Government Announces Loans for Masters Students from 2016–17
Government Announces Loans for Masters Students from 2016–17
UKCGE welcomes the government announcement that students wishing to undertake a Masters degree will soon be able to apply for a £10,000 loan to help fund their studies.
The announcement which came as part of the Autumn Spending review will allow students, up to the age of 60, to apply for up to £10,000 for degree programmes beginning from the 2016/17 academic year onwards.
Delivering the news, George Osborne said:
‘In the Budget I announced that we would replace unaffordable student maintenance grants with larger student loans. This means we can extend support to students who’ve never before had government help.’
Loans for postgraduate taught English-domiciled students were originally announced in the 2014 Autumn Statement, but were restricted to students aged under 30. However, following consultation with sector groups the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have increased the age limit to 60.
Other areas of the eligibility criteria have also been widened to include;
- English students studying at universities elsewhere in the UK
- Students following their course via distance learning
- Students on research master’s courses
The government has also reduced the repayment rate for postgraduate loans to lessen the burden on students who will be concurrently repaying undergraduate loans.
Dr Gavin Boyce, Chair of the UKCGE Postgraduate Funding Working Group said,
“The UKCGE postgraduate funding working group welcomes the recent announcement that the government are going to introduce £10K loans for Masters students from 2016–17. In particular we are heartened that the government has listened to the sector’s advice on the proposed age limit of 30 for these loans and has decided to make them available to students under 60 wanting to take masters degrees. Over the course of the next few years it will be interesting to see what impact, if any, increased indebtedness of home graduates will have upon postgraduate research recruitment patterns.”
Professor Madeleine Atkins, HEFCE Chief Executive, said:
‘Postgraduate education is important for the life chances of individuals, for the supply of the highest levels of knowledge and skills to enhance the nation’s productivity and global competitiveness. The creation of a new loan scheme provides critical finance to support these goals. We look forward to working closely with Government to review how the loans affect the development of courses at masters level and to positioning the postgraduate education agenda during the coming years.’
Links
Government response to the Consultation on Support for Postgraduate Study
Introduction of loans for masters students from 2016–17
Postgraduate Funding Working Group
Postgraduate Marketing Workshop
