Financial Support
Full-Time, UK, self-financing students have an opportunity to apply for loans through NEFirst Credit Union Limited or the Student Loans Company.
UK and EU doctoral students can apply for a Doctoral Loan through Student Finance England, of up to £25,000 for the duration of the course.
Please consult Durham University's central scholarships and bursaries and the Faculty of Arts postgraduate funding pages for up-to-date fees information and additional funding opportunities. Below are some of the most relevant funding opportunities for English Studies through:
MA funding
Alumni fee discount
Durham alumni qualify for a 25% discount on tuition fees (home or overseas) for any taught postgraduate programme in the Arts and Humanities Faculty. Please see the Faculty website for further information.
Funding competitions for both Northern Bridge and Durham Doctoral Studentships are now open. For more information, please review the following video. You can also download the slides from this presentation on PhD applications.
Research Assistantships
The Department regularly sets up several small Research Assistantships, partly to offer research students in Durham training in subject specific skills. Research Students are paid (£300-500) to help with the research project of a member of staff.
Self-funding
Many of our students are able to combine study with part-time work. The Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre is able to help students to find and apply for local jobs in and around Durham and Stockton.
For Taught students from the UK, who are studying full time and self-financing, the University offers the opportunity to apply for a Postgraduate Tuition Fee Loan of up to £7,000, to cover the cost of fees.
Further Information
For all further enquiries about applying for admission and applying for the funding schemes, please contact english.pgadmissions@durham.ac.uk. See the University's central Postgraduate Funding pages for other ways of financing your studies.
Postgraduate Funding Opportunities

Postgraduate funding opportunities - find out more about scholarships available for postgraduate study.
Fees and Funding
Further information relating to the fees and costs of postgraduate study and the range of funding sources available.
New postgraduate funding source

Working in partnership with an established credit union, Durham University is delighted to be able to offer UK postgraduate taught students of all ages the opportunity of applying for low cost ethical loans. Find out more about the Durham University NEFirst Postgraduate Loan Scheme.