Frequently asked questions

Get answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about applying for master's study, and other postgraduate taught programmes.

Does my reference need to be academic?

We require an academic reference to support your application and this should come from your current or most recent place of study (if you have already graduated). If it is impossible for you to obtain an academic reference, a reference from your employer may suffice but please contact us to check if this will be acceptable. For a limited number of programmes we may ask for both an academic and professional reference. If this applies to you, it will be clearly stated in your offer email.

More about submitting your reference

What is the difference between a conditional and unconditional offer?

If we have made you an unconditional offer, we are satisfied that you have met all of the entry requirements for your programme. Whilst we will not ask for further confirmation of your qualifications, we may ask you to prove you have your funding in place.

If you accept an unconditional offer, your status will be updated to 'Unconditional Firm' and you will be guaranteed a place on your programme.

If your place to study with us is conditional, your offer email will have included any academic or non-academic conditions that you will need to meet. When you have met the conditions of your offer, you can upload evidence of these to the application portal. Once all of your conditions have been met, your status will change to unconditional.

Example conditions include:

  • meet our English language requirements
  • provide one satisfactory reference on official letterheaded paper
  • obtain an upper second-class honours degree

You don't need to wait until you've met all of your conditions before accepting your offer - you can do this at any time in the application portal and your status will be updated to conditional provisional.

When is the deadline to accept my offer and meet any outstanding conditions?

All deadlines, including deadlines for applying, accepting and (for international students) paying your CAS deposit, are listed on our Key deadlines page.

How do I submit my results?

As soon as you have completed your previous academic studies and received your results, you should accept your offer via the Application Portal (if you have not already done so). You should also send us the following documents:

  • transcript of your degree studies, showing the individual modules/subjects and grades/marks. This should be on official headed paper and stamped or certified by your university
  • final degree certificate to show the title of your degree and class/mark awarded. This should be on official headed paper and stamped or certified by your university.
  • copy of your English language qualification if you have been asked to provide one.
  • If any of these documents are not in English, you should provide them both in the original language as well as translated into English. The translation must be done by an official translator and certified.
  • All documents should be submitted via the Application Portal, there is no need to email them separately. You can return to your application and upload documents at any time during the year.

How do I reply to my offer?

If you are made an offer for a postgraduate taught programme you will be emailed with your offer letter and a link to an offer booklet online. You can accept the offer from Loughborough by returning to the Application Portal. Here you can view a summary of your application, including your offer conditions. You can accept the offer by clicking on ‘Reply to Offer’ on the left hand side.

Please note: you do not have to wait until you have met all the conditions of your offer before replying to your offer.

If your offer is conditional on you achieving certain grades in your degree and/or an English language qualification, you will need to send us evidence that you have met these conditions.

What are the English language requirements? What can I do if I haven't fully met these yet?

All students are required to meet a minimum standard of English language ability and some departments require a higher minimum level. See our list of English language requirements for more information. 

There is no need for you to have completed your English language qualifications before you apply – most students are made offers conditional on achieving particular grades in their English language test.

If you have not fully met the English language requirements asked for in your offer, it is possible that the school/department may allow you to take one of our English language pre-sessional programmes.

Not all schools/departments will allow students to take an English language pre-sessional programme, so you should check the guidance carefully.

I've completed my studies but haven't graduated yet

We realise that some universities don’t hold their graduation ceremonies until later in the year. We can accept a copy of your final transcript plus a letter from your university to confirm that you have completed your degree and giving your final grade. We call this an award letter and it replaces the degree certificate.

Why do my documents have to be ‘certified’?

All documents submitted must be certified so the University can be sure they are genuine. A certified document must be on official university headed paper, and have at least one of the following:

  • A clear ink or impression stamp from the university that awarded the qualification.
  • An address stamp of the university that is signed and dated by an official of the university.
  • A stamp and signature of one of the University’s registered overseas Agents to confirm that they have seen the original document first hand.

If more than one page is submitted (for example, a degree certificate and one or more pages of transcript), all separate pages submitted must be certified in the same way.

Loughborough University may refuse to accept a document as being genuine if it is not satisfied that it is certified correctly, and may ask you to provide another copy. The University will not accept screen shots, on-line downloads or anything that is not on university headed paper as evidence of qualifications.

The University will seek to verify references if there is any doubt as to their authenticity.

Will I need an ATAS Certificate?

If you are not a UK national or settled in the UK and plan to undertake postgraduate study in the UK in certain science, engineering or technology subjects, you will need an ATAS certificate before you can apply for a visa or entry clearance. This will be clarified in your offer.

Find out more about ATAS certification here.

What funding options are available for master's students?

To help support the financial costs of further study, there are a variety of options available to you.

Firstly, we have an Alumni Bursary, offering 10% off tuition fees for self-funding postgraduate taught students who are not in receipt of any other University award and obtained their previous degree from Loughborough University.

Most schools and departments also offer a number of postgraduate scholarships to students who have applied for a taught programme, with awards of up to 20% towards your tuition fees. Please see here for the scholarships available for students studying at the London campus.

Please note that these awards are not cumulative – you will automatically be awarded the single highest value bursary or scholarship for which you qualify.

Funding may also be available from your government, such as the UK Government Postgraduate Loan, which is aimed at students ordinarily resident in England looking to study a master’s programme at a UK university. 

Scholarships may also be awarded by external organisations.

To check whether you are eligible to apply for these or to view your other funding options, please visit our website.

Some students choose to apply for part-time work to supplement their income. One of the most popular opportunities to do this is through the University’s Student Ambassador scheme which recruits students to help out at a wide range of events. Both the University and Students’ Union list a wide range of other vacancies, whilst our Careers Network can help you find and obtain part-time work.

If you are on a student visa, please be aware that there are strict rules governing how much you can work during your studies. Details can be found on our website.

What are the University term dates?

Our term dates can be found here.