The Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) has announced it will now be providing a loan of up to £10,000 for all students studying a taught postgraduate course.
The award will be available to Scottish domiciled students, and will comprise of a tuition fee loan of up to £5500, and living cost loan of up to £4500.
Students studying part-time courses will also be eligible for funding, and can apply for a tuition fee loan of £2750 per year for the two years of their course.
The news will be warmly received by students considering postgraduate courses in 2017/18, with Stirling reportedly hosting over 3000 postgraduate students.
Matt Adie, VP Education, said: “The government’s decision to introduce a universal student loan entitlement for postgraduate programmes from 2017/18 takes a big step towards tackling one of the largest barriers students face in accessing postgraduate study.
“These loans, designed to cover both tuition and living costs, will contribute towards making postgraduate study attainable for all.
“That said, whilst we welcome this development there is still a pressing need for the government to invest more within the Scottish higher education sector to address the growing funding gap and ensure Scotland’s universities to continue to lead the way in terms of the student experience they offer.
“It’s only through this, that we can assure positive developments, like the postgraduate loan entitlement, do not come at the expense of rUK and International students.”
Stirling University said it welcomed the new funding arrangements, and praised SAAS on distinguishing between the tuition and living cost loans.
The university added: “The University of Stirling has significantly expanded taught postgraduate places and will continue to grow the number and variety of taught postgraduate courses to upskill students from across Scotland, the United Kingdom and internationally.”
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