Master's and postgraduate taught courses

Students should do a Master’s because I feel like it's just another opportunity to learn even more and to go deeper into your area of interest.

The Master’s sets me up for getting a higher level job after graduation, mainly due to modules that I wouldn't have otherwise learnt, and they're really good employability skills.

Most of the time when you go to the job market, they will always want to see what you've done when it comes to academic education.

Being able to make yourself stand out from the crowd by not only having your Bachelor's, you've also got a Master’s, you've demonstrated that deeper level of learning.

You've become a subject expert in your field.

You've proven that you can project manage on your own and you’ve gone that extra mile.

The first time I came to the University of Portsmouth, it gave me a feeling like I was already in the industry.

I get the chance to meet mentors, I get the chance to meet professionals and I get the chance to learn a lot, and the University itself offers a lot of opportunities for students to work on themselves and also improve themselves professionally and socially.

Since I struggle with dyslexia and dyspraxia, the University of Portsmouth can offer you so much support, not just in dyslexia but with other disabilities as well.

I received support from my course leader, from my tutors, and any question that I’ve had has always been answered.

I really truly believe that doing a Master’s qualification has enabled me to have the job that I actually wanted and to get as far as I have done.

If you'd like to find out more about postgraduate study, you can come along to one of our open evenings.

There's a wealth of information on our website.

-

6 Essentials for funding your Master's study

1. Tuition fees

Tuitions fees for Master's courses vary depending on the subject.

For most UK students, fees typically range from £7,800 to £10,900.

For international students, fees can be higher.

2. Fees

Most UK students use a postgraduate master's loan from Student Finance England to cover their tuition fees and living costs and the good thing about that is they don't have to start repaying it back until they're earning over £21,000 the April after they graduate.

The University of Portsmouth does allow me to pay in instalments rather than one big sum, and it does make it much easier
and manageable for me to fund myself for my master's.

3. Scholarship

You could get a £3,000 scholarship.

This is a discount off your master's tuition fees.

4. Discounts

Portsmouth graduates, both UK and international can benefit from a 20% discount on their tuition fees.

So the discounts really help me out because it's taken a little weight off my shoulders.

Without the discount, I wouldn't have been able to do this postgraduate degree.

It's been a great help for just general living, rent, so it was a lot easier life at uni.

It’s just giving me more time to do what I love at university.

5. Additional Funding

For additional funding, you can explore research councils, charities and trusts online or check out the alternative funding guide.

It's a great research facility that lists funding from over a thousand organisations.

As an international student, I can work up to 20 hours a week and that helps me to get some pocket money for my daily expenses and I can focus on my studies as well.

Once I graduated from my undergraduate degree, I was able to work full time as a game designer all the way till the end of summer so that I could save up and fund my master's study.

So I'm a self-funded PhD student.

I did my master's in pharmacy.

It was really important to have the alumni discount and it meant it was less pressure for me to have that funding in place.

6. Student Finance

So there's also additional financial support for those students who have caring responsibilities, such as a parent, those students who have a disability, and those students who have been care leavers.

So any student here has access to the student finance team where they can always find out more information about how to fund their studies.

Having that discount for a master’s really helps a lot more people get into that field of study, which has broadened the range of people who are able to do it.