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Student loans

Information for under/postgraduate applicants and current students.

The following loans are available for University of Cambridge students:

An officer in the Student Funding and Fee Policy Team may assist with the administration of loans from outside lenders by confirming attendance and course dates, and certifying loan applications. Please e-mail: StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk with any questions you may have.

UK Government Postgraduate Masters Loans

Applying for a UK Government Postgraduate Masters Loan

Applications are now open for students who will be commencing a Masters course in the 2025-206 academic year. Information about receiving a UK government loan for starting a Master's course in October 2026 will be available from summer 2026.

If you are struggling to locate your course when you apply online with Student Finance England, please send StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk an email and we will be able to assist you further.

England and the EU:

The UK Government provides Postgraduate Loans for Masters students through a scheme administered by Student Finance England.

For students who will be starting a Masters course in 2024-25 the loans are up to £12,471.

For students who will be starting a Masters course in 2025-26 the loans are up to £12,858.

A Postgraduate Loan (PGL) for Masters study will be:

  • A contribution towards the costs of study, i.e. it will be at the student’s discretion to use the loan towards fees, maintenance costs or other costs
  • Non-means tested
  • Paid directly to the student

Eligibility:

  • You must be a UK national, or have EU settled status, or have indefinite leave to remain, so there are no restrictions on how long you can stay
  • You must normally live in England and didn't move here just to study
  • You will have lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years before starting your course
  • You may be eligible if you're an EU national and meet the criteria detailed on the Student Finance England Master's Loan page (link below)
  • You must not be eligible for an NHS Bursary
  • You must not be getting a Social Work Bursary (unless you only get a Placement Allowance)
  • You must not already have a Master's degree, or qualification that's equivalent or higher
  • You must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your course

You can receive other funding as long as its not Public Funding (NHS bursary or Social Work Bursary) as detailed in the eligibility criterea.

Student finance for EU, Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic or Lichenstein nationals from August 2021: If you're starting a course on or after 1 August 2021, you must have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get student finance. This does not apply if you're an Irish national.

You can learn more about the Postgraduate Master's Loan on the Student Room website.

Further information, including detailed eligibility criteria, is available at: Student Finance England

Wales:

Students domiciled in Wales can apply for a Postgraduate Masters Loan through a scheme administered by Student Finance Wales.

If your course starts on or after 1 August 2025 you can apply for Postgraduate Master's Finance and receive up to £19,255.

If you're studying for 2, 3 or 4 academic years, the loan will be divided equally across each year of your course.

Further information including detailed eligibility criteria, is available at: Student Finance Wales

Scotland:

Students domiciled in Scotland can apply for a tuition fee loan of up to £7,000. This is paid directly to the University. Students can also apply for a loan of up to £6,900 towards living costs. This is paid into your bank account in regular instalment during the academic year. If your course is one year in duration, you can receive the maximum loan in that year. If you are studying for two academic years then your loan is divided equally across each year of your course.

If you would like to apply for a SAAS funded Postgraduate Loan please email StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk with your full name and the name of the course you have been offered a place at Cambridge. We then will then arrange for the course to be set up on the SLC system and will explain how to find it when submitting your application.

Further information including detailed eligibility criteria, is available at: Student Awards Agency for Scotland

Northern Ireland:

Students domiciled in Northern Ireland can apply for a tuiton fee loan of up to £6,500. This is paid directly to the University. If your course is one year in duration you can receive the maximum £6,500 in that year. If you are studying for two or three academic years, the loan will be divided equally across each year of your course.

If you would like to apply for a SFNI funded Postgraduate Tuition Fee Loan please email StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk with your full name and the name of the course you have been offered a place at Cambridge. We will then arrange for the course up on the SLC system and will explain how to find it when submitting your application.

Further information including detailed eligibility criteria, is available at: Student Finance Northern Ireland

Please refer to the links provided for information on Postgraduate Masters Loans, and if you have any additional questions please e-mail: StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk  

Course that are not eligible for the Postgraduate Loan

Please note: the one year part time PGCE-MEd course, which follows on from the PGCE and leads to a Masters of Education IS NOT ELIGIBLE for the Postgraduate Loan if you are a student domiciled in England or Wales.  The one year part time MEd (PACES) IS ALSO NOT ELIGIBLE for the Postgraduate Loan if you are a student domiciled in England or Wales. This is because these are top up courses rather than a full masters and are excluded by SLC eligibility criteria.  For more information, please refer to 'Eligibility' in the Student Finance England guidance document here: Eligibility - Postgraduate Loan - Postgraduate Education - Products - SFE, Practitioners (slc.co.uk)

Important guidance for completing the Postgraduate Masters loan application:

If you received an offer to study a postgraduate masters course at the University of Cambridge, and wish to apply for a postgraduate loan, please make sure you follow these steps when completing your PGL online application:

  • When asked “Where will you be studying?” search for ‘Cambridge’;
  • From the list returned, select ‘University of Cambridge’ NOT e.g. ‘Darwin College – University of Cambridge’ even if you already have college membership;
  • When asked “What course will you study?” search for your course name (e.g. Biological Sciences) – you should use the name of the course as specified in your offer letter;
  • If you have already been given college membership, please select the course option with the college name next to it. (e.g. Biological Science 1 year 6 October 2023 Churchill College)
  • If you do NOT yet have college membership, please select the course option which says ‘University of Cambridge – College not yet known’. This will allow you to progress with your application. 

Tips for filling out a postal PGL application

  • Where it asks 'University name' put 'University of Cambridge';
  • Where it asks 'Name of campus/location' put the name of the College where you have college membership e.g. Darwin College;
  • Where is asks 'Course name' put the name of the course you will be studying eg Economics

Important information

  • If you've selected course option 'University of Cambridge - College not yet known' once you're allocated a College arrangements will be made by a Student Loans Administrator in the Funding Team (Student Registry) to inform the appropriate person at your College in order that they can arrange a transfer in to your College.
  • If your application needs to be updated with any change of circumstances please make the updates before the start of your course

After the start of the course, it will be responsibility of the college to administer any changes to student’s circumstances, which might affect the loan (e.g. course change).

UK Government Postgraduate Doctoral Loans

Applying for a UK Government Postgraduate Doctoral Loan

Applications are now open for students who will be commencing a Doctoral course in the 2025-2026 academic year. Information about receiving a UK government loan for starting a PhD in October 2026 will be available from summer 2026.

If you are struggling to locate your course when you apply online with Student Finance England, please send StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk an email and we will be able to assist you further.

England and the EU:

A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan will be:

  • An amount of up to £30,301 (for the whole course) for students who start their course on or after 1 August 2025
  • An amount of up to £29,390 (for the whole course) for students who start their course on or after 1 August 2024
  • Non-means tested
  • Paid directly to the student (3 equal instalments each year)
  • A contribution towards the costs of study, i.e. it will be at the student’s discretion to use the loan towards fees, maintenance costs or other costs

Course:

  • Must be a full standalone doctoral course (not a top-up course)
  • have started on or after 1 August 2018
  • last between 3 to 8 academic years

Eligibility:

  • You must be a UK national, or have EU settled status, or have indefinite leave to remain, so there are no restrictions on how long you can stay
  • You must normally live in England and didn't move here just to study
  • You will have lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years before starting your course
  • You may be eligible if you're an EU national and meet the criteria detailed on the Student Finance England Doctoral Loan page (link below)
  • You must not be receiving Research Council funding (studentships, stipends, scholarships and tuition fee support)
  • You must not be receiving a Social Work Bursary
  • You must not be eligible to apply for an NHS bursary
  • You must not already have a doctoral degree, or qualification that's equivalent or higher
  • You must not be receiving a doctorate by publication
  • You must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your course

Student finance for EU, Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic or Lichenstein nationals from August 2021: If you're starting a course on or after 1 August 2021, you must have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get student finance. This does not apply if you're an Irish national.

You can learn more about the Postgraduate Doctoral Loan at the Student Room website.

Further information, including detailed eligibility criteria, is available at: Student Finance England

Wales:

Students domiciled in Wales can apply for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan through a scheme administered by Student Finance Wales.

A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan will be:

  • An amount of up to £29,130 (for the whole course) for students who start their course on or after 1 August 2025
  • An amount of up to £28,655 (for the whole course) for students who start their course on or after 1 August 2024
  • Non-means tested
  • Paid directly to the student (3 equal instalments each year)
  • A contribution towards the costs of study, i.e. it will be at the student’s discretion to use the loan towards fees, maintenance costs or other costs

Further information including detailed eligibility criteria, is available at: Student Finance Wales

Please refer to the links provided for information on Postgraduate Doctoral Loans, and if you have any additional questions please e-mail: StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk

Important guidance for completing the Postgraduate Doctoral Loan application

If you received an offer to study a postgraduate doctoral course at the University of Cambridge, and wish to apply for a postgraduate loan, please make sure you follow these steps when completing your PGL online application:

  • When asked “Where will you be studying?” search for ‘Cambridge’;

  • From the list returned, select ‘University of Cambridge’ NOT e.g. ‘Darwin College – University of Cambridge’ even if you already have college membership;

  • When asked “What course will you study?” put PhD in front of the course you will be studying (e.g. PhD in History). Some course names are under the department name e.g. for PhD in Theology and Religious Study you would need to input PhD in Divinity.

  • If you have already been given college membership, please select the course option with the college name under it – for example:

           PhD in History

           4 years 1 October 2023 Darwin College Doctoral Full time

  • If you do NOT yet have college membership, please select the course option which says ‘Cambridge University – College not yet known’. This will allow you to progress with your application. 

Tips for filling out a postal PGL application

  • Where it asks 'University name' put 'University of Cambridge';
  • Where it asks 'Name of campus/location' put the name of the College where you have college membership e.g. Darwin College;
  • Where is asks 'Course name' put the name of the course you will be studying eg Economics

Important information

  • If you've selected course option 'University of Cambridge - College not yet known' once you're allocated a College arrangements will then be made by a Student Loans Administrator in the Funding Team (Student Registry) to inform the appropriate person at your College in order that they can arrange a transfer in to your College.
  • If your application needs to be updated with any change of circumstances please make the updates before the start of your course

After the start of the course, it will be responsibility of the college to administer any changes to student’s circumstances, which might affect the loan (e.g. course change).

US Loans

Students looking for information about US Loans should visit the US Loans pages for full information.

Canadian Student Loans

Canadian students can apply for loans through their home province, for further information see Canada Student Loans and Grants

If you require loan forms to be signed, please send them to the Student Funding and Fee Policy Team at StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk clearly stating where you wish the completed form to be sent (i.e. to you at your College, or directly to the relevant Canadian agency).

Educational Loans (other options)

Students may wish to explore further educational loan options within their home country or elsewhere.

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