A postgraduate master's loan is available to eligible UK nationals (and individuals with settled status in the UK) for postgraduate master's study starting in 2022/23.

Eligible students can apply for a loan of up to £11,836 for postgraduate master's study started between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023. Please see the Student Finance England website for further details, including eligibility criteria.

This loan will be:

• non means tested
• paid directly to the student into a UK bank account in three equal instalments a year
• a contribution towards the costs of study, so it will be at the discretion of the student to use the loan towards tuition fees, maintenance or other costs.

To be eligible for the loan you will need to be:

You can apply for the Postgraduate Master’s Loan if all the following are true:

• You’re a UK national or Irish citizen or have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or indefinite leave to remain so there are no restrictions on how long you can stay
• you normally live in England
• you’ve been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course (apart from temporary absences such as holidays)
• You must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your course.
• studying a full-time or part-time course for up to a maximum of two years
• commencing a course from year one in this academic year e.g. not be a continuing or progressing student at Postgraduate level.

Are there any restrictions on Postgraduate Loans?

• students with equivalent or higher level qualifications will not be eligible for a postgraduate loan from the Student Loans Company
• students wishing to study courses that do not result in a masters qualification (such as Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma) will not be eligible
• part-time courses are eligible but are subject to a minimum 50% intensity requirement in year 1. Students taking courses via distance learning would be eligible to apply but must be living in England for the duration of the course.

Examples of courses that are eligible for Postgraduate Loan funding include:

• MSc (master of science)
• MA (master of arts)
• MPhil (master of philosophy)
• MRes (master of research)
• LLM (master of law)
• MLitt (master of letters)
• MFA (master of fine art)
• MEd (master of education)
• MBA (master of business administration)

How will the loan be repaid?

If you took out a master’s Loan or a Doctoral Loan, you’ll only repay when your income is over £403 a week, £1,750 a month or £21,000 a year (before tax and other deductions) and will be repaid concurrently with any undergraduate loans. Repayment will be at a rate of 6% of annual income over £21,000 for the PGL. For repayment rates and further information visit the gov.uk website.

Where can I find further information?

For details of the eligibility criteria and to make your Postgraduate Loan application, visit the gov.uk website.

Take a look at Student Finance England's YouTube channel.

You can also contact the Student Hub by phone 01494 603020 or by email.

BSc (Hons) Social Work tuition fees

If eligible you will be able to apply and receive tuition fee loans to cover the cost of your studies for this three year programme from Student Finance. In addition to this you may be eligible to receive the NHS bursary for your second and third years which will support you with placement related costs. The number who can benefit from this depends on the numbers cap provided by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) and students will be awarded the Bursary by the university based on attainment and attendance.

MSc Social Work tuition fees

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) on behalf of the Department of Health can provide some financial assistance in the form of a bursary if you are eligible, but the number of bursaries available is restricted and may not cover your full tuition fees. Therefore you may also wish to consider some of the other postgraduate funding options available.

Financial assistance

Whether you  are studying on the degree or master's programme, you should be entitled to financial assistance as long as you meet the eligibility criteria. This can be in the form of non-income assessed elements which include a basic grant and allowances for those with a disability.

In addition, you may be entitled to receive income -assessed grants (based on either your own, your parents' income, or that of your spouse or civil partner) that could include a maintenance grant and allowances to assist with certain living costs:

• Parents' Learning Allowance (for students with children)
• Adult Dependants' Grant (for students with adult dependants)

The exact criteria do vary, so we can only give general guidance here, for further up-to-date information please refer to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) website.

We understand that you may face additional challenges and we’re here to support you every step of the way.

If you’re a self-funded International Student paying overseas fees, you may qualify for a scholarship of £1,500 on your first year of study with us.

Applicants must hold an offer from Buckinghamshire New University for a full-time degree programme, starting in September 2022.

You do not need to complete an application form to be considered for this scholarship.

The important information - Terms and Conditions

• One off payment of £1,500 available to all applicants paying overseas fees on their first year of study
• Applicants must be self-funded
• Programme of study must be Level 4 or above
• Programme of study must be at least one year in duration
• The tuition fee charged must be at least £13,750
• This scholarship cannot be used in conjunction with another scholarship or bursary offered by Buckinghamshire New University.

If you are interested in studying a degree-level Nursing and Midwifery course, you may be eligible for a government grant of at least £5,000 a year to help with living costs, which you will not need to pay back.

As part of the new government scheme to increase nursing numbers by 50,000 in the next five years, new and continuing degree students on these courses from September 2020 will be entitled to this grant.

Students will be eligible to benefit from at least £5,000 a year with an additional £3,000 for specific courses and circumstances, such as specialist courses needing further recruitment, additional childcare allowance and students from areas where course acceptance has been low over the last year.

This funding will not have to be paid back and students will also be able to continue to access funding for tuition and maintenance loans from the Student Loans Company. Read more on the NHS Learning Support Fund website.

Eligible courses:

• MSc Physiotherapy
• MSc Adult Nursing
• MSc Mental Health Nursing

For continuing NHS Bursary applications for students who started their course in academic year 16-17, please visit the NHS Business Services Authority.

Like every course we offer, tuition fees are a key matter for all students. We believe it is important you are familiar with how to pay and what support may be available to you. For Information on how to apply for a student tuition and maintenance loan please follow the relevant links on the Government’s website.

Additional fees and funding help can be found on our dedicated section online or additionally you’ll find details of course fees, programme specifications and additional costs on our individual course pages for UK, EU and international students. Please use the course search on our website to look at the course you’re interested in.

If you are a prospective student, you may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary. If you are a current student and need any financial help or advice please contact the Students’ Union Advice Centre.

The BNU Financial Aid Fund exists to support students through the cost of living crisis who encounter a financial emergency and is separate to our Bursaries and Scholarships. The allowance provides immediate short-term relief as emergency payments that do not need to be repaid. This can include (but not exclusive to) new caring responsibilities, debt due to travelling home, lack of WIFI or mobile phone data, or a need for IT requirements/equipment.

Awarding Amount: The maximum amount available per student is capped at £200.00 and students can only be awarded once per academic year. Please note, there is no guarantee of an award and assessments are made on a case-by-case basis.

Criteria:

• To Apply you must be a Home/UK or E.U student (in receipt of Student Finance England Funding) and complete the linked application below providing a brief outline of your circumstances and completing all mandatory fields.
• E.U Students will need to upload a copy of their tuition fee funding confirmation from Student finance along with their supporting evidence.

When to Apply:  Students can apply once during each academic year. Please note students starting in the 23-24 academic year will not be able to apply until they have started their course. 

How to Apply: Please note for students starting the 23/24 academic year we are not able to check applications until after the cooling off and enrolment period which will be 16 October 2023. If you have any question you can contact Bursary@bnu.ac.uk.

If you are still studying you can apply here: https://forms.office.com/e/U3cSMUfDiu

We aim to assess applications within 2 working days from the date they are received. However, please note this can take longer during busy periods of the year.