Postgraduate fees, funding and money advice

These pages outline the tuition fees and financial support arrangements for home students joining a taught or research masters course.

We have tried to cover as much information as possible here, but eligibility rules for funding can be complex. If you want to speak to a member of the Money Advice Team, please do get in touch with us.

Please note
this information is not applicable for students studying on PGCE/PGDE courses, but more information can be found on our teacher training pages.

On this page we have information on:

• the tuition fees for your course
• any financial support which might be available from the government
• how and when to apply for your student finance
• how to repay your loans
• the LJMU Alumni Award

Please note
The financial support you might be eligible to receive for a postgraduate course varies depending on where in the UK you normally live and your individual circumstances.

Tuition fees

As a postgraduate student, you will be charged a tuition fee for each year of your course. Tuition fees for masters courses vary and if you are a current master’s student you will have been sent information regarding your fees prior to your course start.

For applicants to LJMU, information regarding tuition fee charges can be found on the specific course information pages on our website. Once you've found a course that you’re interested in, you'll find all the information about fees and funding on the course information page.

You can pay your tuition fees in instalments over the year and if you are taking out a master's loan you can align your tuition fee payments to the same dates you will receive your masters loan.

If you need to check the information about your fees or are unsure of any aspect of your tuition fees, please contact Registry Services who will be able to help you.

Postgraduate loans for masters courses

Postgraduate loans are different from the loans you may have received on your undergraduate course. In most cases, the money is paid to you and you must then
pay your tuition fees and budget for your living costs. In the main, the government sees these masters loans as a contribution towards master’s level study so it is important you understand the difference, know how much you can apply for and have worked out your budget accordingly.

The amount you can apply for varies dependant on where in the UK you normally live.

In the 2023/24 year, the maximum masters loan you can apply for is:

• Students from England – £12,167 (23/24)
• Students from Wales – £18,770 note this is paid as a grant and loan combination (23/24)
• Students from Northern Ireland – £6,500 (note this is a tuition fee loan and no funding is available for living costs) 2023/24 rate
• Students from Scotland – £7,000 plus £4,500 living costs loan (note this will only be offered where the course is not offered in Scotland) 2023/24 rate

Eligibility criteria and a link to apply can be found on the above websites.

The figures quoted are in total and not per year of study. Part-time students will be paid pro-rata over the course duration.

Repaying your masters loan

The way you repay your masters loan depends on where in the UK you normally live.

Students from Northern Ireland and Scotland will have the loans added to their undergraduate balance and will make one monthly repayment off the whole balance once your income goes over the threshold. Currently this threshold is £20,015 for Northern Ireland and £27,660 for students funded by Scotland.

Students from England and Wales will make a separate payment off their PG loan balance once their income goes over the PG loan repayment threshold – this is currently £21,000.

For more information, regarding loan repayments see the Student Loans Company website.

LJMU Alumni Award

If you’re a former Liverpool John Moores University student, you could be eligible for a 20% discount on your postgraduate tuition fees with our Alumni Award. The fee reduction will apply automatically to eligible students. You do not need to apply. The 20% reduction will be applied to all years of the postgraduate programme being studied, not just the first year and applies to Home LJMU graduates. 

To find out more about the LJMU Alumni Award, please contact the Academic Registry team.