4. Postgraduates
Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) provides support for postgraduate courses at diploma or masters level. The funding is also available for distance-learning postgraduate courses. Awards from SAAS for 2024/25 for a one year course consist of:1 •a tuition fee loan of up to £7,000;
•a living-cost loan of up to £4,500 (full-time courses only);
•a special support loan of £2,400 for course costs such as study and travel costs;
•disabled students’ allowance.
You can get the same total support for a full-time two-year course, with half paid each year.
Part-time postgraduate students can apply for a tuition fee loan of £7,000 for the full course – ie, £3,500 a year for a two-year course.
All postgraduate students can also apply to the postgraduate discretionary fund and childcare fund.
Research councils also give awards for postgraduate courses (mainly PhDs) and each have their own rules for how grants are awarded. Typically, an award may consist of tuition fees, a maintenance grant or stipend, disabled students’ allowance and a research support grant.
Social work students can apply to the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) for a postgraduate bursary made up of an income-assessed grant, supplementary grants, travel costs for placements and tuition fees. If not awarded an SSSC bursary, social work students can apply to SAAS for postgraduate funding.
Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) students are eligible for the same support as undergraduates (see here). Self-funding full- and part-time postgraduates can get a disabled students’ allowance from SAAS.