Masters Funding - How do you do it?

Like you say, scholarships are a possibility, and I would recommend looking at the university where you completed your undergraduate degree, as they might offer an alumni discount. I funded mine with a scholarship, but my plan for if I wasn't awarded a scholarship was to live at home with my parents. Finances would have been tight, but the loan would have just about covered train fares and tuition fees. This is of course reliant on you living close enough to a university that you would like to attend. I found that a lot of people on Masters courses had to live with their parents whilst studying.

The other option is working alongside your masters. Most people I knew who worked during their masters worked in part-time, evening jobs, or on zero-hour contracts so they could fit this in alongside their contact hours. I also know quite a few people who did their masters part-time, and sometimes distance learning, whilst also working in a full time job. Going part-time also meants that your tuition fees are split over the two years. You could also consider an MRes, which has lower tuition fees but also means that you might not have the same amount of support and structure that you would with a taught Masters. I also noticed at Masters level that quite a few people had parents who were in a positon to help them financially with tuition and living costs.

Hello,

how much you can work alongside studying will depend on your course and living expenses vary so much depending on city. I would highly recommend talking to someone in the university post graduate admissions team or post graduate finance team as they'll have all the specific information your need. If you're interested in York here is the link to the taught post-graduate funding page, it includes details of scholarships and loans but also the contact details for our PG admissions team. Wherever you go, very best of luck, hope you enjoy the course 🙂

Personally after I finished my Bachelor's I stayed at my parents and worked for one year before doing my Masters. As I barely had to pay rent I managed to save enough money to just about cover my living expenses in London while also working part-time.

I am really glad I funded this way independently and moved out (I used the student loan to cover most of the tuition of course). I will say that doing a full-time masters and working 3 days a week is not for the faint of heart- def need a good work ethic and motivation.

Like a previous poster said vast majority of my cohort were being supported by parents (& most were international too which must have cost a lotttt for tuition) but there were a couple others who worked part-time. Lucky for some I guess.

Most people in your position work alongside, or are financially supported by partners.

I am more than willing to work, I have been throughout my undergrad. But I also have been getting ~£10k a year throughout undergrad in maintenance loans. Working as much as I could, I still wouldn’t be able to survive on my wage a loan. I guess there is a glass ceiling for normal people.

Apologies, my post wasn't intended as snarky. Is there an option to do the MSc part time or via distance learning, to allow you more flexibility for work and study deadlines? You'll have to work long hours between the study and employment for a couple of years and it takes a lot of commitment to stay motivated but it may be the only way to achieve your goal.
The other option is waiting a few years to do the masters and work in the meantime, putting savings aside to cushion your study break.
(I am in my 40's and doing an MSc having waited, so I'm not talking out of the back of my neck on this stuff)

Hi everyone.
I have been browsing through different masters courses that I might like to do, but the funding element seems a little tricky to me. I'm just wondering how people generally fund their living costs whilst on a masters. The loan seems to just about cover course fees for a lot of courses. That would mean working full-time along side. Is that accurate? Any help would be appreciated!
I know about scholarships, I'm really just thinking in definites.