Masters Funding - a Checklist for 2018

Let's start with a bold statement - and a positive one: there's probably more funding available for postgraduate Masters courses now than there ever has been. Particularly in the UK.

If you don't believe me, hopefully this post will help change your mind.

But even if it's easier to find funding, is finding funding actually easy? There may be more options to choose from, but how do you prioritise? Where do you start? Where do you look for funding first? And where next? And where after that?

We've always done our best to maintain a useful set of postgraduate funding guides on FindAMasters. With this post I'm going to try and go one step further. With a step-by-step guide. There's a pun in there somewhere.

Before we start, I should point out that this list is only a general guide. You don't have to look for funding in the order I've suggested. It won't necessarily matter if you don't, and, in some cases, you probably shouldn't. If you already know you don't want to study abroad, for example, there may not be much point looking at Erasmus grants.

But, for many students, the following checklist should provide a sensible - and reasonably efficient - map for your postgraduate funding search.

This might not be quite as simple as you assume - particularly if you're coming straight from an undergraduate degree.

In countries like the UK, postgraduate fees aren't capped. This means that the cost of a Masters can vary quite a bit. Average tuition fees for the most recent academic year were £6,842 for UK & EU students (international students usually pay a bit more).

Living costs won't be dramatically different to those for your undergraduate degree (you'll be pleased to hear that landlords don't tend to charge higher rent to people with more qualifications). That said, you'll need to take account of differences between cities (or countries). Even if your accommodation costs are similar, your travel expenses might not be.

So, your first task is to find out how much your course is going to cost and how much support you're going to need.

The simplest way to do that is to browse some courses in your subject area and get a rough idea of fees.

Universities should be able to provide this information if it isn't included in their listing on FindAMasters. They may also be able to provide advice on living costs in their local area.

If you're interested in international courses, don't forget to check our introductions to Masters study abroad. Each country guide includes general information on postgraduate fees and living costs.

Once you know how much your university is going to charge for your Masters, the next step is to see if they might be able to reduce that amount - or help you cover it.

This may sound a little odd - as if applying for postgraduate study involves some kind of haggling process. But universities do have a surprising amount of support available for their own students. It's just a case of identifying it - and applying for it in time.

The kind of support offered by universities varies, but can include the following:

• Merit-based funding is offered to the best students who apply to a course or department. Not all universities offer this, but those that do will be seeking to attract very high-quality students with an excellent academic and extra-curricular record.
• Need-based funding is intended to support students who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford postgraduate study. It can actually be more common than merit-based support, but eligibility criteria will be very specific.
• Alumni discounts are offered to graduates who stay at the same university for their Masters. These tend to be a small (but worthwhile!) percentage reduction in tuition fees. Sometimes the level of discount will be linked to undergraduate degree results.
• International funding is provided by some universities to support students from abroad. This can be designed to offset higher tuition fees, encourage more international postgraduates, or both.

The amount of postgraduate funding will vary between universities, as will the type of help available. Support can range from partial discounts and small grants to full fee waivers and / or stipends.

Thankfully, you only need to check what's available at the university (or universities) you're interested in studying at. That shouldn't be too complicated.

Start by checking their course listings. If you can't see any funding there, follow the link to the university's own website and look for funding pages. If you still can't find anything, head back to our listing and use the contact form to (politely) ask if any postgraduate support is available.

If you do end up contacting the university, make sure you show that you're genuinely interested in studying there and that your enquiry is part of a wider funding search. Universities get a lot of questions about funding: they're much more likely to reply to students who aren't just asking them for money.

Postgraduate loans are a relatively new development, but they're going to be a fairly significant part of the funding landscape in countries like the UK.

Essentially these are student loans for postgraduate degrees. They'll usually be lent to you by the government of the country you're studying in.

I'd recommend looking at these after university funding for a few of simple reasons.

Firstly, it's all too easy to overlook scholarships from your university, particularly when national student loan schemes are becoming more common.

Secondly - and obviously - postgraduate loans are loans. They'll certainly help you study a Masters and most have fairly gentle repayment terms. But, if you can avoid adding to your student debt, you probably should.

Finally, a loan won't necessarily cover the full cost of your Masters - especially once accommodation and living costs are factored in. The likelihood is that you'll need to use a loan to supplement other funding, or use other funding to supplement a loan.

Thankfully, applying for government student loans isn't usually that complicated - and it's generally quite obvious what you can and can't get.

We've put together full guides to the UK postgraduate loans in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. And our guides to international funding cover options in other countries.

Not all student loans are offered by national governments, of course. Private banks and other lenders also provide support to postgraduates. So, if you can't get a traditional 'student loan' (or your student loan isn't enough) you can look at some alternatives.

But you need to be careful with these. Whereas a government loan will usually have a generous repayment plan and accrue comparatively low interest, the same won't necessarily be true of a commercial loan.

And, whilst I'm generally happy to answer obscure questions about postgraduate funding (or try to, at least), I'm not a financial advisor. For that reason, I'm restricting these suggestions to two loan schemes with specific guarantees in place for students:

• Erasmus+ Masters Loans - These are available to students studying abroad in Europe. They're offered by private banks, according to guidelines set by the Erasmus programme. You can find out more in our guide.
• Career Development Loans - These are UK bank loans, with interest paid by the Government during a student's course. You can find out more in our guide.

These aren't the only loans available for postgraduate study, of course. But they're a good (and safe) place to start looking.

The title for this step is (ironically) quite vague, but there's a logic at work here.

If you've been through the steps above and still not managed to find funding, there's a good chance that something is making your search difficult.

It could be that you're studying abroad and aren't eligible for public funds in your destination country. It could be that your course is particularly expensive. Or it could be that you need to meet some additional costs arising from your own personal circumstances.

If so, it's time to redirect your search and see if some specific support might be available to meet your specific needs:

• Are you studying abroad? Look at funding for international students, or at Erasmus grants.
• Do you have a disability or illness that makes postgraduate study more expensive? Look at additional support such as Disabled Students' Allowance for Masters study.
• Is your course particularly expensive, or in a niche subject area? Look at more 'niche' funding - from specific academic societies, charities, even your employer.

You may also find it useful to ask how other students have solved their own funding problems. No matter how specific your situation, it's likely that someone else has been in a similar boat.

Why not get in touch with a community like our postgraduate forum and find out?

Finally, there's the DIY approach. Believe it or not, crowdfunding is an option at postgraduate level.

Persuading the general public to help pay for your Masters degree will require some work, but it may be easier than you think - particularly in subject areas with a clear public benefit, or a potential commercial output.

There are a number of platforms available for running a campaign; our guide provides a quick run-through of some of the major options, along with advice on the pros and cons of postgraduate crowdfunding.

Editor's note: This blog was first published on 22/02/2017. We've checked and updated it for current readers.

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