Postgraduate doctoral loans
Government loans are available for eligible home fee-paying postgraduate research students to help fund your studies.
Key points
- A loan from the government is available to eligible home fee-paying students studying eligible doctoral courses.
- The amount you’ll get is not based on your income or your family’s.
The information on this page relates to the academic year 2024-2025 for Student Finance England. Information for 2025 entry will be published on this web page when it is available.
Students from Wales can find out more information about postgraduate doctoral loans on the Student Finance Wales web pages.
On this page:
- Eligibility
- How much can I borrow
- How to apply
- Paying back your loan
- Support for students with a disability
- Additional information
- Contact us about fees and funding
Eligibility
Eligible home fee-paying students can apply for a postgraduate doctoral loan from the UK government to help fund their studies. For students from England, the agency is Student Finance England.
Whether you qualify for a postgraduate doctoral loan depends on your course, your age, and your nationality or residency status.
You will not be able to get a postgraduate doctoral loan if you already have a doctoral degree, or a qualification that’s equivalent or higher. You will also not be able to get a postgraduate doctoral loan if you’ve received or will receive Research Council funding (for example, studentships, stipends, scholarships and tuition fee support).
There are additional criteria that may mean you are not eligible for a postgraduate doctoral loan. For more information about eligibility, please refer to the government website.
Gov.uk - Doctoral loan - Eligibility
Course
Your course must be a full, standalone doctoral course, have started on or after 1 August 2018, last between 3 to 8 academic years, and be provided by a university in the UK with research degree awarding powers.
It can be full-time or part-time and taught or research-based (or a combination of both).
You can apply for a loan if your doctoral programme includes an integrated master’s degree (even if you already have a master’s degree). You must register for a full doctoral degree.
You can qualify for a loan if you are undertaking distance learning, depending on whether you meet the relevant eligibility criteria.
For more information about eligibility, please refer to the government website.
Gov.uk - Doctoral loan - Eligibility
Age
You must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of your course.
The academic year is a period of 12 months starting 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
Nationality or residency status
Whether you qualify for a loan depends on your nationality or residency status.
For more information about eligibility, please refer to the government website.
Gov.uk - Doctoral loan - Eligibility
How much can I borrow
A postgraduate doctoral loan can help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate doctoral course.
The amount you’ll get is not based on your income or your family’s. You can borrow up to £29,390 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2024.
A lower amount of loan is available if you are already registered on a course:
| Course start date | Maximum loan available |
|---|---|
| Between 1 August 2023 and 31 July 2024 | £28,673 |
| Between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023 | £27,892 |
You can apply for a postgraduate doctoral loan in any year of your course but if you apply after your first year, you might not get the maximum amount.
For more information on what you’ll get, please refer to the government website.
Gov.uk - Doctoral loan - What you’ll get
The loan will be divided equally across each year of your course. The loan will be paid directly to you.
After your application has been approved, you’ll be sent a letter with your payment dates. You can also check them in your online account. The loan will be paid directly to you in three instalments of 33%, 33% and 34% each year. You get the first payment after your course start date, once the University confirms that you’ve registered.
How to apply
Applications usually open in the May or June before you start your course.
You only need to apply once for a postgraduate doctoral loan for your course.
You need to apply within 9 months of the first day of the last academic year of the course.
For more information, please refer to the government website.
Gov.uk - Doctoral loan - How to apply
Paying back your loan
When do I pay back my loan?
Loan repayments will usually commence from the April after course completion at the earliest (or the April 4 years after the course started if you’re studying part-time and your course is longer than 4 years) and only when your income is over the repayment threshold set by the government: this is currently £21,000 a year for postgraduate loan repayment plans.
For more information, please refer to the government website.
Gov.uk - Repaying your student loan - When you start repaying
How do I pay back my loan?
Your repayments will be taken out of your salary at the same time as tax and National Insurance if you’re an employee. Your payslips will show how much has been deducted. If you're self-employed, you'll pay through HM Revenue and Customs.
For more information, please refer to the government website.
Gov.uk - Repaying your student loan - How to repay
How much will I pay?
How much you repay depends on your income. You’ll repay a percentage of your income over the repayment threshold set by the government (currently £21,000 for postgraduate loan repayment plans).
The doctoral loan repayment will be calculated at 6% of income above the repayment threshold.
Repayments will be made concurrently alongside repayment of any outstanding undergraduate student loan.
Your repayments are based on what you earn, not what you owe. If your wages drop, this is reflected in your repayments. For more information, please refer to the government website.
Gov.uk - Repaying your student loan - How much you repay
You can choose to make extra repayments towards your student loan. For more information, please refer to the government website.
Gov.uk - Repaying your student loan - Make extra repayments
Your postgraduate doctoral loan will be written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
What about interest?
The loan's interest rate will usually be calculated at the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus 3%. This interest will accrue from the date the first loan instalment is paid.
For more information about how the interest is calculated, please refer to the government website.
Gov.uk - How interest is calculated - Postgraduate loan
Support for students with a disability
As a reminder, the information on this page relates to Student Finance England.
Students from Wales can find out more information online:
Wales - Student Finance Wales - Disabled Students' Allowance
If you have a disability or specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, you can apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).
This can be on its own or in addition to any student finance you get, though you must at least be eligible to receive student finance.
The type of support and how much you get depends on your individual needs - not your household income. For part-time students, your ‘course intensity’ can affect how much DSA you get (‘course intensity’ means how long your course takes to complete each year compared to an equivalent full-time course).
Gov.uk - Disabled Students’ Allowance
Postgraduate students will need to fill in a form. Find out more information on the government website.
Gov.uk - Disabled Students’ Allowance - How to apply
More information about the support available for disabled students at the University of Sheffield can be found on the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDSS) web pages.
Disability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDSS)
Additional information
For more information about paying your tuition fees as a postgraduate research student using a doctoral loan, refer to our web pages.
Tuition fees for postgraduate research home students
Guidance about additional funding and how to manage your money can be found on our web pages.
Living costs
Additional funding for postgraduate study
If you need to discuss your financial situation with someone, you can contact the Student Advice Centre in the Students' Union (both prospective students with an offer and current students).
They have also provided some useful money management information online, available to all.
Student Advice Centre - Money Management
If you are a prospective student and have any other general enquiries, find out more about how you can contact us.