If you studied a Masters whilst recieving universal credit, how much did it impact your claim?

[user2466]

Hi,

Id like to study a masters part time for two years and I currently receive universal credit. The goal is to find a better job and eventually come off of uc and work full time when DD is older and is in primary school.

The area of work I’d like to explore requires a Masters degree. I have an undergrad degree but would need to go back to uni. I have a house to run and a young DD so want to know how much it would impact me?

How would you pay for the masters in the first place?

Postgraduate loan

How old is your daughter as you will need to meet the conditions to receive UC which includes seeking and taking paid work if she's over three You can study but it needs to be around paid work not instead of.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students

In a nutshell you will still need to meet your work-related requirements and be available for work around your studies and it will affect your UC payments.

I already work part time

My daughter is three

I know it’ll affect my payments but if I can progress will be dependent on how much it impacts my payments

Unless you are very, very sure it will improve your earning power…. Getting into debt doesn’t seem like a brilliant idea.

what the graduate degree is in?

I looked into not quite this scenario a couple of years ago. The rules were quite clear. If you are studying and you are offered FULL TIME work, you had to be prepared to drop your course immediately. There was no option to study, want to work part-time, and hope to receive benefits for your part-time work aspirations.

It’ll depend if your masters is a science at Cambridge or a media studies at Portsmouth. Getting a masters doesn’t always secure higher payments. Unless you have have guarantee of this It seems a bit far fetched. You have a 3 year old, presumably alone?

Doesn't make a blind bit of difference, it's not classed as a normal debt, it doesn't affect mortgage applications, credit checks or anything like that. A student loan is an investment into your future. They also get written off when you're around 70 paid off or not.

I did an integrated Masters with the OU while on UC. It didn't affect my UC as the student loan payment is paid directly to the OU (it is paid through the undergraduate loan system). The postgrad Masters loan is treated differently I think as it comes into your bank account.

I had no work search requirements due to LCWRA and the OU study made no difference to that. I knew many other people studying (all at OU) who were able to claim UC and study, it never stops you from taking full time work and is always classified as part time study even if you are taking 120 credits (which would be considered full time at a non distance learning uni).

Universal Credit is horribly unfair to people who are trying to improve their situation by studying. It's short sighted to just push people into lifelong low paid work when they could do so much more. The old system was so much better.

Unless it’s open university

30% of the postgraduate loan is taken as income for UC purposes. The amount is then divided by the length of the course after a £110 monthly disregard.

for example postgraduate loan of 12,000 course is 24 months.

30% =3600

3600/24=150

150-110 =40

it would then be a £40 deduction from UC. The deductions are much less then undergrads.

you do need to take all loans available to you. otherwise UC will deduct them anyway.

But the OP will still have it deducted from her salary afterward. I don’t know a lot of people are very optimistic about further study but it’s really important to check that it will actually get you where you want to go.

Won’t have work requirements if maintenance loans are deducted

Honestly I would think really hard about what the degree is and get real world advice. I and many others have a masters. I don’t think it makes a blind bit of difference to our earnings compared to those that don’t.

There are probably a few unicorn courses where it does - but it’s unlikely so you need to check that out properly.

I lost my UC when I did my masters, but it was because I received a bursary which was counted £1 for £1 rather than 55p per £ as with earnings. It was 100% full time placement based and luckily UC agreed to no work commitments. I had the argument with UC and via my MP that if I studied on this course for two years, I would no longer be on UC at the end of it. But they would have rather I remained an admin assistant with a £500 top up each month forever….

So It's possible to do a Master’s degree, yet not be able to work? How is that then?

Obviously doing an OU degree involves sitting in your house with a computer and studying when you are able and having time off when you aren’t. I don’t know a single WFH job with as much flexibility as that. The OU degree isn’t a normal in-person degree with similar demands to a job.

Disabled people aren’t stupid, they’re disabled.