Funding for a MSc?

[DrRingDing]

I'm bloomin confused about what access I will have to fund a MSc.

I'm going to apply for a course at Birkbeck (evening uni for adults working full time) but I need help with the course fees.

What funding is available for Herberts like myself?

 

[ViolentPanda]

I'm bloomin confused about what access I will have to fund a MSc.

I'm going to apply for a course at Birkbeck (evening uni for adults working full time) but I need help with the course fees.

What funding is available for Herberts like myself?

Frankly, not a lot, mate.

You can invest the price of a couple of dozen stamps, and a couple of days of library time in applying for various bursaries, but the probably won't cover more than a portion of the fees. I ended up scrimping the money for mine (part-time too) up and paying it out of my own pocket (thankfully, I quit drinking and smoking a long time ago). I could have applied for bursaries that would have covered about half my fees due to being disabled, but I didn't like the idea of being dependent on reapplying and actually getting the bursary in the second year. Have you already checked with Birkbeck's own courses and registration people as to what is available?

Oh, and IIRC you can get something akin to the old "career development loan" for a masters, but I'm not sure the repayment terms are anywhere near as acceptable as for a student loan.

 

[goldenecitrone]

Career development loan from Barclays or the Co-op. Start paying back when your masters is finished. Can pay it back over 2 to 5 years I think.

 

[Dovydaitis]

try www.prospects.ac.uk they have a section on funding for postgrad study. It is my current new best friend

 

[Mapped]

I went the career development loan route for my masters at Birkbeck. You can borrow 80% of the fees and pay back over 5 years. It's interest free until you finish. I'm paying back about £150p/m at the moment. I went with Barclays as I bank with them and got an instant approval.

You can get Masters funded by the research councils sometimes, but it's most likely that they'll do this as part of a longer program of research like a 3+1 yrs PhD + MSc. What study area are you looking at?

 

[DrRingDing]

Have you already checked with Birkbeck's own courses and registration people as to what is available?

I'm going to go to an open evening soon.

 

[DrRingDing]

Career development loan from Barclays or the Co-op. Start paying back when your masters is finished. Can pay it back over 2 to 5 years I think.

Nae chance. My credit rating is fucked.

 

[DrRingDing]

What study area are you looking at?

I'm going to apply for 2;

Cognition and Computation

Global Politics

 

[stuff_it]

I'm going to apply for 2;

Cognition and Computation

Global Politics

I for one welcome our new robotic overlords.

 

[DrRingDing]

I for one welcome our new robotic overlords.

Although in my head you're a bit of a Sarah Connor.

 

[stuff_it]

Although in my head you're a bit of a Sarah Connor.

You should ask the uni about other ways to make your money stretch as well, for instance at my uni the postgrads who are willing/foolish enough to be the responsible adult in charge of letting freshers who have lost their keys back in their rooms at night only pay 20% rent in halls...

 

[ViolentPanda]

Although in my head you're a bit of a Sarah Connor.

Linda Hamilton Sarah Connor, or Lena Headey Saarh Connor?

 

[DrRingDing]

Linda Hamilton Sarah Connor, or Lena Headey Saarh Connor?

The former of course. Not seen any of these new fangled spin offs.

 

[Mapped]

I'm going to apply for 2;

Cognition and Computation

Global Politics

On the politics one the Bloomsbury DTC offer 3+1 funding on global politics at Birkbeck, but this means a phd as well after and studying for many, many years part time http://www.bloomsburydtc.ac.uk/academic-clusters/politcs-and-international-studies

Cognition and Computation is an interesting area. I was recently involved a project proposal combining this area and digitising historic documents (didn't get funding ). I couldn't understand much of what they were talking about in meetings though

 

[8115]

Have you seen this page?

http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/finance/studentfinance/pgt_finance/pgt_academic

I haven't trawled through the links. I found it by googling on the assumption that a research masters would be more likely to be funded than a taught masters, which might be something else to think about. I don't know much about this, I think it's something that someone once told me. I don't know how easy it is to do a research masters if you aren't fresh out of undergraduate education.

I was thinking about anthropology and mental healthcare today but quickly rejected it on the basis that I don't want to sit around with a load of posh cunts for three years.

Good luck.