Do You Get a Maintenance Loan for a Master's?
In England there is no separate maintenance loan for a master's. Instead you get one Postgraduate Master's Loan of up to £13,206 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2026. It is paid to you, not to your university, and you decide how much goes on tuition fees and how much on living costs.
That single loan is repaid on Postgraduate Loan (Plan 3) terms: 6% of income above £21,000 a year, collected alongside any undergraduate loan. Check what you can borrow with the postgraduate loan amount calculator, then what it costs you later with the postgraduate loan calculator.
Written by Student Loan Calculator UK Editorial Team, reviewed by Student Loan Calculator UK Editorial Team ·
Key Takeaways
- England: one Master's Loan of up to £13,206 (courses starting on or after 1 August 2026), paid to you in three instalments a year. No separate maintenance loan exists.
- It is not means-tested. A household income of £20,000 or £120,000 gets the same amount, and there is no higher London rate.
- Wales pays a single loan of up to £19,635. Scotland pays a £7,000 fee loan to the university plus a £6,900 living-cost loan to you. Northern Ireland pays a £10,000 fee loan to the university and nothing for living costs.
- A one-year master's on the full English loan has about £1,100 a month before fees, so most students top it up with work, savings or a bursary.
- Repayment is 6% of income above £21,000, starting the April after you finish, and any balance left after 30 years is written off.
In this article
Why is there no maintenance loan for a master's?
Undergraduate funding in England is built as two products: a Tuition Fee Loan paid to the university and a Maintenance Loan paid to you, with the maintenance part means-tested on household income and boosted if you study in London. Postgraduate funding was never built that way. When the Master's Loan launched in 2016 it was designed as a contribution towards the cost of the course, whatever that cost turned out to be, rather than as a package meant to cover fees in full and living costs on top.
Three design choices follow from that, and together they explain why searching for a “masters maintenance loan” turns up nothing:
- One sum, not two. The loan is paid to you and you allocate it. GOV.UK puts it plainly: “The loan is paid directly to you. You can use it for your course fees and living costs.”[source]
- No means test. The amount does not depend on your household income, where you live or what your course charges. Everyone eligible can borrow up to the same whole-course maximum.
- No dependants' support from Student Finance England. You will not be eligible for an Adult Dependants' Grant, a Childcare Grant or Parents' Learning Allowance while studying a master's course.[source]
The upside of the design is flexibility. If your employer or a scholarship pays the fees, the whole loan can go on rent and bills. If your fees are low, the same applies. The downside is that the ceiling is fixed, and for many courses the fee alone is higher than the loan.
How the Master's Loan is paid
Student Finance England pays the Master's Loan in three instalments of 33%, 33% and 34% each academic year, straight into your bank account. The first payment arrives after your course start date, once your university or college confirms you have registered. If the course lasts more than a year, the total is divided equally across each year.[source]
| Course | Loan per year | Instalments (33% / 33% / 34%) |
|---|---|---|
| One-year full-time master's | £13,206 | £4,358 / £4,358 / £4,490 |
| Two-year master's (full-time or part-time) | £6,603 | £2,179 / £2,179 / £2,245 |
| Doctoral Loan, whole course | £31,122 total, divided equally across the years | Same 33% / 33% / 34% pattern each year |
Instalment figures are rounded to the pound to show the pattern. Doctoral Loan figures from GOV.UK.[source]
Two practical consequences. First, the university does not get paid by Student Finance England, so you pay the fees yourself from the loan, usually in instalments set by the university. Second, because the first payment only arrives after registration, you need enough money of your own to cover the deposit and the first weeks of rent.
What the Master's Loan does not cover
- Fees above the loan. The maximum is £13,206 however much your course charges. If the fee is higher, the difference comes from you before any living costs are met.
- A low household income. There is no uplift for students from lower-income families, unlike the undergraduate Maintenance Loan, which rises to £10,830 outside London and £14,135 in London for the lowest household incomes in 2026/27.
- A second master's. You cannot get the loan if you already hold a master's degree or an equivalent, including an integrated master's, or any higher qualification.[source]
- Courses funded another way. You cannot get a Master's Loan if you are eligible for an NHS bursary, and the same applies to most Social Work Bursary recipients.[source]
- Top-up courses. The course must be a full, standalone master's worth at least 180 credits, lasting one or two years full-time or two to four years part-time, and you must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year.[source]
- Benefits. The Department for Work and Pensions may take the loan into account when working out any benefits you receive.[source]
Disabled Students' Allowance is the one extra that does exist at postgraduate level in every UK nation. It is a grant for study-related disability costs, not a living-cost payment, and it is applied for separately.
Master's maintenance loan vs undergraduate maintenance loan
If you have just finished an undergraduate degree, the change in how money arrives is the part that catches people out. The table compares the undergraduate Maintenance Loan with the closest thing a master's student gets in England.
| Feature | Undergraduate Maintenance Loan | Postgraduate Master's Loan |
|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Living costs only; fees are a separate Tuition Fee Loan paid to the university | Fees and living costs from one sum, paid to you |
| Means-tested | Yes, on household income, with a minimum for everyone | No |
| Maximum, 2026/27 | £9,118 at home, £10,830 away, £14,135 in London, per year | £13,206 for the whole course, wherever you study |
| Paid | Three instalments a year, to you | Three instalments a year, to you |
| Repaid on | Your undergraduate plan: 9% above the plan threshold | Postgraduate Loan (Plan 3): 6% above £21,000, interest capped at 6% since 1 September 2026 |
For the undergraduate figures by household income, see the maintenance loan guide. For how the two loans are deducted together once you are working, see undergraduate vs postgraduate loans.
How Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ
Postgraduate funding is devolved, so the answer depends on where you normally live, not where the university is. Only Scotland runs a separate living-cost loan for master's students.
| Where you live | Master's support, 2026/27 | Paid to | Separate living-cost loan? |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | Master's Loan up to £13,206, whole course, not means-tested | You | No. One loan for fees or living costs |
| Wales | Loan up to £19,635, whole course, for courses started after 1 August 2025[source] | You, three instalments a year | No. One loan for fees or living costs |
| Scotland | Tuition fee loan up to £7,000 plus living-cost loan up to £6,900, full-time PG Diploma or Master's only, not means-tested[source] | Fee loan to the university, living-cost loan to you | Yes |
| Northern Ireland | Tuition fee loan up to £10,000, capped at the actual fee, not means-tested[source] | The university | No |
Wales
Student Finance Wales now pays a single loan, £19,635 for 2026/27, into your bank account in three instalments, usually once at the start of each term, with the money divided equally across the years of a longer course.[source] Courses that started between September 2019 and July 2024 got a different package: a mixture of a means-tested grant and a loan, which is why older guides describe Welsh master's funding as “loan and grant”.[source] Doctoral students can borrow up to £29,705 for a course starting between 1 August 2026 and 31 July 2027, and it does not depend on household income.[source] Welsh loans are repaid on the same Postgraduate Loan terms as English ones. See Student Finance Wales explained.
Scotland
SAAS is the only funding body that keeps the undergraduate structure at master's level: a tuition fee loan of up to £7,000 and a living-cost loan of up to £6,900, split equally across a two-year course. Part-time students get the fee loan only, PhDs are not funded, and nothing is based on household income.[source] Both loans sit on Plan 4, not on the Postgraduate Loan plan. Our guide to Scottish postgraduates studying in England covers what happens when a £7,000 fee loan meets an English fee.
Northern Ireland
Student Finance NI pays a Postgraduate Tuition Fee Loan of up to £10,000 for courses starting in 2026/27, directly to the university or college, and nothing towards living costs. It is added to any undergraduate balance and repaid on Plan 1 terms, at 9% above the Plan 1 threshold. It is not available for PhD study.[source] See student finance NI explained.
What to do instead of a maintenance loan
Start by measuring the gap. Put your fee and a realistic monthly budget into the postgraduate loan amount calculator and it shows how much the loan leaves you to find yourself. Then work through the options below in order, because the earlier ones are free money and the later ones cost you.
University bursaries and alumni discounts
Most universities offer a fee discount to their own graduates who stay on for a master's, and many run bursaries for students from lower-income households, for under-represented groups, or for specific subjects. These are set by each university, so check the postgraduate funding page of every course you are considering, and ask the admissions team about deadlines, since some close before the course application deadline.
Part-time work, and what it does to your repayments
Working alongside a master's is the most common way to close the gap. Two rules decide what comes out of that wage. The Master's Loan itself is not repaid until the April after you finish or leave the course, so nothing is deducted for it while you study. An undergraduate loan that is already in repayment is different: going back to study does not pause it. Your employer deducts 9% of anything above the monthly threshold in any month you cross it, £2,448 for Plan 2 and £2,083 for Plan 5 in 2026-27, and nothing in months you stay below it.[source] If your total income for the tax year ends up under the annual threshold, you can ask for those deductions back. The part-time work and student loans guide shows the monthly and weekly figures for every plan.
Doctoral Loan for research degrees
If the course is a PhD or other doctorate rather than a master's, the Postgraduate Doctoral Loan is larger, £31,122 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2026, and works the same way: one sum, paid to you, divided equally across the years.[source] It cannot be combined with a Master's Loan for the same course.
Alternative Student Finance
If you avoid interest-bearing loans on religious grounds, note that the government's planned Alternative Student Finance is described as being “available for any undergraduate students who are eligible for student finance” and cannot launch until the Lifelong Learning Entitlement is in place. It does not currently cover master's or doctoral study.[source] Our faith-friendly funding options guide covers what exists in the meantime.
Decide whether the loan is worth taking at all
The loan is cheap while you earn under £21,000 and costs 6% of every pound above it for up to 30 years, on top of any undergraduate deduction. Whether that is a good trade depends on what the master's does to your salary. The postgraduate loans UK strategy guide works through that decision, and the postgraduate loan calculator gives you the monthly figure for any salary.
Frequently asked questions
Do you get a maintenance loan for a master's?
Not in England. Student Finance England offers a single Postgraduate Master's Loan of up to £13,206 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2026. It is paid into your bank account in three instalments a year and you can spend it on fees, living costs or both. There is no separate, means-tested maintenance loan for postgraduate study.
Why is there no maintenance loan for a master's?
The Master's Loan was designed as a contribution towards the cost of postgraduate study, not as a full living-cost package. It is not means-tested, so it does not rise for a low household income or for studying in London the way the undergraduate Maintenance Loan does. Every eligible student gets the same whole-course maximum whatever their fees or circumstances.
How is the Master's Loan paid?
In three instalments of 33%, 33% and 34% each academic year, paid directly into your bank account once your university or college confirms you have registered. On a two-year course the total is divided equally across both years, so a £13,206 loan pays £6,603 a year.
Can I get a maintenance loan for a master's in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
Wales pays a single loan of up to £19,635 for 2026/27 that you can use for fees or living costs. Scotland splits support into a tuition fee loan of up to £7,000 paid to the university and a separate living-cost loan of up to £6,900 paid to you. Northern Ireland offers a tuition fee loan of up to £10,000 paid to the university and no living-cost loan.
Do I keep repaying my undergraduate loan while doing a master's?
If you work during the course and your pay in a month goes over your plan's monthly threshold (£2,448 for Plan 2, £2,083 for Plan 5 in 2026-27), your employer deducts 9% of the excess as normal. Going back to study does not pause an undergraduate loan that is already in repayment. The Master's Loan itself is not repaid until the April after you finish or leave the course.
Is the Master's Loan enough to live on?
Usually not on its own. £13,206 spread across a one-year course is about £1,100 a month before you pay any fees, and many master's fees are higher than the whole loan. Most students combine it with savings, part-time work, a university bursary or family support. The postgraduate loan amount calculator shows the gap for your own course.
See your funding gap
Enter your fee and living costs to see what the Master's Loan leaves uncovered.