Masters Qualification

Masters

I wanted some advice. I want to know if anyone knew of any financial support for those who want to undertake a Masters.

Everyone I have spoken to so far says that they are not aware of any kind of funding for students undertaking a Masters qualification.

melancholly

sorry - there really isn't much. you may be able to find some grants offered specifically from a department but they are very rare. it is possible to get 1+3 funding to do a masters when following on to a PhD, but they are mainly in the sciences. most people fund them by working and saving, having generous relatives or a career development loan. (a CDL can be useful, but you also need to start repaying as soon as the course ends - well, one month after usually - so if don't have guaranteed employment, it can be tricky)

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/AdultLearning/FinancialHelpForAdultLearners/CareerDevelopmentLoans/index.htm

melancholly

2sides2everystory wrote: »

So how does the funding/SLC loan/maintenance/grant situation differ between those who enrol on the Bachelors versus those enrolling on the Masters for these courses, and how does it differ at the end of Year 1 if a student migrates either upwards or downwards please?

i would search for a long thread that covered this extensively but i can't be bothered! the rules are (for right or wrong) that you can get funding for an undergraduate course. a very small number of science degrees can do undergraduate degrees that come out with a 'masters' degree (so in chemistry it's an MSci rather than the MSc you'd get if you did a separate masters). in many cases, these masters courses aren't always considered as highly as separate masters courses (again, whether that's right or wrong isn't the issue, it's the reality) in the same way, you can get funding for a 4 year course for lanuages or longer for medicine. but the entry point is undergraduate so you get SLC loans/grants.

the OP needs to know about their funding options. unfortunately for them, these are few and far between. a wider debate about whether masters should get funding might be better placed in a new, separate thread. it's also up for review right now, since the original white paper ignored postgraduate education - http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=418928. perhaps you could try contacting them to give opinions.......

melancholly

2sides2everystory wrote: »

So are the four year courses that qualify for SLC loans/grants eligible for all four years of study? Are they pre-specified? I recall discussion some time ago about obviously long courses such as dentistry and medicine, but what about MEng courses enrolled into by undergraduates?

The MEng courses typically include a fifth year in industry. The tuition fees for such years out are relatively low but can the costs for those years still be diffrayed using SLC loan scheme/grants?

yes - the whole undergrad degree is covered, whether that be a medicine course or a chemistry MSc or a standard BA. i don't know much about MEng with years in industry, as that wasn't an option for those doing MEng's when i was an undergrad.

as ever, google can pretty much find this all out though. the liverpool course was the top of the search list and their info on fees shows that it's decreased for a year in industry:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/finance/fees.htm

a quick search for 'student loan year in industry' shows, as i pretty much expected, that you get a loan for the fees and the amount for the maintenance loan depends on whether the placement is paid or not:
https://www.york.ac.uk/students/housing-and-money/financial-support/funding/year-in-industry-students/
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/studentsupportcentre/finance/placements.html
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/ugprospectus/facultiesanddepartments/chemistry/chemistry

it's probably quicker to google this than type the post asking the question though

stardance

There really isn't a lot in the way of funding other than what has already been posted here. It is worth looking at specific uni's and courses and seeing what bursaries etc that they offer. I think most do although they are pretty competitive.

I'm currently doing a masters which I funded by taking a year out to work after completing my BSc and getting and saving the money that way and working part time throughout this course to fund general living. It can be tough going but ultimately worth it if it gets you to where you want to go.

Good Luck

Dunroamin

The Prospects website is very good on the subject of postgraduate funding.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/funding_my_further_study.htm