Postgraduate doctoral loans for home students

Key facts

Available to home or international students?

Home

Study level

Research Degree; Postgraduate

Award value

£28,673 in 2023-24 (total for length of course)

Number of awards

All applicants who meet the criteria

Overview

This loan is open to new students who start their programme after 1 August 2018.

The loan amount for students applying to Student Finance England is up to £28,673 in 2023-24. Students applying to Student Finance Wales and get a loan of up to £28,395 in 2023-24. The loan will be divided equally across each year of your course and is paid in 3 instalments in each year of the course.

Students must be registered on the Doctoral Degree and not on a Masters award to qualify, and students are encouraged to apply from Year 1 as it cannot be backdated.

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria

  • It must be a full, standalone doctoral course, not a top-up course
  • You must have started your course on or after 1 August 2018
  • It must last between three and eight academic years
  • It must be at a UK university (with research degree awarding powers)
  • It can a full-time or part-time course
  • It can be a taught or research-based course (or a combination of both)
  • It can be a distance learning course, as long as you live in the UK while studying
  • It can also be an integrated master's degree (a master's and PhD combined). However, you won't be able to apply for a separate Postgraduate Master's Loan.
  • Students in receipt of Research Council funding cannot apply

Find out more about full eligibility

This funding is available to students studying on the following courses:

Research Degree

Postgraduate

Application process

Please apply via the gov.uk website. 

Terms and conditions

Please refer to the gov.uk website for full details.