Postgraduate Loan

Hi, I am a UK student who graduated with First Class Honours in BSc (Hons) Psychology in 2019. I took a year out and I have now been accepted to study MSc Occupational Therapy at Teesside University which will start in January 2021. I am just wondering how the funding works.
1. Will I be eligible to apply for both a postgraduate loan and the new NHS bursary starting in September 2020?
2. The postgraduate loan will not cover all of the masters degree costs as it is £9,250 per year and it is a 2 year course, so will I have to fund the rest myself?
3. When do applications for the NHS bursary open if I am starting in January 2021?

Thank you

Original post by melissamelrose

Hi, I am a UK student who graduated with First Class Honours in BSc (Hons) Psychology in 2019. I took a year out and I have now been accepted to study MSc Occupational Therapy at Teesside University which will start in January 2021. I am just wondering how the funding works.
1. Will I be eligible to apply for both a postgraduate loan and the new NHS bursary starting in September 2020?
2. The postgraduate loan will not cover all of the masters degree costs as it is £9,250 per year and it is a 2 year course, so will I have to fund the rest myself?
3. When do applications for the NHS bursary open if I am starting in January 2021?

Thank you

Hi there, I will answer your questions in order.

1. You should apply for undergraduate funding for your postgraduate healthcare course. There is no NHS bursary anymore, now it's an NHS Training Grant https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund/training-grant - you can speak to the NHS regarding your eligibility for this as it's not administered by SFE. If you receive the NHS Grant then you can still receive full SFE funding.
2. You can't apply for a postgraduate loan, you can apply for undergraduate funding.
3. I think the applications are open now according to the NHS website but we advise you to speak to the NHS regarding this.
Thanks, Isaac

Original post by melissamelrose

Hi, I am a UK student who graduated with First Class Honours in BSc (Hons) Psychology in 2019. I took a year out and I have now been accepted to study MSc Occupational Therapy at Teesside University which will start in January 2021. I am just wondering how the funding works.
1. Will I be eligible to apply for both a postgraduate loan and the new NHS bursary starting in September 2020?
2. The postgraduate loan will not cover all of the masters degree costs as it is £9,250 per year and it is a 2 year course, so will I have to fund the rest myself?
3. When do applications for the NHS bursary open if I am starting in January 2021?

Thank you

We'll look forward to you joining us @melissamelrose :smile:

I can see you've received some guidance from SLC. If you need anything else or have any Teesside-specific queries please let us know. You can email [email protected], head onto our online chat on our homepage, or message our finance team on [email protected]. There's some more info on pg funding on this page. Best wishes from us - we'll see you January!