Masters - how long do they last/how much are the fees?

[BIWI]

DC1 has decided he would like to go back to university to do a Masters.

We think this is a great idea for him, but we're concerned about how he will be able to afford it - can he get (another) student loan?

We know nothing about Masters degrees - how long they take and how much - do the fees/length of course depend on the course or university?

We're prepared to help him out, but need to know what we might be in for!

Usually a year unless it's a vocational course. Usually can't get a student loan but should be able to get a career development loan if they still exist. Mine cost £5k per year of tuition but I don't know if that's representative.

You can get a loan now! They last a year full time usually, two years part time. Loan of up to around £12k as long as you’ve not already got a masters (but you can still get one if you have a PGCE or other Post Grad Certificate).

There is a new loan called a postgraduate Masters loan. It covers the fees plus a chunk of living expenses although he would still need a part time job or savings to help support himself unless living at home.

He would be coming back home - there's no way he could support himself otherwise

@CodenameVillanelle not sure what would count as vocational - he wants to go into counselling as a career, so I'm guessing that is more likely to be seen as vocational than something in, say history or literature?

Oh, and he has already said he will be getting some kind of job. He should be able to get something part-time, as he has loads of experience in retail and hospitality.

I've got a masters in counselling, I took out a post grad lone to pay for it.

There was a one year route for my course that BACP have now advised the university to stop as it is too much content and placement for one year. I did mine over 2 years.

He should bear in mind that if ScopEd goes ahead with the current changes that are being proposed he might need to study for at least 3 years to meet the requirements of being anything other than a tier 1 practitioner.

Mine was around 7k in fees a few years ago (for the whole course not per year). He may also have to pay supervision fees on top if his placement doesn't cover those.

loan not lone

The fees mentioned so far on this thread seem quite low. It’s closer to £10k for many non-lab courses these days.

Just checked and fees for the course I did are now £7,410 for the two years (i.e. £3705 per year).

If he's young enough to be moving home he might find that he'd be considered a bit too young for a lot of counselling placements (some of them have minimum age requirements, not all).

He's 28 - does that count as too young?

... would be 29 before he started any course

28 should be fine!

Sports Psychology Masters, 1 year, covered by further student loan - £3000. Bargain (compared to £9000, anyway!)

Thank you!

Sports Psychology Masters, 1 year, covered by further student loan - £3000.

Which university (and when) is that? Most are now charging at least twice that for any masters degree.

Tbh don't want to be the voice of doom, but as counsellors earn on average £7k a year perhaps he could look at careers that involve counselling/coaching skills? It's notoriously hard to get FT work, working for low pay, charities etc and having to pay lots of extras (therapy/supervision/training) to keep professional registration up to date

I'm currently a counselling undergrad, looking to move into social work afterwards. However- the fees for the social work masters are £7,700 per year for two years, and the Max loan available is £11,222 for the entire course, so even just paying fees I'd be in a huge deficit, with no money to live from..,

It's ridiculous!

@InTheFamilyTree

Tbh don't want to be the voice of doom, but as counsellors earn on average £7k a year perhaps he could look at careers that involve counselling/coaching skills? It's notoriously hard to get FT work, working for low pay, charities etc and having to pay lots of extras (therapy/supervision/training) to keep professional registration up to date

If he trains as a counsellor he can then access roles that involve counselling and coaching skills.

It isn't a binary. A portfolio career is how most of us trained counsellors earn a (healthy) living.

To be clear, he's not looking to this from a profit motive - although he should undoubtedly be on a more stable, and higher salary than the retail and hospitality roles he has previously been/is currently working in.

It's about his self-worth and self-esteem, as well as a desire for more stability in his life - all of which have sadly been rather absent more recently.

Mine was one year, fees were £6,250 but I got an academic discount. You can get a £10k blanket loan from the government to cover fees and rent but it is payed off concurrently to your undergrad loan.

Mine was in 2016/17 btw

Thanks - that's all good to know!

@BIWI

To be clear, he's not looking to this from a profit motive - although he should undoubtedly be on a more stable, and higher salary than the retail and hospitality roles he has previously been/is currently working in.

It's about his self-worth and self-esteem, as well as a desire for more stability in his life - all of which have sadly been rather absent more recently.

There are plenty of counselling and counselling related roles out there, especially if he does it at Master's level.

He may not find one suitable full time job but I work a combination of freelance roles, private practice and teaching and do very well.

I love the variety, and everyone else in my cohort went on to work where they wanted to; some school counsellors, some NHS, others places like Relate.

It sounds like a great step for him.