The government's postgraduate doctoral loans scheme can provide a loan over three years to support study for a doctoral degree and can be used alongside any other forms of support.
A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan can help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate doctoral course, such as a PhD.
Value and payments
You can borrow up to £29,390 for the whole course and the amount you can get is not based on your family's income. The loan is paid directly to you and can be used for your course fees and living costs.
The loan will be divided equally across each of three years of your course. The first loan payment is made after your course start date, once City has confirmed that you have registered.
The loan will be paid in three instalments of 33%, 33% and 34%. After your application has been approved you’ll be sent a letter with your payment dates or you can check them in your online account.
Eligibility
Whether you qualify depends on:
- Your course
- Your age
- Your nationality or residency status.
There are some circumstances where you may not qualify, for example if you are already receiving funding from certain other sources or due to your status with the Student Loans Company or previous doctoral study.
Prospective students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland who plan to begin their studies in the UK must have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify. This requirement doesn't apply if you're an Irish national. See our Brexit and European nationals page for more information.
Further information about eligibility requirements is published on the government's website.
Making an application
The deadline for applying depends on the date you start your course - though in each case this deadline will be during the last academic year of the course, meaning you will still have an opportunity to apply for a certain time after starting your studies.
You can make an application through the government's website.