Bursaries for postgraduate teacher training

Details of financial support for courses starting in the 2027 to 2028 academic year will be released soon.

If you want to do postgraduate teacher training in England that leads to qualified teacher status (QTS), you may be eligible for a bursary.

What are bursaries?

Postgraduate bursaries are tax-free payments you receive if you're training to teach certain subjects. You do not need to apply for a bursary, you'll automatically get one if you're eligible.

If you receive a bursary, you do not need to pay it back.

Bursaries are not available for:

  • every subject
  • salaried teacher training
Non-UK citizens: bursaries

Details of financial support for courses starting in the 2027 to 2028 academic year will be released soon.

What funding could I get for teacher training?

Eligibility for bursaries

You do not need to apply for a bursary. If you’re eligible, you’ll automatically receive it.

You must be eligible for student finance to receive a bursary. You’ll also need at least one of the following:

  • a bachelor’s degree class 2:2 (honours) or higher
  • a master’s degree
  • a PhD

If your course combines 2 subjects (for example, English and history), at least 50% of your course content must be made up of the bursary subject to be eligible.

How bursaries are paid

A bursary is paid over a minimum of 10 months by your teacher training provider across the duration of your course. They will confirm when you will get the payments.

You will not need to pay tax or National Insurance on bursary payments.

You do not have to pay a bursary back.

How to get a bursary

You do not need to apply for a bursary. When you apply for teacher training, your provider will check if you’re eligible for a bursary. If you are, your provider will confirm this in writing before you start your course.

Other funding options

If you’re not eligible for a bursary, there may be other funding options available, such as tuition fees and maintenance loans.

You may be eligible for a salaried teacher training course which means you’ll get paid while you train to teach. Some salaried teacher training courses may also come with fees. Check with individual providers for more information.

For advice on funding, you can speak to a teacher training adviser. They can help you work out what support you could be eligible for.

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