The tuition fees for postgraduate courses are usually a little higher than for an undergraduate degree. However, some grants and loans are available.
Other bursaries are available to postgraduate students through the British Academy and UK Research Councils. Generally, they will only cover the cost of tuition fees.
The US-UK Fulbright Commission covers tuition fees, a maintenance stipend as well as accident and sickness insurance for one academic year. The Fulbright Commission offers a selection of awards for UK citizens looking to study in the US and for US citizens coming to the UK.
If you’re considering doing a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) you can apply for a full-time PGCE loan as well as a non-means-tested Training Bursary, a Maintenance Grant and a Maintenance Loan from the Department for Education.
The Department of Employment, along with 3 high street banks, offer a Career Development Loan. The loan is given to help you pay for work-related earning.
Students for Commonwealth countries or British dependent territories can apply for the Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowship Plan (CSFP). Whether awards are offered, who can receive them and where they can be used differ from year to year as it is up to each country to decide, but scholarships are available.
If you are from the US you be may eligible for the Marshall Scholarship. This enables high-ability students from the US to study for a postgraduate (and occasionally an undergraduate) degree in the UK.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Council fund the Chevening Scholarships, providing hundreds of scholarships each year for overseas students to do postgraduate studies or research in the UK. They fund the first year of a master’s or doctoral degree.
Or…
If all of this looks a little daunting, two other options are available. Firstly, ask the institution you will be studying in what bursaries are available. You may find bursaries for specific subjects, social backgrounds, interests etc. At postgraduate level different scholarships and bursaries will be accessible, you may find these are means tested.
Secondly, look into industrial sponsorship. Firms sometimes agree to fund postgraduate studies or research. They may do this for two main reasons a) the research or area of your postgraduate degree will be useful to them b) they are investing in you to work for them after your postgraduate degree.