Funding for an Undergraduate Masters Degree in the UK.

Dr. Strangelove 92

Hey,
I'm currently doing an Undergraduate Masters Degree in Engineering in Scotland and I'm really confused about funding for the last two years of my degree. I'm getting the student grant, and the county council has agreed to fund the first three year of my degree but the course last 5 years plus a year in the industry. This is a reply I got from the council last year:

"I note that your course of study is for 6 years and that your final award is a Masters in Engineering. Unfortunately,
postgraduate courses such as a masters, which are pursued outside of the island of Ireland are not eligible for funding
under the terms of the Higher Education Grant Scheme. Therefore, the undergraduate element of your course (the first 3 years)
is eligible for funding. After year 3 you will need to submit clarification from the college in relation to the level of
course you are pursuing before we could continue to fund your studies."

It seems that they assumed that it is a postgraduate course because its name is abbreviated to MEng, but it is an undergraduate course.
Some information I found online about undergraduate masters degrees:
"In the United Kingdom the MEng degree is the normative university-level qualification taken by people wishing to become chartered engineers registered with ECUK.
The degree is typically awarded to students who complete an extended undergraduate course lasting four years (five years in Scotland) when taken full-time.
The MEng degree represents the minimum educational standard required to become a chartered engineer."
"The Master of Engineering (MEng) is the highest award for undergraduate studies in engineering."

Does anyone know whether it is possible to get funding for the last two years of this degree in the UK ?

pow wow

Re. the last part of your post, funding from home or funding from the UK?

I can kind of see their point but do remember that the people who answer the emails are rarely the people who make the decisions so don't let the response you got panic you too much. However they may decide to split out what they feel is the 'postgraduate' component and not fund that. That may be the last year or the last two years. It really depends on how they decide to classify an undergraduate masters.

Are you close to needing an answer or is it a couple of years away yet?

Dr. Strangelove 92

Thanks for replying.

Regarding the last part, I meant funding from Ireland as I don't think that I'm eligible for funding (maintenance grant/loan) from the UK. My parents and consequently I as I'm not an independent mature student are resident in Ireland. However as far as I know SAAS will pay my tuition fees for all years.

I'm currently in second year, but I'd like to know as soon as possible, because I'll have to make a decision whether to stay on the current undergrad masters degree or whether to transfer to a usual bachelor of engineering. I'll also have to apply for an industrial placement 1 year in advance and I don't know how long the paperwork will take as I'll have to seek permission from the County Council before changing courses.

pow wow

They probably genuinely can't commit to it at this stage, mostly because decisions are generally made on a year to year basis and it tends to be a bit of a 'see how we feel about it' kind of thing when the time comes. You could try writing now and asking for clarification of how they've treated these courses in the past with regards to funding (hopefully you're not the only person in your area who has ever done an MEng in Scotland!) but honestly I suspect the reply you'll get is similar to the one you've had already. I'd very much doubt that they'd provide the grant for the full duration of your course. Whether they cut it off at 3 yrs or 4 yrs is probably what it will come down to in the end.

Are there any hardship funds or bursaries available for your uni? Or opportunities for funding from elsewhere?