Postgraduate loans and funding

Do you need help funding your postgraduate course? Take a look at our wide range of postgraduate loans, scholarships and funding opportunities.

Funding opportunities for students from:

Scotland

If you need financial assistance, the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) may be able to provide you with a loan of up to £11,500 to help cover tuition fees and living costs. 

These loans are available to eligible Scottish students taking eligible full-time and part-time postgraduate courses. This also includes eligible online courses. Contact the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for further information and eligibility criteria.

Find out more about a postgraduate SAAS loan.

England, Wales, Northern Ireland

Joining us from England? You may be eligible to fund your studies at the University of Stirling through the UK Government’s postgraduate loan scheme. For most UK postgraduate courses it allows you to borrow up to £12,167.

PhD students could get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan to help with course fees and living costs of up to £28,673. These loans can be combined with funding from your university or other sources, but not with Research Council funding, NHS funding or other direct Government funding. 

The UK Government provides more information on funding for postgraduate study.

If you’re a Northern Irish postgraduate student, you may be eligible to apply for a postgraduate loan from the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department for the Economy. You can borrow up to £5,500 and applications can be made directly through Student Finance Northern Ireland.

Coming to us from Wales? You may be eligible to receive up to £18,770 as a combination of grant and loan from the Welsh Government to cover the costs of your tuition fees and living costs. PhD students can apply for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan of up to £28,395. You can apply online through Student Finance Wales.

student and lecturer in library

Employer sponsorship

Your employer may give you paid leave to pursue your Masters, or even pay for part of your tuition fees and associated costs. If your chosen course is directly relevant to your work, it may be worth speaking with your employer. The in-depth knowledge you learn on your course, could benefit your employer.

International students

If you’re an international student you may be entitled to the Postgraduate International Excellence Scholarship – giving a £4,000 reduction in the cost of your annual tuition fees.

If you’re an EU student you may be entitled to the EU Postgraduate Scholarship – giving a 40% reduction in the cost of your annual tuition fees.

Students from the Republic of Ireland are classified as England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, and will be eligible for our range of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland scholarships.

Use our Scholarships search to discover more international student scholarships.

Students from the USA

The University of Stirling is eligible to certify loan applications for the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). US students who are enrolled on a University of Stirling degree are eligible for loans and may borrow up to their calculated Cost of Attendance (provided by the university and updated for each year of a student’s programme). This is in addition to being able to apply for scholarships.

Postgraduate admissions

If you have any questions about postgraduate study please contact us.