Doctoral loan

You can get the Postgraduate Doctoral Loan if all of the following apply:

• you’re a UK national or Irish citizen, or have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or indefinite leave to remain, so there are no restrictions on how long you can stay
• you normally live in England, and did not move there just to study
• you’ll have lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years before starting your course

You may also be eligible if you’re an EU national or family member of an EU national and the following apply:

• You have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• you’ve normally lived in the UK, the EU, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland or overseas territory for the past 3 years (this is also known as being ‘ordinarily resident’)
• you’ll be studying at a university in England

You could also be eligible if you’re:

• the child of a Swiss national
• a migrant worker from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein with pre-settled status, or family member of a migrant worker where both have settled or pre-settled statuswiss
• the child of a Turkish worker
• a refugee or a relative of one
• the child of a Turkish worker who has permission to stay in the UK
•  a stateless person or relative of one
• under humanitarian protection or a relative of someone who has been granted it
• a a child who is under protection of someone grante 'Section 67 leave'
• given settled status but not under the EU Settlement Scheme
• have indefinite leave to remain as a bereaved partner
• granted leave under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy or the Afghan Citizen's Resettlement Scheme
• remain in the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme, the Holms for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme or the Ukraine Extension Scheme 
• have indefinite leave to remain because you've been the victim of domestic violence
• granted 'Calais leave' to remain
• the child of someone with Calais leave.

Your course must:

• be a full, standalone doctoral course (not a top-up course)
• have started on or after 1 August 2018
• last between 3 to 8 academic years
• be provided by a university in the UK with research degree awarding powers

It can be:

• full-time or part-time
• taught or research-based, or a combination of both

Examples of postgraduate doctoral qualifications include:

• PhD / DPhil (Doctor of Philosophy)
• EdD (Doctor of Education)
• EngD (Doctor of Engineering)

Integrated doctoral

You can apply for a loan if your doctoral programme includes an integrated master’s degree (even if you already have a master’s degree). You must register for a full doctoral degree. You will not be able to apply for a separate Postgraduate Master’s Loan.

You’ll have to start repaying your loan the April after you finish your studies, but only when your income is over a certain amount (the ‘threshold’ amount), which is currently £21,000 a year. You’ll repay 6% of what you earn over the threshold. So if you’re paid monthly and earn £2,500 per month before tax, you’ll repay 6% of the difference between what you earn and the threshold.

You’ll be charged interest from the day you get the first payment.

You can apply here.

The Doctoral loans are intended as a general contribution to the costs of postgraduate study. This means that they aren't tied to the specific cost of a doctoral programme or the living costs incurred by PhD students.

In practice, both of these amounts will vary depending on factors such as the fees charged by your institution and the cost of living in your local area.

The loan should significantly reduce the financial burden of PhD study, but it won't necessarily cover full fees and living costs for a three year doctorate.