Universal credit situation during extension of a Masters research degree

reheat

Trying to assist our daughter.

She is about to start the final year of her first degree, and wants to follow it up with a masters degree. She is a single mum with two young children, so receives universal credit, as well as child benefits (cannot recall which).

She is considering doing a research MRes, which is a 12 month degree, but apparently a lot of students end up having to extend to around 18 months, and is accepted as the norm by unis. The Masters loan covers the whole degree, no matter how long it takes, and is paid in 3 installments over the initial year.

What we are struggling to understand is what our daughter's situation would be after the first year, while she was still completing the MRes. Would she still be entitled to universal credit after the first year during the time it takes her to complete here Masters?

Many thanks

beckstar1975

I don't know about her benefits but I work at a uni that offers many MRes and no students take longer than a year for them (if they are full time) unless they interrupt part way butt that still makes it only takes 12 months just with a break part way through.

beckstar1975

I don't know about her benefits but I work at a uni that offers many MRes and no students take longer than a year for them (if they are full time) unless they interrupt part way butt that still makes it only takes 12 months just with a break part way through.

reheat

beckstar1975 said:

I don't know about her benefits but I work at a uni that offers many MRes and no students take longer than a year for them (if they are full time) unless they interrupt part way butt that still makes it only takes 12 months just with a break part way through.

Spoke to our daughter about this, and she said it will depend on the subject of the course. In her case it is Environmental and Biodiversity, which means research samples have to be taken representative of all the seasons throughout the year. Such an MRes student will not be able to start gathering their samples immediately, given there will be initial learning and preparation needed, and there is still a lot of work to do after the final samples have been gathered, the elapsed time needed for such a course can therefore be well over a year. Our daughter has been talking to other MRes students doing this type of course. It is not so much about getting the work done within the space of a year, but about being able to gather the necessary samples when nature makes them available.

silvercar

Any entitlement to universal credit may come with an obligation to be searching for work and a willingness to take a job if offered. Does the university offer any earnings opportunities in research or tutoring?