The following links take you to the relevant section of this page
- Studying a course at a Scottish institution
- Studying a course at a UK institution outside Scotland
- Studying a course at an institution outside the UK
- Change of course after you have received a funded place
Studying a course at a Scottish institution
The demand for awards for postgraduate study far exceeds the level of resources the government is able to devote to it. Therefore they limit the number of awards available by giving institutions an allocation of funded places which they allocate amongst eligible courses. This means that there is competition between courses and the number of awards available and between students for support for those courses.
We ask Scottish colleges and universities to put in a bid for courses they want us to support. The Postgraduate Students' Allowances Selection Committee decides the allocation of awards to Scottish institutions in May of each year.
We give the college or university an allocation of funded places and they decide how many places they wish to allocate to any eligible course. If your course is on the list and you meet our eligibility conditions, you should contact your course leader to find out if they will nominate you for a funded place.
If your university nominate you, they will provide you with the appropriate application form. If they do not nominate you for funding, we cannot offer you support with your tuition fees.
Studying a course at a UK institution outside Scotland
We will support a limited number of students on courses outside Scotland each year. There will be competition between students if the number of applications we receive is more than the number of available awards. If this happens, we will consider each application individually, taking account of the priority the Government places on the subject and the first degree the student already holds.
You must apply before 30 June 2010 if you want us to consider you for an award. You should check with us that your proposed course qualifies for support under the PSAS before you apply to us. Do not delay applying for an award if you do not have a firm offer of a place on the course or for any other reason as you may miss the closing date for acceptance. You should contact us on 0845 111 0244 and we will send you the appropriate application form. The closing date to apply for support is 30 June 2010.
Support is not available to students who want to study for a postgraduate diploma in one of the following subjects at an institution outside Scotland .
- Journalism
- Librarianship
- Personal assistant
- Secretarial studies
Studying a course outside the UK
Awards under the PSAS are limited to courses within the UK, with these four exceptions.
- Bologna Centre -
- College of Europe, Bruges -
- European University Institute, Florence -
Your institution must nominate you for one of the funded places. Once you have been nominated, you should contact us on 0845 111 0244 and we will send you the appropriate application form. The closing date to apply for support is 30 June 2010.
Change of course after you have received a funded place
If we offer you an award and you later want to change course, you will only be able to apply for another award if you did not take up your original place. That is, you did not start the course, we were able to recover the fees and the institution was able to give the place to another student.