please help! loans/ grants etc for 1 year masters and then 1 year work experience?

sjaypink

hi, question for a friend;

she wants to take a 1 year masters, 7k fees 3k accommodation.

then return home to a 1 year voluntary experience/ trainee post with the local council.

what help might be available for this?

any advice gratefully received!

thanks

Woodyrocks

What is she doing her MA in? There might, I wouldn't hold my breath though, be some scholarship/bursary attached that she can apply for. Depending on her major, there is also The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) allocate a small quota of awards each year. These are competitive awards, and can be applied for by students applying for any postgraduate applicant other than those applying to study a teaching course.

Applicants must have been made a formal offer before they can apply to the AHRC. Once a formal offer has been made the applicant should then obtain an application form from their website www.ahrc.ac.uk

As an applicant you need to be recommended by the School. Therefore it is advised that your application should reach your School of choice as early as possible to allow sufficient time for the 1 May AHRC deadline.

The reality of it however is that your friend will most probably need to apply for a CDL

Career Development Loans (CDLs) are the most popular postgraduate loans and are awarded to those completing a vocational course.
Administered by three High Street banks - Barclays, The Royal Bank of Scotland and The Co-operative Bank - and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). CDLs can be used to cover your course fees plus all your related expenses, including books, childcare, travel and any costs associated with disability. If your course is full time, you can also apply for help with living expenses.
Loans from £300 to £8,000 are available to help you fund up to two years’ study (three years’ if the course includes work experience).
It is important to remember that you can’t use a CDL to pay for anything that is being funded by another source. For example, you are not entitled to a CDL if you are eligible for a Local Education Authority mandatory grant or if you have a job and your employer will be receiving a grant for your training. In most other cases, you can use a CDL to supplement a grant or bursary that does not meet the full cost of your training.
To be eligible for a CDL you must intend to live or train in the UK. Once you have finished your training, you must intend to work in the UK or the EU. People who are not EU nationals and who are not permanent UK residents will need Home Office approval to study, train or work in the UK. You are unlikely to qualify for a CDL if there are any restrictions on your stay in the UK.

Professional loan schemes

If you’re training for a professional qualification in, for example, Law or Medicine, most banks offer some sort of professional studies loan scheme. NatWest offers the Professional Trainee Loan Scheme and the College of Law Loan Scheme, and Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland also run loan schemes specifically for law students.
Loans are available to students who are studying full-time for a professional qualification to become one of the following: barrister, dentist, osteopath, solicitor, chiropodist or podiatrist, doctor, pharmacist, vet, chiropractor, optician or physiotherapist. Postgraduates studying for a diploma, MSc or PhD are eligible.
Association of MBAs Loan Scheme

Students on MBA (Masters in Business Administration) programmes accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) are eligible for the Association of MBAs Loan Scheme, which is designed to help students paying their own fees or part-fees.
AMBA operates this scheme, which is financed by the NatWest Bank. Students can borrow up to two thirds of their pre-course gross annual salary plus tuition fees for each year of full-time study. Loans to part-time and distance learning students can cover tuition fees and study equipment.
Distance learners can borrow up to a maximum of £10,000. For full-time and part-time students, there is nothing to pay until three months after graduation. Since MBAs are expensive and most MBA students are self-financing, this loan scheme is very popular.
To apply for the AMBA Loan Scheme, you must:

• Be a permanent UK resident (ie have been resident here for a minimum of three years immediately prior to commencement of study).
• Have secured a place on an AMBA-accredited MBA programme.
• Have five years’ practical work experience within industry or commerce, or if you are a recent graduate, two years’ work experience.
• You’re expected to make a contribution equal to 20% of the total course fees from your own funds.

You need not already bank with the NatWest to apply for an MBA loan but in order to take out a loan you must open and maintain your main current account with them.
Repayment of this loan begins three months after the course has finished. After this time, repayments can be made over a period of up to seven years or, in the case of loans of £20,000 and over, ten years. For distance learners, repayments commence one month after the funds have been paid into your account. The maximum term is ten years.
Further details and an application form can be obtained by calling the NatWest information line free on 0800 015 1166 or the Association of MBAs on 020 7246 2686.


Or your friend could do what I and a few others on my course did and spend a year working like a mule and saving up the cold hard cash!

The_One_Who

The only help for Masters degrees is extremely competitive and so most will either take a CDL or take a year or two out to work (preferably in a related field) to gain experience as well as save up enough to cover the course costs.

There might be some bursaries available depending on the course, but again, they will be very competitive.

How are they funding themselves for a year through the voluntary placement?

sjaypink

thankyou very much for all that info woodyrocks.

its a full time course in environmental health, starting sept 09.

theonewho: shes not sure yet how to fund it, hence trying to find out about loans etc. she has nearly 10k in savings and will carry on ft work until august 09, so could possibly aim for another 4k. this placement is verbally secured with a local council, so she can live back here rent/ bills free for that year- just personal travel expenses needed really.... and obviously fees, accommodation, and general living expenses for next year at uni.

sjaypink

shamelessly bumping this thread incase theres any more info to be had!