Most taught master’s qualifications are covered by the loan, and you can study either full-time, or part-time over one or two years. There's two Scottish postgraduate loan types available, though many students can apply for both.

Tuition fee loan

A tuition fee loan of up to £5,500 is available for full-time courses, to help pay for all or some of your tuition fees.

Living cost loan

Eligible full-time postgraduate students can apply for a living cost loan of up to £4,500.

To get the living cost loan, as well as meeting the eligibility conditions, you must be under 60 years old on the first day of the first academic year of your course.

Am I eligible to apply?

To receive funding, you need to study a course that the Student Awards Agency Scotland funds and meet the residence criteria.

Further information on residence conditions is available in the residence eligibility conditions documents:

For full eligibility criteria, please see the Student Awards Agency Scotland website.

How will I repay the loan?

Most students will repay their loans through HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) either by: 

  • employers taking amounts from pay through the PAYE system, or
  • through the tax self-assessment process

How quickly you repay your loan will generally depend on how much you earn. 

You'll start making repayments from April after you graduate or leave your course. The Student Loans Company will contact you before you start making payments to tell you how this will work.

Interest will be added onto your loan from the day you get your first payment until you fully repay it, or it’s cancelled. 

For more information about repaying the student loan, please see the SAAS website.

How do I apply?

Applications for a Scottish postgraduate loan should be made directly to Student Awards Agency Scotland.