Student finance for master’s and MBA students

If you’re normally a resident of Scotland and you haven’t received government financial support for a postgraduate qualification before, you could be eligible for a loan to study with LIBF. There’s no upper age limit.

You may be eligible for a loan of up to £7,000 towards your qualification split pro rata over the number of years you’ll be studying. This will be paid directly to us and you’ll need to pay any remaining fee amount directly to LIBF.

You’ll start making repayments once your income is over £27,660. You'll pay 9% on everything you earn above this threshold.

Complete a financial support application online on the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) website.

You’ll get a notification in your SAAS account if you’re successful, which can take up to 28 days. We recommend you apply as early as possible – you can change your application later if you need to.

Check the Student Awards Agency Scotland website for more information.

If you’re normally a resident in Wales and you haven’t received government financial support for a postgraduate qualification before, you could be eligible for a loan to study with LIBF. You need to be under 60 years old on the first day of the academic year.

You can get a loan of up to £18,950. The loan will be paid directly to you and you’ll need to pay this to LIBF.

You’ll start making repayments in the April after you graduate at the earliest. Repayments only start once your income is over £21,000. You'll pay 6% on everything you earn above this threshold.

We recommend you apply as early as possible. You can apply up to 9 months after the start of your course.

Read through the Student Finance Wales application guide for more information.

If you’re normally a resident of Northern Ireland, you could be eligible for a loan to study with LIBF. You must be living in Northern Ireland on the first day of the first academic year of your course. There’s no upper age limit.

You won’t qualify if you’ve already received a postgraduate tuition fee loan from any government authority within the United Kingdom or postgraduate master’s grant support from Student Finance Wales.

You can get up to £6,500 paid over the one to two years of your course. The fee will be paid directly to us and you’ll need to pay the remaining amount directly to LIBF. From the beginning of the tax year after you complete or leave your course, you’ll pay 9% of anything you earn over £22,015.

Remember, you’ll need to reapply each year of your course. If you apply for a loan after your course has begun, and you have not attended your course from the beginning, the amount available to you will be reduced.

Visit Student Finance NI for more information.

If you’re studying one of our postgraduate courses and you’re a UK national, or have an eligible residency status, you can probably apply for a tuition fee loan.

You won’t be eligible if you already have a master’s or MBA, if you’re already getting student finance for another course, if you’ve already received a master’s loan, or if you’re behind on repayments for a previous student loan.

See the gov.uk postgraduate student finance pages to find out if you’re eligible.

A big advantage of studying online is the cheaper overall cost of your degree – no extra rent or travel. There’s no separate maintenance loan for postgraduate students, but, in England, you can use your loan to cover your tuition fees, living costs, or other costs associated with your postgraduate study.

• In England, you could be eligible for a loan of up to £12,167.

• In Wales, you could be eligible for a loan of up to £18,950.

• In Northern Ireland, you could be eligible for a loan of up to up to £6,500.

• In Scotland, you could be eligible for a loan of up to £7,000.

To get your student loan in plenty of time before your course, remember to apply at least six weeks before your start date. You can make changes after you’ve applied so it’s best to apply early.

If you need to, you can apply up to nine months after the first day of the last academic year of your course. However, if you do this, your funding won’t be in place when you begin the course.

When you start your application, you’ll see what information or documents you need to provide. This might include your household income and a passport or birth certificate.

You’ll start making payments when your income is above the threshold for your country.

• In England, the threshold is £21,000.

• In Wales, the threshold is over £21,000.

• In Northern Ireland, the threshold is £22,015.

• In Scotland, the threshold is £27,660.

The UK government postgraduate student finance website has all the information you’ll need. You can also contact us for help and advice whenever you need it.