Postgraduate Master's Loan

About the project

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• Imperial Home
• Study
• Fees and funding
• Postgraduate taught
• Loans
• Postgraduate Master's Loan

Postgraduate Master's Loan

Jump to:

• Postgraduate Master's Loan
• Repaying your loan
• Student loans for US students
• Student loans for Canadian students
• Overview
• Loan amount
• How to apply
• Check if you're eligible
• EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals
• When you'll get paid
• Repaying your loan

Overview

The Postgraduate Master's Loan from the UK government is designed to support students who normally live in England while they are studying a full, standalone Master’s course, worth at least 180 credits.

The loan is to contribute towards the cost of your postgraduate study, and you can choose whether you put this towards your tuition fees or living costs. See an estimate of costs for living in London as an Imperial student.

Funding for postgraduate loans is different if:

• you normally live in Scotland
• you normally live in Wales
• you normally live in Northern Ireland

Loan amount

The maximum value of the loan is £13,206 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2026.

This loan is not means tested so the amount you’ll get is not based on your household income or your family’s.

You may also be eligible for extra grants or allowances, such as the Disabled Students Allowance .

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How to apply

Students who normally live in England should apply via Student Finance England.

If you’ve taken out a loan with Student Finance England before, use your account to apply .

If you do not already have one, set up an account .

You will only need to apply once, even if your Master’s course is longer than one year.

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Check if you're eligible

The loan is only available if you’re studying a full Master’s course from the start . If you start with a Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) or Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) and later move on to the Master’s, you won’t be eligible for this loan.

Whether you qualify for a Postgraduate Master's Loan also depends on:

Explore the full list of who qualifies on Gov.uk.

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• your course
• your age
• your nationality or residency status

EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals

EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals starting courses on or after 1 August 2021 must have settled or pre-settled status in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme to be able to apply for this type of financial support.

Visit the EU Settlement Scheme information guide for more information.

This does not apply to students who are Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland, who are automatically treated as settled in the UK and do not need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to benefit from the right to UK student finance.

For full information on the nationality or residency status requirement for this type of financial support, please see the Gov.uk website .

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When you'll get paid

You get the first payment after you register at Imperial and after your course starts.

The loan will be paid directly to you in three instalments each year.

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Repaying your loan

You have to repay your loan, but only once you:

Find out more about repaying your loans .

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• have left university
• are in employment
• are earning over a certain amount

Research areas