Question about postgraduate loans

Hi everyone,

I'm a current MA student looking to study an MPhil next year. I understand that you aren't eligible for a postgraduate loan if you've already got a postgraduate qualification. But here's the thing: I won't have my MA qualification until September, and the applications for the loan will be in June/July -- so I won't have a masters qualification by the time I apply for a loan (if I do apply). Would I be eligible?

Thanks, and good day to you.

Thanks for this. I just checked, and it turns out I won't receive my qualification until early December! Definitely way after the start of the MPhil. But as you said, I'll just wait and see.

I don't think the government realise that award dates for MAs/MScs are 12-15 months after starting...so there's usually an overlap of writing up periods and progressing on to another course.

Make sure your MPhil is eligible though - they're excluding MPhils that are integrated into a PhD so be sure you're registered onto a freestanding MPhil (if you upgrade that to a PhD following completion of the MPhil that's considered differently by finance/regulators to enrolling on a combined MPhil/PhD and leaving with an MPhil as an early exit award). This is something to check with the university concerned to make sure they've registered the course with the SLC correctly

Yikes, I didn't know that. Are you certain of this? Unfortunately most of my offers are for an MPhil/PhD. But this sounds odd, because as I understand it, you're officially an MPhil until the upgrade. Do you have any links to back this up?