Full-time second degree funding

Hi SFE

I asked a question a few months ago regarding funding for second degree STEM subjects and determined that the course/s I'm interested in doing are eligible.

Since then I have emailed 17 UK universities and only 3 out of those 17 universities offer their biological science degrees part-time! When I asked them if they we're likely to offer their biological sciences part-time all said it wasn't likely to change. These we're near and far Universities, & most are too far for me to get to.

As you can imagine it was actually really disheartening and frustrating to find out this reality, when I was so excited before.

Besides the actual difficulty finding PT degrees, it also takes 6 years to complete a PT course. For me, I'm 29 already & would love to pursue a PHD afterwards, but I also need to take an access course (as I've been out of education more than 3 years & my A levels aren't acknowledged) so by the time I finish a PHD I will be almost 40.

The Universities that offered PT degrees all had a placement year for the full time study option, however they said that the placement year wasn't included in PT degree - meaning the PT student is missing out again on valuable education, just because they're PT.

SFE, its very very difficult to find a university that offers biological sciences subjects part-time, & it also takes such a long time to complete, so my question is, is the second degree funding only available for part-time study?? Will this change in the near future to include full-time study??

Thanks very much

Reply 1

Gerard SFE

Official Rep

Hi

In regards to the STEM subjects for part time funding for a second degree, at this time these are only designated for funding for funding as part time courses, and we are unaware of any plans to make changes to these rules in the future.

However for students who already hold a degree, students who apply to do a second undergraduate degree in Nursing, Midwifery or an Allied Health Professional course would have their previous study disregarded, this allows students to access a full package of SFE funding.

Thanks
Gerard

Reply 2

Emmyk89

Hi Gerard,

Thanks for your response. Although it's appreciated that SFE have relaxed the rules on 2nd degree funding, it's near impossible to find a university that offers Part-time study.
I live in Manchester so emailed most North west institutions - Manchester did not offer PT study, nor did any Liverpool unis, Sheffield, Birmingham or Keele.

Out of the top 10 only Lancaster said they "possibly could" offer PT study. Leeds (13th), Manchester Met (57th) and Salford (79th) also offer PT study in the biological sciences subjects.. Most of the best universities aren't accessible to PT students which is a massive shame and utter disappointment to those who want to change their careers & capable of attending the best institutions.

Could SFE consider people to study full time & receive funding on a case by case basis?

Full-time second degree funding

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you