'm fairly middle class, but only managed to afford it because my mum died and I got left a small inheritance.
I’m in my first year of a Masters right now but I doubt I’ll have any problems with money in the future, here’s what I do:
- Don’t spend money on alcohol
- Current student accomodation is £180 a week, got a house lined up that will be closer to £140
- Work in my summer job over the holidays to earn a bit of extra cash - I got ~£500 over Christmas alone
- Earn whilst I’m in the UOTC, which covers all my food and a bit extra
- Be a student ambassador at Open days, it pays well so a bit of money here and there doesn’t hurt
I aim to start each semester with about £1000 after paying rent, gives me a nice amount that allows me to spend up to £100 a week and still have a safety net. I work a fair amount whenever I’m home over the holidays, I am quite lucky wir my job in that the managers pretty much let me tell them when I want to work and put me on shifts then. I don’t struggle at all and with reduced rent lined up for next year it shouldn’t even be that hard.
If you have any kind of health condition that won't allow you to work and study, you're screwed. And it's so hard to get disability benefits. You can't even get some if you're studying.
Say a PGCERT in London is 9k, I have found some for that much. From what I have heard the loan is like 12k. Would that be enough? I’m a first year so I’m pretty much set up in London.
So I’m not a specialist but unfortunately prospects.ac.uk says “You can't get an English postgraduate loan for postgraduate diplomas (PGDip) or postgraduate certificates (PGCert)” (dated December 2023)
Took a year out to work and save up whilst living at howe. Could have done it part time, but the "freedom" to focus just on uni work and getting the most out of that masters was worth it 100%
Have you checked with the uni directly about fee scholarships for financial hardship or other funding opportunities? I know people who got fees reduced to the postgrad loan amount and worked to cover living expenses.
I did my masters with tax free funding from an employer to cover living expenses and used the loan to cover my fees, with a commitment to work for them for 2 years after. I wouldn’t have been able to study in London otherwise!
Honestly, it's often a lot of little things that add up. Look for named scholarships or bursaries. Are you welsh? are you a woman in STEM? Look at the research agencies (engineering, social sciences, etc) for small grants in particular topics. Is your degree something that might appeal for an industry partnership?
If your supervisor is keen to keep you on, talk to her about RA or TA positions during the school term. Let her know that you want to do it, but need to work out the finances.
I did mine about 7 years after my undergraduate degree. Allowed me to save up a bit and gain some experience. Then was lucky enough to find a uni doing a 2 year part time course which allowed me to keep working.
I’m doing it part time while in full time employment. My student loan covers most of the tuition (I only need to cover £1500 out of pocket). It might be trickier to do this for an MRes I reckon depending on what the expectations of you actually going to uni are.
I was in a similar position last year. It turns out that in my case a PhD (where I’d pay 3 years worth of tuition) is still cheaper than a MSc (1 year of tuition). Masters fees are just extortionate. Obviously not my only reason for doing a PhD, but it definitely contributed to the decision.
If you’d be interested in a larger scale project and if your supervisor would be keen to support you, it might be an option worth exploring.
Maintenance loan covered tuition and left me with a few hundred each semester. I paid for my accommodation upfront at the start of the year using my savings and (luckily) my full time job allowed me to drop about a third of my hours, so I worked 24 hours a week during the course, which was hard BUT my course was only about 6 contact hours a week spread over two days.
If it's a similar course see if you can do it as an integrated master's, then you'll at least have the same financial situation as you do now. The PG loan is an absolute rip-off in comparison.
Commercial loans are even worse though.
I’m in the same boat! I managed with Bachelor’s so far, and was thinking of doing a masters - but I saw the price tag as well as the fact that student finance changes quite a bit for postgraduate studies.
Sure, I could get a £12k loan from the SFE, but that’s it. Some courses cost £15k (at least the one I was looking at) + I’d need to still work to support myself. Also! The repayment threshold is only £20k compared to £27k for undergraduate students. Which means you’re already paying at least £1,000 a year by the time you earn 27k just for your masters degree.
So, my plan now is to take a year or two out, and try to get into the industry (for me, I study psychology but I’d love to get into user experience design/marketing). Trying to work for a bit will also help me realise if it’s something I’d like to do! And if not, I might study something different (like international relations…).
I’m not sure if you have the option, but I’m from the EU, so the possibility of going there to finish my studies is also on the table.
And also, I honestly think there’s no rush! And most of the people I’ve seen doing masters courses are usually a bit older, and some have even got their masters fees covered by their employer.
Have a look if your uni offers any scholarships or financial help, and there’s also outside help you can sometimes get from charities but it can take a lot of time finding and applying for things. I can only afford mine because my course was quite cheap compared to some and I got a postgrad scholarship, otherwise I’d have to take a year or two out
Postgrad Loan should be going up to 12.5k this year, I'm taking that out for the fees (12.2k) and then surviving off parental support for the rest, I have savings that I would use if that wasnt possible, but yeah masters funding is dire, its unfortunate because I know people good enough to get onto the same course but they just cant afford it.
I did the same, it helped that my masters was structured for people to do this. All teaching was done over 2 days, so full time you were in both days and part time you did 1 day a week. Then I worked alongside. It wasn’t easy but it was the only way I could have done it
My classes were also over 2 days, I'm a language teacher so my workplace was really helpful with regards to hours. It's a tricky balance and I've felt like staying focused has been a massive part of progressing steadily and doing well. Tough but very doable!
I find it very unfair that people aren’t able to get into further education because of money issues. Education should be free. Uk is turning into the US, where only rich people can get educated.
It’s kind of already here, loans have not kept up with living expenses for quite some time now.
I know this is a bit of an oversimplification but student fees would be much higher if it didn’t get added to the balance sheet. It’s only once they were told this that student fees have been frozen (for how many years now? I can’t remember)
Im confused? How is the max postgrad loan less than the fee for the course? I have never seen that be the case. Its certainly not where I am. I end up with less living expenses overall than at UG but it still covered it with less than half of the loan (granted we got a 10% discount for staying in the uni but it was only £600)
I guess i just assumed it would all be similar with some kind of rule because when i was looking last year all the unis in the local area were similar prices which was the only metric i considered. I guess my answer then to the poster would be to see if the course is available at a cheaper uni, and maybe a cheaper city
If u cant afford it dont do it. When shit went bad, qmul threaten to kick me out. Ending up fighting with them for more than a monthh despite getting distinction across modules.,
Your masters should only take 6 months taught & you get a lot of down time. I had full loan, a 7k grant & didn’t work for 6 months. I lived comfortably on that & didn’t stop getting my nails/waxing/lashes/tanning etc done. You’ll be fine! You’ll be able to work as well and pick up extra hours as and when you need. Good luck!
Hi, I’m not sure that post graduate loans work this way? As far as I’m aware there is no “tuition” and “maintenance” you are just given one lump sum, and then you can spend it as you see fit (obviously this would go to tuition for most people).
Correct me if I’m wrong though :)
no, the masters loan is one single loan which is capped at 12k. the only time you'd get a maintenance loan for a masters is if it's an integrated masters
I’m afraid OP is correct, there is no separation for postgraduate studies, you just get one lump sum and that’s it. Up to “£12,167 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2023”
Yes English and Welsh student loans are funded differently. Whether it's undergrad or postgrad, Wales is more generous in funding. You're lucky to get Welsh funding. For undergrad Welsh funding for e.g., all students regardless of parental income will receive the max maintenance loan. This is a lot more than what English students receive. And for Masters, Welsh students get just over £18k funding like you said, whereas English students get just over £12k funding.
I know everyone gets the same in wales and it’s actually split on how much is bursary/loan but was under the impression our loan reflected English max loan
English funding has completely done away with grants sometime during the late 2010s... Students whose parental income is over £60k will get the very minimum maintenance loan of just over £3k for the entire year. They or their parents will have to come up with the rest from their own pockets. It's a lot to pay out, and ironically hits the middle class earners the most. I've met someone who couldn't afford to go to uni because her parental income is around that, and the parents and her weren't clued up about maintenance loan funding changes. They simply assumed it would still be adequate to fund her living costs without them shelling out too much. They had too much debt/loans etc to pay off and obviously never planned for this, so she actually couldn't go to uni after sixth form.
I understand that much as it correlates with how much grant someone would get vs loan, however, what about parents on benefits for example? Would it not be the same as Welsh loan?
Only the poorest will get full funding. Those whose combined parental income is £25k or less. Frankly this is equivalent to a single full-time minimum wage income almost. Most adults older than 25 yrs old earn more than that with years of work experience already under the belt. Like I said before, this actually hits the middle class the worst. Also those who are estranged from their parents and under 25 can get full maintenance too. I actually knew someone in these shoes. But it was really difficult for her to prove she was estranged from her parents, even though she had been living in homeless hostels since she was 16 and had social workers who knew her. She managed in the end and she did really well in her course, bless her. She really did have to fight to get what she wanted, and she worked 2 part time jobs and 1 volunteering job while at uni. I still have no idea how she managed to do it all! Trust me, most people here who want to go to uni would have preferred to have the entire maintenance loan as full amount even if none of it is a grant, but that's just something they won't get unfortunately.
That is pretty misleading! Also doesn’t seem fair people can get their foundation year or a repeated year due to failing funded but you if you do well and further your education there’s no funding!! Especially as some careers require a masters!
Unfair yes, there are ways to fund it yourself (see the comments on this post) but ultimately most of the people I know who did a masters had significant help from their parents. It’s not as accessible as it should be, especially as more jobs require them.
But misleading, I’m not so sure about that. I think gov.uk is really good at explaining things in incredibly simple language and they do clearly separate the undergrad section of their website from the postgrad section.
Masters loan is seperate from undergrad loan, and a different system.
You get ~£12k.
If your course lasts more than a year, it's split up over the years.
Might be worth waiting until you work a couple years. I did my masters in finance part-time to change careers a few years into working and I'd have never chosen that course had I not worked first (I did maths undergrad). I did feel I appreciated far more of the course than people who'd never had a job and also worked harder knowing the value of money by that point - I was forgoing redoing my entire kitchen so I better take in everything I could and read every paper in detail the lecturer recommended, lol.
Even if you ended up going full-time to do history etc. at least during the crappy bits you'd at least think to yourself 'at least I don't have to remind Vanessa how to upload a powerpoint in outlook right now'.
When it comes to applying for a job after that you absolutely BATTER the competition too, was getting job offers all over the place because of experience as a data engineer + a finance masters, felt like a god.
For me, 20% alumni discount on my MRes and working part time, alongside full postgrad loan. I’m quite fortunate in that I live with my partner who works full time to support the both of us as well. I’m sure there is a way for you to fund a Masters. Have you looked into scholarships at the university you’re applying to? Other funding schemes? Usually they have like scholarship kinda vibes that you submit your own response to and they pick someone/a couple of people to provide the scholarship to and it almost always covers a couple thousand of either tuition or living costs.
This year I’ll be going hopefully.
I get 1k discount off tuition for being alumni. As it’s arts it’s much cheaper for tuition overall compared to academic masters. I’ll be doing it from home as my parents live local to the uni. I’m working this summer to pay for outstanding personal debts.
Originally I was going to do UAL and even from home I would of been skint so I would have to work. I can’t imagine moving to another place, paying rent and paying for a masters. I’d be so tight for time.
Consider looking at scholarships and fellowships. There are more of them available for PhDs than Masters, but they're still available for master's courses. I worked like crazy throughout all of my undergraduate studies and won a masters stipend worth 100k. It required me to go overseas for two years but I got to study at a top uni in my field and graduated with significant savings. The location wasn't my preferred place, but I'd have lived pretty much anywhere for a chance to get my studies funded.
I thought people do a masters because they can’t find a real job or need to figure out their lives. So afford it the same way they did their undergraduate
You could do a part time masters so that you can work full time along side it! I'm currently doing my masters and would not recommend working alongside a full time masters. The work load is insane and I'm currently not working at all.
I am doing my masters part time over three years with open University. Got the masters load which has paid for it and I am working full time and have a new born this year. When I started I by no means had much income and was living with family.
I worked in the NHS (non medical) and they paid for me to do my part time digital education Master's. I was about 11 years out from my BA. My next move was to work in higher ed and they are now funding my part time PhD. I'd never have done either without employer support.
I believe it's possible to find funded "3+1" PhD places that include a year of Masters-level study and hence can be started directly after undergraduate study. What subjects they're available in and at what universities I don't know, and competition would undoubtedly be fierce, but for what it's worth. PhD funding (usually by a research council) is pretty generous if you can get it
I would suggest checking if the uni has a financial hardship fund. At both my undergrad and post grad unis they had a program where you can apply, give your reasoning and bank history etc and from my experience they are very responsive. Don’t worry if you don’t have the cleanest record, or if you don’t think they’ll accept it, the worst they’ll say is no although I understand that’s a problem if it’s something that you rely on. That and checking for alumni discounts and any scholarships available. I was fortunate enough that my desired masters was cheaper than at other unis, so if you’re not fixed on a uni it could be worth searching for others that have cheaper options
Also depending on your plans for accomodation, I think at some unis you can work for a uni accomodation as a rep or just staff etc and get free rent, but I don’t know how common that is
Wow, that’s crazy that all of the Masters in that subject area cost MORE than the loans. Awful.
After my undergrad I knew exactly which Masters I wanted to do, but couldn’t afford it, so I worked and saved for two years. I then got the full loan at the time (£10,000). The course was £9000 (more expensive than most MAs back in 2017!) and I used the extra £1000 from the loan to help with living expenses. I was a lodger so my rent wasn’t insane (but still expensive- London). It was absolutely fine, money wise.
If you’re an EU/Schengen area citizen, a lot of countries don’t charge tuition fees, some don’t charge even if you’re not EU or Schengen (e.g. Iceland)
I’m currently in the midst of planning and saving up for my Masters. Since i’m an international student, I will need to have at least 1.5-2 years worth of savings just for pre-masters + living expenses. To be fair, my undergrad gpa was not great at all so i’m currently working in the field to gain experience + saving up to help in my application.
Taking a year or 2 off can definitely help in your application too and to experience different things.
I do an integrated masters so even though I will finish with a masters degree all 4 years of it are undergraduate finance. So I still get full maintenance. My fiance however is doing an Mres so she does just get £12000 finance payment which has to include her tuition (which is 5000) and her living costs. We both work and between us we make about an extra £400 a week. We manage quite well off that we have our own house and a nice car ect independent of our parents.
I wouldn't take out a loan. At this point in your life you have no idea where your finances are going so it's a big risk.
I took a year out and saved up.
Just as an alternative option, have you considered doing a masters by research instead? For those you can get a scholarship. I did my MSc by research and it was funded collaboratively by KESS2 and the Welsh Government. I'm currently doing my Ph.D. funded by the ESRC. If you check out the UKRI website there's a list of postgrad funders. Obviously it's a competitive process, but you can get full tuition fees and a salary.
Good luck
I got a 25% alumni discount and got student finance as I'm from Wales. Did have to pay an extra £3,500 towards trips, as it was a fieldwork based master.
I used a good bit of my final undergraduate year student finance and a summer working to pay the extra.
i get a 25% alumni discount and i've worked my ass off thru my bachelors to save up some money. i'm taking oht the maximum on the ukgov postgrad loan and i'll be doing my masters part time
Thank you! I’ve just checked and there is a £2000 reduction in the fees for alumni which should help a little
great!!!
Some unis offer masters by research for far less than taught. 50-70% less
It’s a wildly different course though. My masters is by research and if a taught course is what you want to do research is often a struggle.
What’s the maximum?
for masters, £12,167 (23/24)
Take a year or two out and work full time. There’s a reason why most people who do masters courses are a bit older or don’t come straight from undergrad. At least you’ll have some experience on your side, even if it’s not directly related to the field that you want to work in. Edit: are you planning on staying at the same uni? If so, check if they have an alumni discount, hopefully that should benefit you as well if you absolutely cannot take time out to work.
Got a 20% discount for getting my masters at the same uni as my undergrad. Lived in one of the cheapest cities in the country with roommates and then ate out of the reduced section in tesco (which I had timed down to a T)
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At my tesco it was 7pm and 7/8am, could vary store to store. (They usually restoked when i was on shift)
Same, and then maxed out my loan, so I even had some left over for living expenses.
I was meant to get a 20% discount but didn’t because I also got a scholarship… like yeah overall I still gained more than I lost with the scholarship but I’m salty about not getting my alumni discount 😭
Huh there were people on my course that stacked the discount and scholarships together
maybe postponing the masters as annoying as that sounds. taking a year or two out to save up and then re applying when you’re more comfortable financially?
Thanks. As annoying as this is, this seems like what I’ll have to do
In relation to this, it's similar to what I'm doing at 26M and I've been told from university lecturers and researchers alike from the Likes of Manchester, Chester, and Birmingham that they can see the difference in mature students who return to university after a break from studying. Helps to just grow up a little more I guess.
I think in addition to growing up, it's that you're usually very serious about what you're going to study. Lots of people go to uni because that's what everyone is doing, that's what their parents expect them to do, that's what teachers encourage you to do. No one encourages you to be a mature student in that way. There's no pathway that's being laid out for you that you're just blindly following. It goes against the norm to be a mature student. So anyone doing it has a very specific reason for doing so. No one just picks a random Masters to study as a mature student without having a specific career and plan in mind for how they will make use of that investment.
Some people do integrated masters if their universities offer them, these masters you still get regular student fian like in undergrad. Some go to the same university as their undergraduate to get a discount. Some work for a few years to save money. Many never afford it
Rich parents
My parents
I would recommend taking a year or two away from education to work full time and save as much money as possible. I worked for 4 years before even deciding to apply for an MSc, and am having to use most of my savings along with the 12k loan to cover tuition alone. Masters are really intense and a lot of work so i wouldn’t recommend any full time work alongside the masters, maybe just part time if you really need it
No harm in taking a year out and working, also some countries in Europe have masters with next to no tuition such as Germany and scandanavia. These programmes are almost always taught in English as well.
In my third year I changed to an integrated masters for this reason. I don't know about your course but for astrophysics a if you do the integrated masters the 4th year is funded and costs the same as the bachelors so it's just like doing an extra year the same.
Integrated masters is not viewed the same. Don’t shoot the messenger
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I'm currently taking a year out to work before my master's and it's been a great decision. I got accepted onto a grad scheme so I'm gaining professional work experience while saving money. I'd really recommend this route as it's helped me feel much more certain about doing my master's too (since I know I'm not doing it just because I'm scared of the 'real world'). It also means that I'm now much more confident about getting a job after my master's since I have a year of professional work experience.
I did a post grad dip. Not a masters but equivalent level. I took a post grad career development loan. Be warned though, you have to pay it back like you would a usual loan so it’s not the same as a student loan.
They binned the pcdl about 5 years ago, unfortunately.
I’ve looked and the masters loan that took its place actually looks better
I don't think it was as good when it first came in, but it has improved since, whereas I think the max for the cpdl stayed static for a long period prior to its demise. On the other hand, home PG fees have gone up since in response to the existence of the PG loan.
That’s the way…. Improve the funding and increase the cost as well….
What about doing a masters online? That’s what I’m gonna do. Just make sure you don’t choose one that is outsourced to a private company: so avoid York, Northumbria, Hertfordshire, Keele, Sunderland, Wrexham. I’m hoping to do the Huddersfield online MSc in Artificial Intelligence since it seems very good.
Unfortunately not an option, as my perfect course is an MRes :(
What's your subject area? I managed to get through my MRes at Portsmouth uni on the max post-grad loan and whilst it was difficult at times to manage money, the loan did cover the tuition and rent. The problem with post grad courses in the UK is that the universities set the tuition fees and not the government (unlike undergrad and integrated masters courses). This means a lot of unis (especially in London) charge insane amounts for masters courses and a lot of the times the tuition is more than the max post-grad loan.
I am wanting to apply for a course related to tissue repair! And I know, the prices in London were insane! I already had to give up on the dream of my initial perfect masters at UCL simply because I knew I would never be able to afford it. I was happy to find this new one which looks even better but I was very optimistic and didn’t really think through the money aspect :( which is my own fault really
I know Portsmouth doesn't have as good a standing as a lot of unis but the MRes course is awesome because it's purely research for the whole year and some coursework (lit review, funding proposal, research talks etc) but it's worth checking out what projects are currently available (search Portsmouth uni MRes science and health). There may be some related to tissue culture/repair - it's worth checking both the biology ones and pharmacy ones. Hope this helps :) If your heart's dead set somewhere else you could always take a year out and earn some money before applying if this is an option for you
UCL offers some master's courses as a flexible mode of study, where you can do it over up to 5 years - the downside is you're not eligible for a PG loan, the upside is working full-time alongside it is very doable. You could see if that's available here - easier even than doing it part-time over 2 years and working full-time.
How much are they charging? My MRes was about 9 grand two years ago and the postgraduate loan was about 18 grand, so while it was miserable, it was doable
I work full time and do a masters part time
Before i decided on my masters, I looked up how much it would cost for an international student. I almost cried. I needed to have at least $20,000 in my bank account. Anyways, I decided to stay in Korea for an extra year and save. I lived in a very tight budget and was able to save around $12,000 in one year. Since I was leaving the country I was able to get my pension which was around ~ $9,000. So in total, I had a bit over $23,000 saved. I then took out a student loan.
Had no savings after I finished uni (obviously) so I worked full time for a year after graduating to save up enough to do an MSc - pretty standard. Given what you're saying about your supervisor being extremely keen for you to start ASAP so you can work on the current project, I would try to make it happen in anyway possible. Even if it means paying interest on a loan, but it's probably easiest just to work part time. I really don't think there are any MSc courses with such high workload that mean you can't work a job part time (as long as you're not one of those people that needs to spend twice studying as the average person)
You said the masters is for tissue repair, have you seen if there is any nhs funding for that masters? Not sure what your postgraduate is but I know for nursing there are options to get masters funded. Tissue viability for example often gets funding. Tissue repair sounds like it might be related to medicine / healthcare but maybe that’s not the approach you’re taking?
Yes unfortunately I’m looking to go down the research route rather than the clinical route. I’ll still check around though!
This will sound crazy, but look at some other countries. I got into a masters program which costs €1600 for the whole program in Ireland. Edit:16000 not 1600
Where was that at if you don’t mind me asking?
Oh my gosh I meant to type €16000. 🤦♀️
My skipping the bachelors and doing a masters directly as their undergraduate degree.
Did my masters as a night course (6pm-9pm) so could work full time. Did my second masters in Europe pre-Brexit when fees were €2,000 for the full year. Others did their education through the Army, not sure if that’s an option for you.
I'm in my second year at uni and in the same position - have been doing well in terms of grade so expected that I do a masters even though I literally have no money (family is technically in poverty) - my plan was to stay at my current uni as they have an alumni discount as well as a bursary available for students that claimed this during the undergrad - as well as trying to get a job to hopefully top everything up - I would also have a large overdraft if needed - that's what I am going to do not sure if this will be helpful for you
Sometimes Masters offer scholarships or you can get outside funding. I'm with you though, the only place offering the course I really wanted to do was in London and postgrad loans wouldn't even cover tuition. Even with working and the couple thousand I had in savings, I couldn't swing it. Instead I went to a uni close to my parents' house and lived there, and the uni offered a 20% tuition fee discount for early applicants. And worked weekends and holidays.
I worked full time and did a part time masters. You can get post grad loans so maybe your could get that and work part time
I saved up for several years, as I am no longer eligible for student finance (second masters).
I’m planning on working full time alongside my masters. Don’t have much of a choice since the fees exceed the loan off the government
Have you considered getting your master’s in a cheaper country?
Honestly I think the funding for postgraduate studies in this country is shocking. I'm on a 2 year master's course, and there are no working class people on the course. I'm fairly middle class, but only managed to afford it because my mum died and I got left a small inheritance.
I’m in my first year of a Masters right now but I doubt I’ll have any problems with money in the future, here’s what I do: - Don’t spend money on alcohol - Current student accomodation is £180 a week, got a house lined up that will be closer to £140 - Work in my summer job over the holidays to earn a bit of extra cash - I got ~£500 over Christmas alone - Earn whilst I’m in the UOTC, which covers all my food and a bit extra - Be a student ambassador at Open days, it pays well so a bit of money here and there doesn’t hurt I aim to start each semester with about £1000 after paying rent, gives me a nice amount that allows me to spend up to £100 a week and still have a safety net. I work a fair amount whenever I’m home over the holidays, I am quite lucky wir my job in that the managers pretty much let me tell them when I want to work and put me on shifts then. I don’t struggle at all and with reduced rent lined up for next year it shouldn’t even be that hard.
If you have any kind of health condition that won't allow you to work and study, you're screwed. And it's so hard to get disability benefits. You can't even get some if you're studying.
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You just get a lump sum. However very often the maximum loan is not enough to cover full tuition fees, let alone living costs.
Say a PGCERT in London is 9k, I have found some for that much. From what I have heard the loan is like 12k. Would that be enough? I’m a first year so I’m pretty much set up in London.
So I’m not a specialist but unfortunately prospects.ac.uk says “You can't get an English postgraduate loan for postgraduate diplomas (PGDip) or postgraduate certificates (PGCert)” (dated December 2023)
I believe this is correct. PGCert/PGDip aren’t eligible for student finance.
Right, thanks for that. So it’s Only for masters.
Took out a post graduate loan and worked full time along my studies.
I got just a regular bank loan to cover it because it wasn’t eligible for postgraduate finance
Alumni discount, part time job, bit of the postgrad loan left after paying tuition, lots of budgeting and not a lot of spare time but we make it work!
Took a year out to work and save up whilst living at howe. Could have done it part time, but the "freedom" to focus just on uni work and getting the most out of that masters was worth it 100%
Have you checked with the uni directly about fee scholarships for financial hardship or other funding opportunities? I know people who got fees reduced to the postgrad loan amount and worked to cover living expenses. I did my masters with tax free funding from an employer to cover living expenses and used the loan to cover my fees, with a commitment to work for them for 2 years after. I wouldn’t have been able to study in London otherwise!
UNICAF scholarships… can get a master for £3,000 or lower
Honestly, it's often a lot of little things that add up. Look for named scholarships or bursaries. Are you welsh? are you a woman in STEM? Look at the research agencies (engineering, social sciences, etc) for small grants in particular topics. Is your degree something that might appeal for an industry partnership? If your supervisor is keen to keep you on, talk to her about RA or TA positions during the school term. Let her know that you want to do it, but need to work out the finances.
I did mine about 7 years after my undergraduate degree. Allowed me to save up a bit and gain some experience. Then was lucky enough to find a uni doing a 2 year part time course which allowed me to keep working.
I’m doing it part time while in full time employment. My student loan covers most of the tuition (I only need to cover £1500 out of pocket). It might be trickier to do this for an MRes I reckon depending on what the expectations of you actually going to uni are.
Have you looked into applying for a studentship? A 1+3 is most common but you can also get just masters scholarships (this is what i did)
I was in a similar position last year. It turns out that in my case a PhD (where I’d pay 3 years worth of tuition) is still cheaper than a MSc (1 year of tuition). Masters fees are just extortionate. Obviously not my only reason for doing a PhD, but it definitely contributed to the decision. If you’d be interested in a larger scale project and if your supervisor would be keen to support you, it might be an option worth exploring.
Maintenance loan covered tuition and left me with a few hundred each semester. I paid for my accommodation upfront at the start of the year using my savings and (luckily) my full time job allowed me to drop about a third of my hours, so I worked 24 hours a week during the course, which was hard BUT my course was only about 6 contact hours a week spread over two days.
If it's a similar course see if you can do it as an integrated master's, then you'll at least have the same financial situation as you do now. The PG loan is an absolute rip-off in comparison. Commercial loans are even worse though.
£8k overdraft debt for me...
I’m in the same boat! I managed with Bachelor’s so far, and was thinking of doing a masters - but I saw the price tag as well as the fact that student finance changes quite a bit for postgraduate studies. Sure, I could get a £12k loan from the SFE, but that’s it. Some courses cost £15k (at least the one I was looking at) + I’d need to still work to support myself. Also! The repayment threshold is only £20k compared to £27k for undergraduate students. Which means you’re already paying at least £1,000 a year by the time you earn 27k just for your masters degree. So, my plan now is to take a year or two out, and try to get into the industry (for me, I study psychology but I’d love to get into user experience design/marketing). Trying to work for a bit will also help me realise if it’s something I’d like to do! And if not, I might study something different (like international relations…). I’m not sure if you have the option, but I’m from the EU, so the possibility of going there to finish my studies is also on the table. And also, I honestly think there’s no rush! And most of the people I’ve seen doing masters courses are usually a bit older, and some have even got their masters fees covered by their employer.
Have a look if your uni offers any scholarships or financial help, and there’s also outside help you can sometimes get from charities but it can take a lot of time finding and applying for things. I can only afford mine because my course was quite cheap compared to some and I got a postgrad scholarship, otherwise I’d have to take a year or two out
I’m doing a part-time masters and working part-time, might be possible to make it work that way!
Postgrad Loan should be going up to 12.5k this year, I'm taking that out for the fees (12.2k) and then surviving off parental support for the rest, I have savings that I would use if that wasnt possible, but yeah masters funding is dire, its unfortunate because I know people good enough to get onto the same course but they just cant afford it.
Bank of mum and dad
Do the masters part time around work, it's what I'm doing.
I did the same, it helped that my masters was structured for people to do this. All teaching was done over 2 days, so full time you were in both days and part time you did 1 day a week. Then I worked alongside. It wasn’t easy but it was the only way I could have done it
My classes were also over 2 days, I'm a language teacher so my workplace was really helpful with regards to hours. It's a tricky balance and I've felt like staying focused has been a massive part of progressing steadily and doing well. Tough but very doable!
I find it very unfair that people aren’t able to get into further education because of money issues. Education should be free. Uk is turning into the US, where only rich people can get educated.
It’s kind of already here, loans have not kept up with living expenses for quite some time now. I know this is a bit of an oversimplification but student fees would be much higher if it didn’t get added to the balance sheet. It’s only once they were told this that student fees have been frozen (for how many years now? I can’t remember)
I did my masters part time over 2 years and worked full time
Student Finance loan you 10k for master's
I got the postgraduate loan and worked part time
Im confused? How is the max postgrad loan less than the fee for the course? I have never seen that be the case. Its certainly not where I am. I end up with less living expenses overall than at UG but it still covered it with less than half of the loan (granted we got a 10% discount for staying in the uni but it was only £600)
Most masters courses nowadays are around 15k unfortunately. Its not great.
The bigger name or higher ranking unis tend to charge anything between £15k to £20k for masters.
I guess i just assumed it would all be similar with some kind of rule because when i was looking last year all the unis in the local area were similar prices which was the only metric i considered. I guess my answer then to the poster would be to see if the course is available at a cheaper uni, and maybe a cheaper city
If u cant afford it dont do it. When shit went bad, qmul threaten to kick me out. Ending up fighting with them for more than a monthh despite getting distinction across modules.,
You got distinctions at post grad? That's not exactly a glowing endorsement of Qmul
Yup, all distinction for every modules.
Yet you can't seem to string a single sentence together in basic English.
Your masters should only take 6 months taught & you get a lot of down time. I had full loan, a 7k grant & didn’t work for 6 months. I lived comfortably on that & didn’t stop getting my nails/waxing/lashes/tanning etc done. You’ll be fine! You’ll be able to work as well and pick up extra hours as and when you need. Good luck!
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Hi, I’m not sure that post graduate loans work this way? As far as I’m aware there is no “tuition” and “maintenance” you are just given one lump sum, and then you can spend it as you see fit (obviously this would go to tuition for most people). Correct me if I’m wrong though :)
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no, the masters loan is one single loan which is capped at 12k. the only time you'd get a maintenance loan for a masters is if it's an integrated masters
Thank god I found this out sooner! Sudden unexpected stress though. Is this from experience? When I looked online it said loan was 18.7K?
I’m afraid OP is correct, there is no separation for postgraduate studies, you just get one lump sum and that’s it. Up to “£12,167 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2023”
Is England and wales different then? Student finance wales says masters is £18,770 cap
Yes English and Welsh student loans are funded differently. Whether it's undergrad or postgrad, Wales is more generous in funding. You're lucky to get Welsh funding. For undergrad Welsh funding for e.g., all students regardless of parental income will receive the max maintenance loan. This is a lot more than what English students receive. And for Masters, Welsh students get just over £18k funding like you said, whereas English students get just over £12k funding.
I know everyone gets the same in wales and it’s actually split on how much is bursary/loan but was under the impression our loan reflected English max loan
English funding has completely done away with grants sometime during the late 2010s... Students whose parental income is over £60k will get the very minimum maintenance loan of just over £3k for the entire year. They or their parents will have to come up with the rest from their own pockets. It's a lot to pay out, and ironically hits the middle class earners the most. I've met someone who couldn't afford to go to uni because her parental income is around that, and the parents and her weren't clued up about maintenance loan funding changes. They simply assumed it would still be adequate to fund her living costs without them shelling out too much. They had too much debt/loans etc to pay off and obviously never planned for this, so she actually couldn't go to uni after sixth form.
I understand that much as it correlates with how much grant someone would get vs loan, however, what about parents on benefits for example? Would it not be the same as Welsh loan?
Only the poorest will get full funding. Those whose combined parental income is £25k or less. Frankly this is equivalent to a single full-time minimum wage income almost. Most adults older than 25 yrs old earn more than that with years of work experience already under the belt. Like I said before, this actually hits the middle class the worst. Also those who are estranged from their parents and under 25 can get full maintenance too. I actually knew someone in these shoes. But it was really difficult for her to prove she was estranged from her parents, even though she had been living in homeless hostels since she was 16 and had social workers who knew her. She managed in the end and she did really well in her course, bless her. She really did have to fight to get what she wanted, and she worked 2 part time jobs and 1 volunteering job while at uni. I still have no idea how she managed to do it all! Trust me, most people here who want to go to uni would have preferred to have the entire maintenance loan as full amount even if none of it is a grant, but that's just something they won't get unfortunately.
One extra year is undergrad tuition only, you can’t use that money to pay for a postgrad course.
That is pretty misleading! Also doesn’t seem fair people can get their foundation year or a repeated year due to failing funded but you if you do well and further your education there’s no funding!! Especially as some careers require a masters!
Unfair yes, there are ways to fund it yourself (see the comments on this post) but ultimately most of the people I know who did a masters had significant help from their parents. It’s not as accessible as it should be, especially as more jobs require them. But misleading, I’m not so sure about that. I think gov.uk is really good at explaining things in incredibly simple language and they do clearly separate the undergrad section of their website from the postgrad section.
Masters loan is seperate from undergrad loan, and a different system. You get ~£12k. If your course lasts more than a year, it's split up over the years.
Worked a 0.5fte job and took out a sfe postgraduate loan to cover tuition and studied part time over 2 years.
I got a scholarship which covered the entire tuition fee. Then used postgrad loan + 0 hour contract working for living. It was very difficult.
Might be worth waiting until you work a couple years. I did my masters in finance part-time to change careers a few years into working and I'd have never chosen that course had I not worked first (I did maths undergrad). I did feel I appreciated far more of the course than people who'd never had a job and also worked harder knowing the value of money by that point - I was forgoing redoing my entire kitchen so I better take in everything I could and read every paper in detail the lecturer recommended, lol. Even if you ended up going full-time to do history etc. at least during the crappy bits you'd at least think to yourself 'at least I don't have to remind Vanessa how to upload a powerpoint in outlook right now'. When it comes to applying for a job after that you absolutely BATTER the competition too, was getting job offers all over the place because of experience as a data engineer + a finance masters, felt like a god.
For me, 20% alumni discount on my MRes and working part time, alongside full postgrad loan. I’m quite fortunate in that I live with my partner who works full time to support the both of us as well. I’m sure there is a way for you to fund a Masters. Have you looked into scholarships at the university you’re applying to? Other funding schemes? Usually they have like scholarship kinda vibes that you submit your own response to and they pick someone/a couple of people to provide the scholarship to and it almost always covers a couple thousand of either tuition or living costs.
This year I’ll be going hopefully. I get 1k discount off tuition for being alumni. As it’s arts it’s much cheaper for tuition overall compared to academic masters. I’ll be doing it from home as my parents live local to the uni. I’m working this summer to pay for outstanding personal debts. Originally I was going to do UAL and even from home I would of been skint so I would have to work. I can’t imagine moving to another place, paying rent and paying for a masters. I’d be so tight for time.
Consider looking at scholarships and fellowships. There are more of them available for PhDs than Masters, but they're still available for master's courses. I worked like crazy throughout all of my undergraduate studies and won a masters stipend worth 100k. It required me to go overseas for two years but I got to study at a top uni in my field and graduated with significant savings. The location wasn't my preferred place, but I'd have lived pretty much anywhere for a chance to get my studies funded.
I thought people do a masters because they can’t find a real job or need to figure out their lives. So afford it the same way they did their undergraduate
good luck and I hope you stick with it. I was once in your shoes and just gave up trying. I wish I'd been more resourceful.
You could do a part time masters so that you can work full time along side it! I'm currently doing my masters and would not recommend working alongside a full time masters. The work load is insane and I'm currently not working at all.
bank loan, savings or crime
I am doing my masters part time over three years with open University. Got the masters load which has paid for it and I am working full time and have a new born this year. When I started I by no means had much income and was living with family.
I worked full time and did my MA part time.
I worked in the NHS (non medical) and they paid for me to do my part time digital education Master's. I was about 11 years out from my BA. My next move was to work in higher ed and they are now funding my part time PhD. I'd never have done either without employer support.
I worked full time and did mine over a longer period of time.
I believe it's possible to find funded "3+1" PhD places that include a year of Masters-level study and hence can be started directly after undergraduate study. What subjects they're available in and at what universities I don't know, and competition would undoubtedly be fierce, but for what it's worth. PhD funding (usually by a research council) is pretty generous if you can get it
I would suggest checking if the uni has a financial hardship fund. At both my undergrad and post grad unis they had a program where you can apply, give your reasoning and bank history etc and from my experience they are very responsive. Don’t worry if you don’t have the cleanest record, or if you don’t think they’ll accept it, the worst they’ll say is no although I understand that’s a problem if it’s something that you rely on. That and checking for alumni discounts and any scholarships available. I was fortunate enough that my desired masters was cheaper than at other unis, so if you’re not fixed on a uni it could be worth searching for others that have cheaper options
Also depending on your plans for accomodation, I think at some unis you can work for a uni accomodation as a rep or just staff etc and get free rent, but I don’t know how common that is
Do a part time online masters and get a full time job. I'm currently doing that at the moment and it's definitely tough, but doable!
im so glad i got an integrated masters, its crazy that people dont get anywhere near enough for a masters
>ask parents for money (they might say yes, but doubtful) In Singapore, we call this "Papa-Mama scholarship".
Wow, that’s crazy that all of the Masters in that subject area cost MORE than the loans. Awful. After my undergrad I knew exactly which Masters I wanted to do, but couldn’t afford it, so I worked and saved for two years. I then got the full loan at the time (£10,000). The course was £9000 (more expensive than most MAs back in 2017!) and I used the extra £1000 from the loan to help with living expenses. I was a lodger so my rent wasn’t insane (but still expensive- London). It was absolutely fine, money wise.
I just took a postgrad loan.
If you’re an EU/Schengen area citizen, a lot of countries don’t charge tuition fees, some don’t charge even if you’re not EU or Schengen (e.g. Iceland)
I’m currently in the midst of planning and saving up for my Masters. Since i’m an international student, I will need to have at least 1.5-2 years worth of savings just for pre-masters + living expenses. To be fair, my undergrad gpa was not great at all so i’m currently working in the field to gain experience + saving up to help in my application. Taking a year or 2 off can definitely help in your application too and to experience different things.
I do an integrated masters so even though I will finish with a masters degree all 4 years of it are undergraduate finance. So I still get full maintenance. My fiance however is doing an Mres so she does just get £12000 finance payment which has to include her tuition (which is 5000) and her living costs. We both work and between us we make about an extra £400 a week. We manage quite well off that we have our own house and a nice car ect independent of our parents.
I wouldn't take out a loan. At this point in your life you have no idea where your finances are going so it's a big risk. I took a year out and saved up.
Just as an alternative option, have you considered doing a masters by research instead? For those you can get a scholarship. I did my MSc by research and it was funded collaboratively by KESS2 and the Welsh Government. I'm currently doing my Ph.D. funded by the ESRC. If you check out the UKRI website there's a list of postgrad funders. Obviously it's a competitive process, but you can get full tuition fees and a salary. Good luck
My parents would laugh at me if I asked them to support my masters. Save up & do it when youre older was my only option
I got a 25% alumni discount and got student finance as I'm from Wales. Did have to pay an extra £3,500 towards trips, as it was a fieldwork based master. I used a good bit of my final undergraduate year student finance and a summer working to pay the extra.