Postgraduate Study in 2017 - Looking to the Future

I'm a big Leonard Cohen fan, quite like David Bowie and worry that the annual festive viewing of Die Hard just won't be the same now that Alan Rickman's gone. So, I can fully understand why 2016 has acquired a bit of reputation.

But, for postgraduates, the news has (mostly) been good.

Student loans became available for UK Masters degrees for the first time ever and future support for PhDs was also confirmed. Elsewhere, the EU's Erasmus+ Masters loans were extended - now including the UK alongside Spain and France.

'Brexit' came as a surprise to many, but reassurances for those planning to study abroad in the UK have been prompt and encouraging. EU students beginning a degree next year will still be eligible for the same fee and funding arrangements (including postgraduate loans and Research Council support.

All in all it's safe to chalk 2016 up as a landmark year for postgraduate students.

But what about 2017?

Well, there's a good chance there could be some equally significant developments for students beginning a Masters or PhD in 2017. I've picked out a few in this post.

The introduction of postgraduate loans for English-resident Masters students probably won't make many people's 2016 retrospective lists (particularly not if you're Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish). But they have been popular - more popular than anticipated, in fact.

Well, the loans are here to stay and they'll be available for Masters students in 2017, just as they were in 2016. There may even be some updates and changes (we'll have more information about those in due course, if so).

But it's not just a case of 'more of the same' for postgraduate loans in 2017.

Masters loans across the UK

The rest of the UK hasn't sat idly by as support has increased for students in England. In fact, there'll be at least two UK postgraduate loan schemes next year as Northern Ireland plans to introduce its own £5,500 tuition-fee loans for autumn 2017.

Elsewhere Wales is considering its own very generous postgraduate funding plans for 2018, but hasn't ruled out interim support for Masters students next year.

Things are less clear in Scotland, where it's been a year since postgraduate loan proposals were first put forward. Big changes for Scottish students in 2017 are probably unlikely, but it would be surprising if nothing more was said on the subject now that other UK countries all moving ahead with their own plans.

Masters loans across Europe

These various UK-based loan schemes all have one thing in common: they're for students living in different parts of the UK to study a Masters across the UK.

But the UK wasn't the only place you could study with a postgraduate loan in 2016 and it won't be in 2017.

Erasmus+ has been offering its own Masters loans for two years now. They work slightly different to 'Government' postgraduate loans, but they're definitely worth considering if you're planning on studying abroad next year.

The UK recently joined the scheme and I'd be surprised if more countries don't get involved in 2017.

PhD loans and consultations

PhD loans won't be available in the UK next year, but we will know a lot more about them. The Government is currently running a public consultation, during which it will collect responses to the plans. This finishes on Friday, with updates to follow some time in the new year.

Elsewhere, Wales is seeking views on the postgraduate support proposals outlined in its Diamond Review and will do so until the 14th of February (I'll let you come up with your own Diamond and Valentines Day related puns).

The Welsh proposals have a wide remit, but they include support for PhDs as well as Masters students.

As usual, we'll have news on these and other plans, with updates here on the blog and via our newsletter.

We know that 'Brexit means Brexit', but, so far, 'Brexit' has meant surprisingly little to postgraduates. The UK won't actually leave the EU in 2017 and guarantees have been offered for those beginning a course in the meantime.

If you're an EU student starting a Masters or PhD in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland next year you'll pay the same fees and have access to the same financial support throughout your course.

That means EU Masters students will be eligible for the postgraduate Masters loans introduced in England. EU PhD students will be entitled to Research Council support (though, as now, this will generally be limited to fees-only awards).

This is all good news for now, but 2017 may also be the year in which we learn about the longer terms for EU students and Brexit.

Future reassurances

The above fee and funding guarantees only apply to students beginning courses in 2017. Not a problem if you're starting a UK Masters or PhD next year. But what if you're looking further ahead?

It's technically possible for the UK to leave the EU before the 2018-19 academic year, but that's quite unlikely. The process isn't due to begin until at least March 2017 and is likely to take two years.

This puts EU postgraduates starting in 2018 in an odd position. As things stand, you'll be entitled to study in the UK, but your registration status won't be guaranteed if / when Brexit occurs during your course.

I suspect this situation will be clarified at some point next year. With luck, the Government may extend its current assurances to students beginning in 2018. At the very least it should offer some advice as to what 'Brexit' will eventually mean for EU students.

EU students and postgraduate loans

Questions over Brexit arrangements have a knock-on effect for future postgraduate loan plans.

The English Masters loans have already made provisions for EU students - at least until 2017. Other schemes are likely to be introduced 'post-Brexit'. They'll need to either exclude EU students (as the English PhD loans look set to do) or include them according to whatever arrangements are reached for EU students in general.

Again, this is something I'd expect to become clearer over the next 12 months. Other loan systems are likely to finalise their eligibility criteria and Brexit arrangements are likely to progress (as above). This should give some sense of the direction of travel for EU students and UK postgraduate loans after 2017-18.

One possibility, post-Brexit, is that EU students will simply use the UK's existing Tier 4 visa system.

This might not be a great concern - after all, the UK already welcomes large numbers of international students from outside the EU. However, the future of this visa system is also being reconsidered.

Piloting visa extensions

July this year brought good news for some postgraduates as the Government began trialling an extension to its visa system. Masters students at four UK universities now benefit from a simplified visa application process and a slightly extended duration.

This Tier 4 Pilot will continue to run during 2017 and will be available to students beginning a Masters at (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London and Bath) next year.

It remains to be seen whether the plans are extended to more universities - or if they pave the way for a more ambitious restructuring of the UK visa system. Speaking of which...

'Two-tier' visas

The Government will soon consult on possible changes to the Tier 4 system. It's not clear what form these will take, but a system may be introduced to differentiate between universities in their role as visa 'sponsors'.

This might take one of two forms:

• Universities may be judged based on the perceived quality of their courses. This would mean that institutions who do well in the Government's new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) could be able to recruit more international students.
• Alternatively, extensions of visa sponsorship may be based on compliance with existing rules. This would mean that those universities who sponsor more successful (and legitimate) student visas will be able to recruit more international students. They may also be able to offer more generous visa terms, similar to the Tier 4 Pilot.

It's very important to note that we don't know which of these approaches the Government will take - or if it will take either of them.

In any case, genuine international students who wish to study a Masters or PhD in the UK will still be able to do so - and will be welcomed.

Of course, 2016 has also been the debut year for the FindAMasters and FindAPhD blogs.

We've always done our best to provide useful postgraduate advice and funding information. But now we're also able to cover a wider range of topics - and to provide advice on the news stories and developments that matter to future postgraduates.

And there have been plenty of those in 2016 - from postgraduate loans to Brexit and beyond.

I hope we've done a good job and I can promise that we'll do our best to continue to keep you updated. Whatever changes 2017 brings, if you're starting a Masters or PhD next year, this will be the place to find the information and resources you need.