Find out what you could get from a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan and how to get started
| This article has been written by the experts at Student Finance England (SFE), who regularly review and update the information here. |
In this article...
If you’re starting a full postgraduate doctoral course you could get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan. This loan is to help with your course and living costs while you’re studying and has to be paid back. The amount you can get doesn’t depend on your household income.
Read on to find out if you’re eligible for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan and how much you can get to help towards your course and living costs. There’s also information on how to apply and repaying your loan.
What's available
You could get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan of up to:
- £30,301 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2025
- £29,390 if your course started between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025
- £28,673 if you started between 1 August 2023 and 31 July 2024
This is to help with your course and living costs while you’re studying and has to be repaid.
Your loan payments will be spread out across all the academic years of your course. For example, if you’re studying full time over four years and apply for the maximum loan amount of £30,301, then your payments would be around £7,575 in each academic year. The loan is paid in three instalments at the start of each term.
You can apply for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan amount in any year of your course, but if you apply after the first year you might not get the maximum amount.
Disabled Students' Allowance
If you have a disability, including a long-term health condition, mental-health condition or specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia or dyspraxia, you might be able to get Disabled Students’ Allowance. This doesn’t have to be paid back. You don’t have to be getting a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan to apply.
Eligibility
To apply for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan you must:
- be a UK or Irish Citizen or have ‘settled status’ (no restrictions on how long you can stay in the UK)
- normally live in England
- have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 continuous years before the first day of your course, apart from temporary absences such as going on holiday.
If you have different nationality or residency status from the above, you might still be eligible for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan. More detailed information on eligibility rules around nationality or residency status can be found at www.gov.uk/doctoral-loan/eligibility.
Age
You must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your course to get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan.
The academic year starts on:
- 1 September, if your course starts between 1 August and 31 December
- 1 January, if your course starts between 1 January and 31 March
- 1 April, if your course starts between 1 April and 30 June
- 1 July, if your course starts between 1 July and 31 July
Previous study
If you have a loan from a previous undergraduate course or postgraduate master’s course, it won’t affect your eligibility for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan.
You can only get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if you don’t already have an equivalent doctoral qualification such as a PhD.
If you borrow a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan for a course but don’t complete it, you won’t be able to get a second Postgraduate Doctoral Loan. However, if you have to withdraw from your course for compelling personal reasons, such as illness, you may still be able to apply for another Postgraduate Doctoral Loan.
Course and university eligibility
You must be studying at an eligible university in the UK and your course must be a full postgraduate doctoral course leading to a qualification such as:
- Subject specialist doctorates: a formal programme of study such as a PhD
- Integrated subject specialist doctorates: a supervised research project carried out alongside a structured taught course, or after you’ve completed a taught course. (You must register for the doctoral degree at the outset to be eligible for Postgraduate Doctoral Loan.)
- Professional and practice-based doctorates: post-experience qualifications aimed at mid-career professionals, for example an Engineering Doctorate (EngD)
A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan is not available to ‘top up’ a lower-level qualification to a doctoral degree. The course must be a full standalone doctoral course.
You won’t be able to get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if you're eligible to receive an NHS bursary or have been awarded a Social Work Bursary.
You can choose to study your course at a university in person or by distance learning. Your course must last between 3 and 8 years and can be studied on a full-time or part-time basis.
Other funding
You won’t be able to get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if you’re getting any Research Council Funding / UK Research and Innovation Funding or an Educational Psychology Bursary.
How to apply
You can apply for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan in any year of your course, but you might not get the full amount if you apply after the first year of your course.
To get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan, you must apply no later than 9 months after the first day of the final academic year of your course.
You don’t need to apply each year for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan.
Applying online
1. Set up a student finance account
If you’ve had a loan from Student Finance England before, you should sign in to your existing account to apply. If it’s your first time applying, you’ll be given a unique Customer Reference Number (CRN) and be asked to create a password and secret answer. You should keep these safe as you’ll need them to sign in to your account to check the progress of your application.
2. Fill in and submit your application
You’ll be asked for proof of identity. You can easily do this by providing your valid UK passport details. If you don’t have a UK passport, you may have to send other evidence to SFE.
You’ll be asked to specify your uni and course details and how much Postgraduate Doctoral Loan you want.
When you apply for student finance you'll need to agree to the SFE terms and conditions (external link).
3. Send any evidence you’re asked for
SFE may contact you to ask for evidence to support your application.
Evidence
Proof of identity
If you don’t have a UK passport, you may have to send evidence such as a non-UK passport or a copy of your UK birth or adoption certificate.
You should send this as quickly as possible to avoid any delay in your application being processed. Remember to include your CRN with everything you send us.
In some circumstances you may be asked to send additional evidence, for example, evidence of your previous addresses or documents from the Home Office. Your application can’t be processed until you’ve provided SFE with everything that’s needed. Be sure to send anything SFE asks for as soon as possible so your application isn’t delayed.
Changing your details
If any of your details change after you’ve applied for student finance, don’t worry – you can simply update your application. To update your details, you need to send SFE a completed postgraduate 'Change of circumstances' form. You can download this from www.gov.uk/doctoral-loan/apply.
What happens next?
Once SFE has assessed your application, they’ll contact you to confirm how much Postgraduate Doctoral Loan you’re getting. They will also confirm the dates when SFE expects to pay your Postgraduate Doctoral Loan to you.
