Eligibility

In academic year 2018/19 postgraduate doctoral funding was introduced for English and Welsh-domiciled students on eligible courses in the UK.

Students must be on a full doctoral degree course (a full programme of doctoral study) to be eligible for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan. Partial courses, where students can rely on previous study to contribute to their doctoral course, are ineligible.

Students who register for a standalone master's course are also not eligible. They should apply for postgraduate master’s funding instead.

If a student is enrolled on a master’s course that contributes towards a doctoral qualification, you should enter these as a single course. These students are eligible for the full programme of doctoral study including the time spent on the master’s course. They will not be eligible for postgraduate master’s funding at the same time.

Some students do not need to complete the first year of a '1+3' doctoral degree course or an integrated subject specialist doctorate. This can be due to prior attainment or time spent on a previous level 7 research master’s (such as an MPhil or an MRes).

You must register these students on a separately designated doctoral degree course so they're eligible for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan. They must be undertaking the full designated course to be eligible.

Eligible courses

Subject specialist doctorates

A formal programme of study such as a PhD.

Integrated subject specialist doctorates

A supervised research project undertaken alongside a more structured taught course. It may depend on successful completion of taught elements and be undertaken in later years.

Integrated doctorates offer exit awards at master’s level based on successful completion of taught modules. If an integrated doctorate has a level 7 master’s component, you should include this as part of the course duration for the doctoral course and not as a separate master’s course.

To be eligible for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan, students must register for the doctoral degree from the start.

Professional and practice-based doctorates

Post-experience qualifications aimed at mid-career professionals, for example an Engineering Doctorate (EngD).

Ineligible courses

Doctorates by publication:

doctorate by retrospective publication
doctorate by prospective or concurrent publication

Higher doctorates

Qualifications

A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan is only available for full postgraduate doctoral degree courses. Eligible doctoral courses may be a combination of:

taught and research-based study
part-time and full-time study
periods of attendance and distance learning

It is not available for other level 8 qualifications:

level 8 awards
level 8 certificates
level 8 diplomas

It is also not available for lower-level postgraduate courses:

standalone master’s degree
integrated master’s degree (a master’s degree that is integrated with an undergraduate degree)
Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert)
Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip)

Finally, it is not available for partial doctoral courses. These are where the student is topping up to a doctoral qualification and does not need to undertake the whole designated doctoral course.

Course structure

Some doctoral degrees are structured around a '1+3' model. If this is the case, the following rules apply.

Students will be eligible for the £27,265 Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if:

year 1 of the course (the master’s degree) is an integral part of the 4-year doctoral degree course
they register for the full doctoral degree course at the outset.

Students are not eligible for postgraduate master’s funding for the first year of the course.

If a student has already been awarded postgraduate master’s funding for a separate master’s course, they remain eligible for the full £27,265 Postgraduate Doctoral Loan for a full '1+3' doctoral degree course.

If a student does not need to complete the first year of a '1+3' doctoral degree course, they must register on a separately designated 3-year doctoral degree course to be eligible for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan.

Students who withdraw from a '1+3' doctoral degree after using their Postgraduate Doctoral Loan allocation cannot apply for another. This is regardless of the qualification they gain. This is subject to normal rules around compelling personal reasons (CPR).

Students cannot transfer between master’s and doctoral courses without submitting a new funding application. They must be undertaking the full course to be eligible for postgraduate funding at either level. They must submit a new funding application if they start a new qualification.

Subject of study

There are no subject restrictions on doctoral degree courses. Any course, regardless of subject, can be eligible for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if it meets all other eligibility criteria.

Attendance method

Students may be eligible for a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan whether they are in attendance or distance learning.

Students on a distance learning course must be resident in England or Wales on the first day of the first academic year of the course. This rule applies to all residency categories.

There is an exception to this rule for:

UK Armed Forces personnel posted outside of their place of domicile
certain family members who are living with them during the posting

For student funding purposes these applicants are temporarily resident at the posting address. They'll be ordinarily resident in the place where they lived before moving to the posting location.

If the course includes a period of overseas study, at least 50% of the study time over the whole course must be within the UK.