Masters - did any of you get grants?

I have heard of some people getting their masters degree 100% funded. I am interested in how you would go about doing this.

I will give some information on myself:

- I have finished my second year doing a BSc degree. My results made up a first.
- I come from a low income household and do not have a job.
- I am 22 years old.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1

Tasha1986

What Masters degree are you wanting to do?

PGCE degrees are funded, and many Masters degrees are covered by Career Development Loans but there is no guarantee that you'll be accepted for one, and it is a bank loan which you must pay back starting one month after your course ends whether you have a job or not. Some universities may have scholarships available for some courses, but these may have certain criteria to be fulfilled. But without any actual information, no one can really help you. All I can say is that to give yourself the best chance at funding, keep working hard and get a First (though this doesn't by ny stretch of the imagination guarantee you funding either), and make sure that the degre you apply for is the best possible fit for your skill set and ambitions.

Reply 2

hypocriticaljap

If its an arts degree funding is rarer than hens' teeth.

Reply 3

Ice_Queen

You're more likely to get funding for sciences or a PGCE :smile:

Reply 4

minnieuk

Funding does exist for Masters and I assume you're looking at a MSC since you're doing a BSC which will make it easier. There is still a lot less funding at this level that PhD but a lot more in science than humanities. The PGCE is completely different so if you are thinking of teaching take a look at http://www.tda.gov.uk/ which has all the info.

With science you can also look at the 1+3 funding if you are thinking of going on to a PhD afterwards. Look at some of the articles on this site about funding - http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Postgraduate_studentships

Reply 5

Picaa

A grant for a masters degree? Have you just woken up from a 20 year long coma? LOL

Reply 6

lshaw16

Hi Misnomer.

I was one of the lucky ones who did get funding and a stipend. I received funding through a Wellcome Trust Quota Award for my masters degree in health history. Essentially, your university applies for the funding on your behalf and the Wellcome Trust examines it. This award covered my fees that are £5,000 and a really good stipend of £18,000. Although, I will admit that grants like these are not very easy to get. Getting money for a masters is a bit like getting blood from a stone.

Your academic performance will certainly help in grant applications. Your choice of research project also helps. You need to make sure that it fits in with the funding body's priorities and that it will make a valuable contribution in your field. Like Ice Queen says, you are most likely to get funding for a science masters or a PGCE. What kind of degree were you looking at?

Best,

Lynsey

Reply 7

MarcD

I got an offer for a fully-funded masters plus an extra £500/month for living costs. Two recommendations were made, one by someone from industry and one by a professor; so I was offered the option by the university. The usual route is to apply for it, in which case you compete against around 20-30 people for 1 funded place. So it's by no means easy, but if you're able to impress and show you're passion and skill in the subject, there's always a chance. That's for a science masters though, I'd imagine an arts masters is considerably harder to get funding for.

Reply 8

harryhoofter

Original post by lshaw16

£18,000 stipend for a 1year Masters? WOW thats allot of money.

I'd be going on holiday after the Masters :cool:

Reply 9

lshaw16

Haha, I wish I could mate! Got to get myself ready for the 'big move' in October. I have saved quite a bit of it up, so I will be able to afford a good holiday sometime in the near future :-)

Reply 10

nameIess

Original post by Misnomer

I have heard of some people getting their masters degree 100% funded. I am interested in how you would go about doing this.

I've searched for different government bodies, agencies, committees, and even organizations to see who funds postgraduate studies.

I had two PhD offers in the field of my study, however I've only found bodies that fund masters level. so i applied for masters programme that suits the funding body requirements on the hope that once i complete masters they will fund my PhD as well... and by then I'll be able to tweak the research topic to make it suits them and my research interest.