TUITION FEES & FUNDING SOURCES
There are many ways to fund your tuition fees or living costs while undertaking the MSc. Your eligibility for each fund often depends on your personal circumstances, such as where you live, your current income, and whether you have already studied at Postgraduate level.
Loans, Government Funding and Other Sources
Students Award Agency Scotland (SAAS) offer a tuition fee loan to help pay for a proportion of the cost of fees .To find out more please visit the SAAS website – Part-time Postgraduate Funding Guide – SAAS https://www.saas.gov.uk/part-time/postgraduate
Your employer may sponsor you to take a part-time graduate course, especially if the qualification will help you in your current role. Ask your employer if this would be an option and whether they would help you by giving you study leave or flexible working. More information on this can be found on the Prospects website – Employer sponsorship | Prospects.ac.uk https://www.prospects.ac.uk/postgraduate-study/funding-postgraduate-study/employer-sponsorship
You may be entitled to claim benefits from the government while you study. Information on this can be obtained from – Fees and Finance @ NUS https://www.nus.org.uk/more/faqs/fees-and-finance (Covers England, Wales, NI) Student Information Scotland – Funding, Finance and Student Life (For Scottish domiciled students). https://www.studentinformation.gov.scot/
QMU offers a Finance Advice service which exists to provide information and guidance for all students regarding the funding available to them. If you require further advice on funding then please contact Bill Stronach, Student Funding Adviser, Student Services on: studentfunding@qmu.ac.uk or phone 0131 474 0000 and ask for ‘Bill Stronach’ or ‘Student Services’.
Trusts and Foundations
You may be able to apply for support from a Trust or Foundation. Money applied for does not need to be paid back unless stated otherwise. Trusts and Foundations are extremely varied with their requirements, so it is worth taking a look to see if you fit the criteria. It is advisable to contact the trust beforehand to check if they have deadlines for submissions and that they are open.
– Lists of grants appear in the following books, which you can loan at your local library:
1) Educational Grants Directory
2) Charities Digest
3) Grants Register
4) Directory of Grant Making Trusts
5) The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding (can be google searched)
You can also search online at:
Funding postgraduate study | Prospects.ac.uk
Postgraduate Funding | Scholarships and Student Bursaries (postgraduatesearch.com)
Below is a list of trusts that provide funding to individuals for educational purposes. You may wish to research the application requirements of these funds.
| Glasgow Educational and Marshall Trust (applicants living in Glasgow) Merchants House of Glasgow 7 West George Street Glasgow G2 1BA | Dundee Educational Trust (assists students who belong to Dundee) 13 Ward Road Dundee DD1 1LU |
| Stirlingshire Educational Trust (applicants belonging to the county of Stirling) Clerk and Treasurer 68 Port Street Stirling FK8 2LJ | Women’s Careers Foundation Girls of the Realm Guild 2 Watch Oak Tunbridge Wells TN3 9TP |
| Perth & Kinross Educational Trust (must have been educated in Perth & Kinross) Trust Administrator Education & Children’s Services Perth PH1 5GD | Merchant Company of Edinburgh Charitable Trust The Secretary and Chamberlain The Merchants’ Hall The Edinburgh Merchant Company 22 Hanover Street Edinburgh EH2 2EP |
| Renfrewshire Educational Trust (individuals within the Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde areas) Renfrewshire Council (Corporate Services Dept) Paisley PA1 1TR | East Lothian Educational Trust (residents in the former county of East Lothian) John Muir House Council Buildings Haddington EH41 3HA |
| The Sutherland Trust 172 Leith Walk Edinburgh EH6 5EA | George Heim Memorial Trust Wearne Wyche Picts Hill Langport TA10 9AA |
| Thomas Wall Trust 8 Dowgate Hill London EC4R 2SP |