Is the Master’s Loan enough?

The loan is £13,206 for fees and living costs together. Typical fees and living costs, and the gap most people need to plan for.

  • £13,206

    Master’s Loan, courses from 1 August 2026

Usually not on its own. The £13,206 is a contribution to fees and living costs together, and average living costs alone are about £1,142 a month (Save the Student, 2025), or £13,700 over a year. The sum is the loan against the fee first, then the months of living costs, and the gap is what remains.

ItemFigure
Master’s Loan, courses from 1 August 2026£13,206
Paid to you3 instalments a year: 33%, 33%, 34%
Average living costs (2025 survey)£1,142 a month, £529 of it rent
Middle fee of the courses we checked, full-time law master’s£12,125
Middle fee of the courses we checked, full-time computing master’s£11,895
Middle fee of the courses we checked, full-time business master’s (MBAs included)£13,800

Courses for this guide

Master’s courses in the finder

Enter your details once to see the loan against each fee and what is left each month.

You are seeing example figures, not yours

We have filled in figures for a typical applicant so you can see how the finder works. Change them to yours and every result updates.

Courses with a StepEx loan

StepEx Lender Ltd offers loans for these courses. Approval is not guaranteed.

The University of Law

StepEx loanSee the representative example
MA Law (Conversion) Non London Full Time

MA · Full time · 1 year

StepEx loan: 48 months · 9.0% APR representative

Fee
£15,150

Fee for 2027/28

£1,944 more than the SLC master's loan covers
Affordability
Outcomes
University employment rate: 90%

The University of Law

StepEx loanSee the representative example
MA Law (Conversion) Non London Part Time

MA · Part time · 2 years

StepEx loan: 60 months · 7.6% APR representative

Fee
£15,150

Fee for 2027/28 · whole course, over 2 years

£1,944 more than the SLC master's loan covers
Affordability
Outcomes
University employment rate: 90%

The University of Law

StepEx loanSee the representative example
LLM Legal Practice (SQE1&2) - Part-time Non London

LLM · Part time · 2 years

StepEx loan: 60 months · 5.1% APR representative

Fee
£15,450

Fee for 2027/28 · whole course, over 2 years

£2,244 more than the SLC master's loan covers
Affordability
Outcomes
University employment rate: 90%

Our ranking is impartial: whether a course has a StepEx loan is not a factor. All courses are ranked by affordability, then graduate pay at 5 years. Courses with a StepEx loan are also shown in a separate section above.

More about how we rank

Top 5 of 2710 courses

2468 likely affordable · affordable first, then highest graduate pay at 5 years

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City St George's

Corporate Risk Management MSc

MSc · Full time · 1 year

Fee
£16,000

Fee for 2026/27 (September 2026 entry)

£2,794 more than the SLC master's loan covers
Affordability
Outcomes
University employment rate: 89%

City St George's

Quantitative Finance MSc

MSc · Full time · 1 year

Fee
£16,500

Fee for 2026/27 (September 2026 entry)

£3,294 more than the SLC master's loan covers
Affordability
Outcomes
University employment rate: 89%

Loughborough

MSc Finance

MSc · Full time · 1 year

Fee
£14,000

Fee for 2027-28

£794 more than the SLC master's loan covers
Affordability
Outcomes
University employment rate: 84%

Loughborough

MSc Accounting and Finance

MSc · Full time · 1 year

Fee
£14,000

Fee for 2027-28

£794 more than the SLC master's loan covers
Affordability
Outcomes
University employment rate: 84%

Durham

Finance

Master’s · Full time · 1 year

Fee
£17,500

Fee for September 2027 entry

£4,294 more than the SLC master's loan covers
Affordability
Outcomes
University employment rate: 93%

Open Affordability or Outcomes on any course for the detail. Courses with a StepEx loan are marked and get no preference in the order. How we work it out

Paying the university directly assumes three instalments: at the start, after 4 months and after 7 months. Estimates based on the figures shown, not advice. A StepEx loan is subject to identity, affordability and credit checks; approval is not guaranteed.

How the loan works

The Postgraduate Master’s Loan from Student Finance England is £13,206 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2026. It is paid to you, not the university, in three instalments a year (33%, 33% and 34%), and the amount does not depend on your income or your family’s. You repay 6% of what you earn over £21,000 a year (£1,750 a month); interest is currently 6% a year. The 2027/28 amount has not been published.

Three examples

  • Fee below the loan. A £11,170 data science MSc leaves £2,036 of loan towards living costs, against about £13,700 of living costs for the year.
  • Fee about the loan. A £13,400 computing MSc uses the whole loan and leaves £194 of fee; living costs are all yours.
  • Fee above the loan. A £19,200 law conversion LLM (BPP, London) leaves £5,994 of fee to find, plus living costs.

The course finder does this sum for every course once you enter your details: the fee, the loan, what is left each month, and the ways to pay the gap.

Timing

The first instalment arrives after the course starts, once the university confirms you have registered. Universities set their own fee dates, often before that. Check both dates and ask the university about an instalment plan if they do not line up.

Ways to pay the gap

  • Student loan. Where the course qualifies, the Master’s Loan of £13,206 (England; other UK nations differ, see the nations guide).
  • Pay the university. Ask about paying in instalments across the year; the university’s own page sets the dates.
  • Employer. Some employers pay all or part of a fee, usually with a condition that you stay for a period afterwards.
  • Scholarships and discounts. University scholarships and alumni discounts, see the scholarships guide.
  • StepEx loan. On the courses listed on the finance availability page, credit from StepEx Lender Ltd lets you pay the fee in monthly repayments after a deposit. Approval is not guaranteed. The representative example for each course is on the provider’s page.

A StepEx loan is credit from StepEx Lender Ltd, available on the courses listed on the finance availability page. Approval is not guaranteed. The representative example for each course is on the provider’s page.

Ways to pay

  • SLC

    The government SLC master's loan. The amount depends on where you live.

    How the SLC master's loan works
  • Pay the university directly

    Usually in three instalments: at the start, after 4 months and after 7 months.

  • StepEx loan

    Available on some courses here. See the representative example on the provider page.

    Check finance availability

Questions people ask

No, in England. The Master’s Loan is the only Student Finance England product, and it covers fees and living costs together. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ, see the nations guide.

No. GOV.UK says the amount is not based on your income or your family’s.

Related guides

Sources and dates

Estimates, not advice.

Questions about these guides? Contact us.