Student Finance Centre

Postgraduate student from the UK or another EU country

If you are thinking about studying a postgraduate course we would recommend that you find out at an early stage what options for financial support may be open to you. Student loans and other statutory support are NOT normally available to postgraduate students, other than those undertaking a PGCE or MArch. Some courses may have a limited number of bursaries available, check with the department you are applying to for further details. For example, Portsmouth Business School offers a number of awards to postgraduate students, details of which can be found here.

  • Tuition fees

    Tuition fees for home (UK) students starting postgraduate taught courses in 2013/14 vary, and are usually between £4,000 and £8,500. For exact course fees please visit the page for the specific course you are interested in.

  • Alumni discounts

    Students who have previously studied at the University of Portsmouth on undergraduate programmes wishing to follow a full time or part time postgraduate course may be entitled to a 20% discount on any self funding element of their tuition fees (this does not apply to PGCE or MArch students). However a discount is not available on all courses, so please check your course by referring to the Alumni tuition fee discount search facility.

  • Graduate Studies Loan

    Some banks will offer their own graduate or professional studies loan. Ask your bank what they may be able to offer.

  • Social Work Postgraduate students

    Students studying an MSc in Social Work may be eligible for a bursary from the NHS Business Services Authority. See our social work page for more information.

  • Research Councils

    A limited number of courses offer studentships through one of the six Research Councils. You will need to discuss a studentship with your department, as the Research Councils do not deal with prospective students. However, their websites offer some useful information about funding opportunities.

  • Sponsorship

    Some employers may consider sponsorship which may be in the form of help with fees, day release for part time study or by sponsoring the student to study an area of relevant commercial interest.

  • Trusts and charities

    Trusts and charities can offer financial assistance to some students. Organisations will usually have specific criteria which must be met before an application can be made. Assistance will rarely take the form of a full scholarship or award as most organisations will only be able to offer awards of a few hundred pounds due to the large number of applications received each year. The Student Finance Centre has information on a range of trusts and charities. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this further.

  • Professional and Career Development Loans

    Professional and Career Development Loans (PCDL) are bank loans that can be used to help pay for work related learning. You can borrow between £300 and £10,000 to help support the cost of up to two years of learning (or three years if it includes one year's relevant unpaid practical work). The Skills Funding Agency will pay the interest on the loan while you are learning and for one month afterwards. The loan can be used to pay course fees or other costs such as travel and living expenses. You can also use the loan to supplement other forms of support such as grants or bursaries. As the Professional and Career Development Loan is a commercial loan, they should only be considered as an option once all other student funding options have been investigated. For further information on financial assistance to support your learning contact the National Careers Service on 0800 100 900.

    The University Learning Provider registration number is 8367.

  • Additional Support Funds from the University of Portsmouth

    The Access to Learning Fund may be available to some full and part-time home (UK) postgraduate students who are experiencing financial hardship.  Awards cannot be made towards tuition fees. All awards are income assessed and you will normally be expected to show that you made adequate provision to fund your course and living costs before commencing your course. You can contact us for an application form or download one from our forms and guides section (please note, only current students can apply to the Access to Learning Fund).

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