New £10,000 Government Postgraduate Loan for 2016/17 Applicants

Under this new scheme, first publicised as part of the UK’s Chancellor’s 2014 Autumn Statement and reconfirmed in the 2015 Spending Review, government-backed student loans will be linked to earnings, making them more favourable than existing postgraduate loans and repayments. 

Funds will be administered through the Student Loan Company, and will go directly to students to use as they need. To encourage independent financial status for postgraduate students, as well as broaden access to higher education, loans are not means-tested, so will not be determined according to household income or earnings. Repayments will be made at 6 per cent of annual income over £21,000, beginning in 2019.

Home and EU students applying for full-time and part-time programmes, and aged under 60 may be eligible for the loan. Home and EU students must have been resident in England or the EU respectively for three years prior to the start of their programme (for purposes other than education). Loans will be available to students who have not previously completed a Master's degree, and who are starting new courses in 2016.

Full details on loan criteria and how to apply will be announced later in the spring. For more information and up-to-date news, please consult the RCA’s guide to external funding, Gov.uk and the Student Room website.

If you have any questions about the loan, please email [email protected]