What is a postgraduate tuition fee loan?
Administered and applied for through Student Finance Northern Ireland, a postgraduate loan is a non-means-tested tuition fee loan. There’s no upper age limit, and you can apply whether you’re employed or not.
Eligibility
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You’ll need to be studying towards one of the following:
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a postgraduate certificate
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a postgraduate diploma, or
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a masters degree.
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Your qualification must have started after 01 August 2017.
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You’ll need to be ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland.
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You must not have previously had a postgraduate tuition fee loan.
How much will I receive?
Your loan will be paid directly to the OU. Depending on the qualification you choose to pursue, it can be paid over one, two, or three years.
You’ll get up to £10,000 and choose the amount you take out each year.
How do repayments work?
You’ll repay your loan the April after you graduate or leave the qualification.
Repayments only start once you earn £24,990 or more per year. Once you earn £24,990 and over, you’ll repay 9% of your income over the £24,990 threshold in affordable monthly instalments.
For example, if you earn an annual salary of £30,000, you’ll repay £450.90 that year (9% of £5,010). That’s just £37.50 a month.
Interest will be applied to your loan from the date the first payment is made to us.
If you’ve previously had an undergraduate loan, your postgraduate loan will be added to the outstanding balance. Meaning you’ll only have one repayment.
How do I apply?
You must apply directly through Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI).
Follow the steps below to ensure you secure your funding in time to start your chosen qualification.
1. Choose your OU qualification
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Choose your OU qualification from our list of available courses.
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Select your first module(s).
2. Register with SFNI
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Register with SFNI online.
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You’ll receive a Customer Reference Number (CRN) from them, which you’ll need during your OU module registration.
3. Start the loan application process
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Apply for the correct year of loan support – this depends on the start date of your qualification’s first module. If you’re uncertain, please email us.
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At the end of the loan application process, print your loan declaration and post it back to SFNI immediately with any required documentation and supporting evidence.
4. Complete your OU registration
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Email us your SFNI CRN.
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If your loan doesn’t cover the full cost of your module fees, at this point, we’ll ask you to pay the shortfall using an alternative payment method.
5. Complete your loan application
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SFNI will send you an Entitlement Letter showing how much you’ll receive.
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You’ll need to ensure you’ve signed the loan Declaration form online to have your loan fully approved.
