Durham Master's Bursaries are intended to support UK students from low-and middle-income backgrounds who wish to enhance their skills and knowledge by undertaking a postgraduate programme of study.
The majority of taught and research master's programmes are eligible.
The following programmes are not eligible:
Full-time taught master's students - £3,000 paid into your bank account in termly instalments (subject to you remaining a fully registered student throughout your studies)
Full-time research master's students - £2,000 paid into your bank account in termly instalments (subject to you remaining a fully registered student throughout your studies)
If you are studying a full-time two-year master's programme, including an MSW, payments will be limited to your first year of study.
Part-time students will be paid pro rata at 50% per year for each of their two years of study.
Most taught and research master's programmes are eligible.
To be eligible for the Durham Master's Bursary, applicants must:
The table below shows the relevant household income / maintenance loan amounts for students assessed by Student Finance England.
*Different figures apply if you were living in London, or at home with your parents, in your final year of undergraduate study, or if you were income-assessed by Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI), Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) or Student Finance Wales (SFW).
If you are unsure about your eligibility, please contact grants.bursaries@durham.ac.uk.
Applicants' eligibility for Durham Masters Bursaries may be demonstrated only by their household income, as assessed by Student Finance England (or equivalent) in their final year of undergraduate study. The only acceptable evidence is household income provided to Durham University via the Student Loans Company HE Portal (for Durham Graduates) or a student finance notification showing the amount of maintenance loan received (for non-Durham Graduates). Applicants may not demonstrate their household income by other means, e.g., parents' P60s.
Any other queries about eligibility? Contact us for advice.
To be eligible for the Durham Master's Bursary, you need to have a postgraduate offer for an eligible programme at Durham University starting in October 2026.
In addition to submitting the academic application above, complete the Durham Master's Bursary online application.
Durham Master's Bursary Application Form
Durham Graduates
You don't need to submit any evidence after submitting your online application form. We will verify your household income, as assessed by Student Finance England (or equivalent) in your final year of undergraduate study, via the interface between the Student Loans Company and Durham University ("the HE Portal").
Non-Durham Graduates
Please email the following evidence to grants.bursaries@durham.ac.uk.
A copy of your student finance notification from Student Finance England (or equivalent) confirming the total maintenance loan awarded to you for the final year of your undergraduate degree programme.
This serves as a proxy for your household income, as assessed by Student Finance England (or the equivalent). On rare occasions, the maintenance loan awarded is less than the amount to which a student's household income entitles them (usually due to an overpayment in a previous academic year). If this applies to you, please send us the relevant correspondence from Student Finance England (or the equivalent).
Please note that applicants' eligibility for Durham Masters Bursaries may be demonstrated only by their household income in their final year of undergraduate study, as assessed by Student Finance England or an equivalent body (for which the amount of maintenance loan received serves as a proxy for non-Durham Graduates). We will not accept any other evidence of household income apart from:
Please note: as Postgraduate Master's Loans are not income-assessed, they cannot serve as evidence of eligibility for the Durham Master's Bursary Scheme.
Bursaries will be awarded on a "first-come, first-served" basis to eligible applicants.
Applications will close once the final bursary has been awarded and a suitable number of reserve applications have been received.
We will update this page and disable the online application form as soon as applications close.
Applicants on the reserve list will be notified that they are on the list, and if a bursary becomes available to them (i.e. due to a bursary awardee not taking up their offer of a place at the University, being awarded another University-administered scholarship or withdrawing their application for any other reason).
The reserve list will be ordered on a "first-come, first-served" basis.
Successful applicants with an undergraduate degree from Durham University will also be eligible for the Alumni Fee Scholarship, i.e. the Durham Masters Bursary and the Alumni Fee Scholarship can be held at the same time.
The Durham Masters Bursary cannot be held at the same time as any other University-administered scholarship.
Durham Masters Bursaries are awarded at the University's discretion, and the University is not responsible for applicants unable to submit timely applications, except where the delay is demonstrably due to University IT failure.
In the event of any dispute, applicants' eligibility for Durham Masters Bursaries will be determined by the Head of the Student Immigration and Funding Service (or their deputy), whose decision will be final.
Successful applicants with an undergraduate degree from Durham University are also eligible for the Alumni Fee Scholarship; i.e. the Durham Master's Bursary and the Alumni Fee Scholarship can be held at the same time.
Please note: the Durham Master's Bursary cannot be held alongside any other University-administered award. If you are awarded a Durham Master's Bursary and accept another University-administered award, you will be required to decline the Durham Master's Bursary.
If you have any questions about whether you are eligible for a bursary or the application process, get in touch with the Student Funding Office:
Durham University
Palatine Centre
Stockton Road
DH1 3LE, UK
0191 3348997
Durham University makes every effort to ensure that the information published or contained on its website is accurate. However, the University cannot guarantee the information may not subsequently be altered owing to circumstances beyond the University's reasonable control. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) changes in Government policy or change of law. Whilst any changes will be incorporated into the University's website any person wishing to clarify the details of a particular scholarship/s should contact scholarships.advice@durham.ac.uk.
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