Skip to main content
Welsh Government
EnglishCymraeg

Funding for postgraduate courses

Find the financial support that may be available to you for postgraduate courses at universities, including master's and PhD courses.

Postgraduate master's finance

As of August 2019 you may be able to apply for postgraduate master's finance. If eligible, you could receive up to £18,430 in a combination of loan and grant funding for a one year course.

A £4,000 bursary will be available for people over 60 to study a Master's degree in Wales.

A £2,000 bursary will be available for graduates of all ages to study in Wales for a Master's degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics or Medicine.

A £1,000 bursary will also be available to study a Master's degree through the medium of Welsh.

Find out about eligibility and funding available:

Student Finance Wales - postgraduate master's finance

Welsh Government - Student finance: higher education, postgraduate masters and doctoral students

Postgraduate doctoral loan

You can apply for a postgraduate doctoral loan of up to £27,880 if you are starting a full or part time postgraduate doctoral course (PhD). This loan can help with course fees and living costs during your study. Find out about eligibility, how to apply, and repayment terms at Student Finance Wales postgraduate doctoral loan.

Sourcing grants, bursaries and scholarships

You can look in a variety of places for scholarships, grants and bursaries to contribute towards your postgraduate studies. The Scholarship Hub has a search facility to look for additional funding.

Keep in mind that sourcing and applying for funding can take a long time so start looking as early as possible. Most alternative sources of funding are unlikely to cover all your expenses but can contribute towards your costs. Places to source postgraduate funding include:

Research councils

UK Research and Innovation has a funding page and also provides links to the research councils:

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Medical Research Council (MRC)

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

Innovate UK

Research England

Charitable trusts

Search for charitable trusts that might fund you at the Directory of Social Change's Funds Online.

UK Government scholarships

Chevening scholarships are aimed at developing global leaders and are funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other partner organisations.

Commonwealth scholarships are open to commonwealth citizens who have the potential to make change. Around 800 awards are offered each year.

Other sources of potential funding

Employer Sponsorship (Prospects website) - employers might consider sponsoring you, if what you are intending to study is relevant to your work.

Crowdfunding (Prospects website) - you need to be great at marketing yourself if you are considering crowdfunding.



You might also like

Study abroad

Pros and cons of higher education study abroad. Discover if studying abroad would be right for you.