Funding Postgraduate Study

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• Funding Postgraduate Study
• Chris Rea
• Graduate Prospects

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Why do postgraduate study?

• GOOD REASONS
• Improve your employment prospects
• Acquire new skills
• Personal pleasure/love of subject
• BAD REASONS
• You want to remain a student
• Your partner/friends are in the same city
• TERRIBLE REASON
• You dont know what else to do

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Funding issues

• THE BAD NEWS
• No mandatory funding (except for PGCE students)
• Fees are higher than for undergraduate study
• Student Loans Company doesnt support
  postgraduates
• Most postgraduates wont receive financial
  support
• THE GOOD NEWS
• There are more PG students than ever before (over
  500,000)
• There is an incredible variety of programmes and
  modes of study
• Most PG students can and do manage even in the
  absence of formal funding

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Research Councils

• The most important formal sources of PG funding
• Arts Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research
  Council (BBSRC)
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
  Council (EPSRC)
• Medical Research Council (MRC)
• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
• Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council
  (PPARC)

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Research Councils - applying

• Competition is intense but varies between
  subjects
• Awards normally require a minimum 21
• You must be ordinarily resident in the UK for a
  full award
• Applications are usually made through the
  department, not the RC
• Application deadlines vary. The earlier you find
  out about them, the better
• Refer to individual RC websites for the most
  up-to-date information

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Charities, foundations and trusts

• An important component of your funding package
• They are usually dedicated to a specific purpose
  e.g. subject of study
• They rarely provide full funding (e.g. tuition
  fees and cost of living)
• There are no standard rules on eligibility
  criteria and applications
• There is no central application process
• Key information source The Grants Register
  (published by Palgrave). This should be available
  in your careers service
• Additional information source The Directory of
  Grant-making Trusts (published by the Charities
  Aid Foundation)

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Institutional funding

• There are funding opportunities right under your
  nose
• Graduate teaching and research assistantships
• Studentships, scholarships and prizes
• Access to Learning funds
• Part-time campus work
• Hall tutorships
• Fee flexibility

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Loans

• CAREER DEVELOPMENT LOANS
• Run by three High Street banks and DfES
• You can borrow between 300 - 8,000
• CDLs account for a small but growing percentage
  of PG funding
• They are always awarded for vocational courses
  only
• Repayment begins as soon as you graduate
• APRs are very high
• PROFESSIONAL LOANS
• Association of MBAs Loan Scheme
• Loan schemes for Law students
• PERSONAL LOANS/OVERDRAFTS
• Negotiate with your bank
• Think carefully before taking on more debt

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Working and studying

• The reality for the vast majority of PG students
• Most PG students study part time
• Its possible to work part time (or even full
  time) and study demanding but it can be done
• Many PG students have their fees paid for by
  their employer. This may be part of Continuing
  Professional Development (CPD)
• Flexible study modes such as credit transfer,
  modular study and distance learning make working
  and studying a realistic possibility

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Portfolio funding

• You are the biggest source of PG funding
• Most PG students put together a funding package
  drawn from a variety of sources
• This requires strong personal skills tenacity,
  imagination, perseverance, ingenuity
• Sorting your finances out may be the most
  demanding part of your PG experience
• According to research, most students say that the
  PG experience was worth the sacrifices they may
  have had to make to complete it

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Your next steps

• Start your information search as soon as
  possible. If you put in the spade-work now, you
  will reap the harvest in the long run
• Read Prospects Postgraduate Funding Guide
  available here today, at your careers service and
  at www.prospects.ac.uk/funding
• Talk to current and former postgraduate students
• Ask the department you are applying to how their
  students fund themselves
• Check your eligibility criteria for Research
  Council funding
• Search for relevant charities, foundations and
  trusts
• Get control of your personal finances run
  yourself like a small business
• REMEMBER MOST PG STUDENTS CAN AND DO MAKE ENDS
  MEET

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Funding for international students

• If you are an international student you need to
  get hold of a copy of Prospects Postgrad UK
  Applications and Funding Guide, which provides an
  excellent starting point for information on
  applying for postgraduate study in the UK and
  paying for it. The Guide is available from
  British Council offices and at higher education
  institutions in some countries and you can access
  it online at www.prospects.ac.uk/postgraduk
• Fees for international students vary from
  institution to institution. Generally, arts,
  social science and science Masters courses begin
  at 6,500. An MBA can cost as much as 29,000.
• Cost of living varies. As a rule, budget 9,200 a
  year for living in London and 7,200 elsewhere.

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Funding for international students

• British Chevening Scholarships
• British Marshall Scholarships
• Marshall Sherfield Fellowships
• Fulbright Awards Programme
• Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan
• Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme
• Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme
• For a detailed overview of the above sources
  visit
• http//www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/
  Funding_my_further_study/Funding_for_international
  _students/p!eaLdigf
• Many universities provide scholarships and awards
  for students international students. When you
  have identified a university you wish to study
  at, it is essential that you ask about funding
  provision when you make your initial enquiries as
  funding deadlines are often well in advance of
  the course start date.

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Funding issues

• As an international student it is possible to
  work for up to 20 hours a week during term time
  and full time during vacations. You need to be
  very clear about your eligibility for work when
  you apply for your visa. Advice and guidance on
  such matters is available from the British
  Council (www.educationuk.org) and from UKCOSA
  (www.ukcosa.org).
• You need to be prepared for the fact that you may
  have to work before or during your course, and
  support yourself with savings and loans.