Appendix 1 – PSS Qualifying Masters Courses
The Postgraduate Scholarships Scheme (PSS) 2015/16
GUIDANCE NOTES
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Plymouth procedures
Qualifying Courses (Appendix 1)
Background notes from HEFCE (Appendix 2)
The following notes apply to the PSS 2015/16 as applied by
Plymouth University and applicants must comply with these
guidance notes. Background notes from HEFCE on the PSS are
given in Appendix 2 for information.
1. Applications will be considered from students proposing to study in FT or PT mode.
PT students must be intending to complete their full Masters degree within 2 years of
commencing study. PT students will receive 50% of the full-time scholarship in each
of 2 successive academic years.
2. The £10,000 scholarship will be split as £5,000 as a fee waiver and £5,000 as a
maintenance allowance. If the fees for the course are less than £5,000 then the
balance will be added to the maintenance allowance. If the fees are more than
£5,000 then the student will be liable for the difference. Maintenance allowance will
be paid in instalments through the academic year.
3. Applications will only be considered from students who have studied their
undergraduate degree whilst paying the higher level tuition fees, i.e. studying since
2012.
4. Plymouth University will be targeting its allocation of scholarships under the PSS to
the widening participation (WP) agenda.
5. The following Eligibility Criteria have been agreed by Plymouth University PSS
Selection Panel.
6. Essential Eligibility Criteria (Qualifying student)
a. For your undergraduate studies, did you pay the higher tuition fees? This will
apply to you if you started your ug studies after 2012 (the majority of
applicants will be 2015 graduates, but some fast-track 2 yr degree graduates
may have graduated in 2014).
b. Are you a UK or EU citizen and domiciled in the UK or EU? (this scheme is
for UK & EU citizens only, overseas students are ineligible)
c. Does your course qualify? This scheme only applies to HEFCE identified
qualifying Masters courses selected by the University (see Appendix 1). It
does not apply to PGCE, PGCert, PGDip or any professional development
CPD courses. It does not apply to Masters courses normally supported by
other funding bodies such as the NHS or the NCTL/TDA. It does not apply to
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Appendix 1 – PSS Qualifying Masters Courses
The Postgraduate Scholarships Scheme (PSS) 2015/16
research degree courses ResM, MPhil, PhD or to any Professional Doctoral
degree DClinPsy, EdD, DBA, DPA.
d. Have you applied for and secured an offer on a qualifying Masters course
starting in the 2015/16 academic year? If you have not yet applied then you
must first apply for a course and preferably have received an offer before you
can submit a Scholarship application. Students who have applied but are
waiting for an Offer letter can still apply for a scholarship, the University will
check that you hold an offer at the Selection Panel in July.
7. Additional Eligibility Criteria (Widening Participation)
To be fully eligible for consideration for a PSS £10K scholarship you need to fulfil at
least one of the following criteria for widening the participation of applicants from underrepresented groups.
a. Is your permanent address in an area defined as having low participation
rates in Higher Education as defined by HEFCE. This is defined as the
POLAR quintile you/your family live in. POLAR quintiles 1 & 2 will qualify you
for eligibility. You can check your POLAR quintile on the interactive map on
the following HEFCE website:
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/analysis/yp/POLAR/Map,of,young,participation,areas/
b. Are you in receipt of Disability Allowance (DAS) or have been assessed
as having a Disability by Plymouth University or any other UK University,
and can provide evidence of this? Applicants with Disabilities will qualify you
for eligibility.
c. Are you a Carer? Do you care for an invalided spouse, elderly
parents/relatives, school age or pre-school age children? If you are a Carer
and can evidence this then you will qualify for eligibility.
d. Are you a Care leaver? If you were in Care prior to studying your
undergraduate studies then you will qualify for eligibility.
e. Are you a mature student and will be over the age of 30 by 1st September
2015? Mature students are under-represented on Masters courses and being
mature will qualify you for eligibility.
f. Did you receive a means-tested Maintenance Grant to study for your
undergraduate degree? If you can evidence this then you will qualify for
eligibility.
g. Gender balance.
i. Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) are
an under-represented group at Masters level, so for all eligible
courses in the Faculty of Science and Environment then being Female
will qualify you for eligibility.
ii. Men in Health subjects are under-represented at Masters level, so for
the following courses, MSc Psychological Research Methods, MSc
Psychology, MA Social Work and MA Occupational Therapy, then
being Male will qualify you for eligibility.
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Appendix 1 – PSS Qualifying Masters Courses
The Postgraduate Scholarships Scheme (PSS) 2015/16
8. Once the eligible pool of applicants is determined then scholarships will be allocated
at random, pro rata across all qualifying Masters courses.
9. Before a student applies for a PSS scholarship, they must hold an offer or be
anticipating an offer (i.e. have made an application) to a Qualifying Masters course
within one of the faculties of Plymouth University. The list of Qualifying Masters
courses at Plymouth University is given in Appendix 1. Scholarship applications from
students not holding an offer or with an application pending will not qualify under
Essential eligibility criteria and will not be considered by the Selection Panel.
10. The scheme is not open to students studying PGCE, PGCert, PGDip, CPD, PreMasters, Exchange Masters or research degrees (ResM, MPhil, PhD, Professional
Doctorate).
11. Applicants must be UK or EU nationals and domiciled in the UK or EU. This scheme
is not open to overseas student applicants.
12. The scheme is open to students studying in Full-time (FT) and Part-time (PT) mode,
but their course must be completed within 2 years of the start date. Two year fulltime courses e.g. MA Social Work are eligible.
13. Intercalating medical/dental students are eligible if they commenced their studies in
2012 and are intercalating to a FT masters in 2015/16.
14. Applicants already holding a Masters level qualification are ineligible under HEFCE
ELQ (Equivalent Level Qualification) rules.
15. Allocation of Scholarships. Applications will be pre-screened to ensure compliance
with the Essential criteria and ineligible applications will not be evaluated further.
Applications qualifying under the essential criteria will be passed to the Selection
Committee to assess and verify the widening participation criteria for the Additional
eligibility. Applications qualifying under Additional criteria will be placed into the PSS
eligible pool. Allocation of scholarships will then be carried out at random across the
PSS eligible pool of applicants. Unallocated scholarships from any single course or
from a particular faculty due to lack of demand will be recycled to other
courses/faculties where excess applications exist and allocated randomly.
16. Successful applicants will be informed within a month of the closing date and will
have a further month to accept or decline their scholarship.
17. Drop-outs/Withdrawals. If a scholarship holder drops-out (withdraws) from their
course then the scholarship will be re-allocated if this occurs before or within 14 days
of the start of the autumn term 2015/16. The Selection Committee reserves the right
to reconsider the reallocation of scholarships after the start of autumn term on a case
by case basis.
18. Scholarship holders who withdraw from their studies will be liable to pay back all or
some of their scholarship commensurate with the duration of study undertaken in
accordance with University policy.
19. Alumni who are PSS Scholarship holders will forfeit their right to any Alumni fee
discount.
20. Application forms are available on the Scholarship page of the University’s website.
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Appendix 1 – PSS Qualifying Masters Courses
The Postgraduate Scholarships Scheme (PSS) 2015/16
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Appendix 1 – PSS Qualifying Masters Courses
The Postgraduate Scholarships Scheme (PSS) 2015/16
Key Dates
Applications for PSS opens on 15th March 2015
Applications for PSS closes on 17th July 2015
Decisions will be announced by 31st July 2015
Acceptance/Decline of a Scholarship will be required by 31st August 2015
Absence of acceptance/decline from a Scholarship awardee will result in the offer being
withdrawn and the scholarship being reallocated.
Appeals
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Applicants have a right of appeal if they believe that their application has been
mishandled or in the case of alleged neglect by the University.
Appeals should state the reasons for the why the applicant feels the process was
unfair or mishandled and provide evidence to support the claim.
All appeals must be lodged with the Appeals and Complaints Office within 14 working
days of receipt of notification to the applicant of the outcome of the Selection Panel.
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Appendix 1 – PSS Qualifying Masters Courses
The Postgraduate Scholarships Scheme (PSS) 2015/16
Appendix 1 – PSS Qualifying Masters Courses
School
Ref
School
Prog
Ref
Programme
3502
Plymouth Law School
3235
LLM Legal Practice
3502
Plymouth Law School
4812
LLM Marine Environmental Law and Sustainability
3502
Plymouth Law School
4813
MSc Criminology
3503
Plymouth School of Tourism and Hospitality
2413
MSc Tourism and Hospitality Management
3503
Plymouth School of Tourism and Hospitality
4334
3504
Plymouth School of Government
2557
MSc International Hospitality Management
MA International Relations: Global Security and
Development
3504
Plymouth School of Government
2679
MSc Public Management
3504
Plymouth School of Government
4802
MSc Social Research Methods
3504
Plymouth School of Government
4803
MSc Social Research Methods
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
1433
MSc Business and Management
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
2372
MSc International Shipping
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
3071
MSc Finance
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
3634
MSc Organizational Leadership
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
4328
MA Human Resource Management
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
4331
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
4482
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
4526
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
4527
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
4536
MA Human Resource Management
MSc International Procurement and Supply Chain
Management
MSc International Logistics and Supply Chain
Management
MSc International Procurement and Supply Chain
Management
MSc International Logistics and Supply Chain
Management
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
4878
MSc Business and Management
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5335
MSc Management
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5335
MSc Management
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5336
MSc Marketing Management
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5337
MSc Marketing and Innovation
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5338
MSc Finance and Investment
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5339
MSc Accounting and Finance
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5340
MSc International Finance
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5341
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5342
MSc Entrepreneurship
MSc Entrepreneurship and International
Development
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5343
MSc Operations and Supply Chain Management
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5344
MSc International Business
3511
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
5345
MSc Brand and Design Management
3511
5346
MSc Digital and Social Media Marketing
3101
Plymouth Graduate School of Management
School of Architecture, Design and
Environment
4688
MA Design
3102
School of Art and Media
2812
MA Publishing
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Appendix 1 – PSS Qualifying Masters Courses
The Postgraduate Scholarships Scheme (PSS) 2015/16
3102
School of Art and Media
3008
MRes Digital Art and Technology
3102
School of Art and Media
4040
MA Creativity and Enterprise
3102
School of Art and Media
4105
MA Contemporary Art Practice
3102
School of Art and Media
4316
MA Contemporary Art Practice
3102
School of Art and Media
4706
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
4494
MA Photography
MA Performance Training
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
4495
MFA Performance Training
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
4942
MA Choreography
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
4943
MFA Choreography
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
2810
MA Creative Writing
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
3568
MRes Art History
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
3570
MRes Theatre and Performance
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
3572
MRes English
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
3573
MRes History
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
4039
MRes Computer Music
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
4479
MA History
3103
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
4480
MA English and Culture
3106
Plymouth Institute of Education
3296
MSc Learning for Sustainability
3301
School of Health Professions
4080
MA Social Work
3301
School of Health Professions
4711
MSc Occupational Therapy (Pre-Registration)
3306
School of Psychology
1478
MSc Psychological Research Methods
3306
School of Psychology
3371
MSc Psychology
3402
School of Computing and Mathematics
2359
MSc Network Systems Engineering
3402
School of Computing and Mathematics
2558
MSc Robotics
3402
School of Computing and Mathematics
2559
MRes Robotics
3402
School of Computing and Mathematics
3836
MSc Computer and Information Security
3402
School of Computing and Mathematics
3839
MSc Computer Science
3402
School of Computing and Mathematics
4342
MSc Robotics Technology
3402
4676
MSc Electrical and Electronic Engineering
1905
MSc Sustainable Environmental Management
3607
MSc Environmental Consultancy
3403
School of Computing and Mathematics
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental
Sciences
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental
Sciences
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental
Sciences
4023
MSc Planning
3404
School of Marine Science and Engineering
1907
MRes Applied Marine Science
3404
School of Marine Science and Engineering
2217
MSc Applied Marine Science
3404
School of Marine Science and Engineering
2218
MSc Hydrography
3404
School of Marine Science and Engineering
2361
MRes Marine Biology
3404
School of Marine Science and Engineering
2367
MSc Civil Engineering
3404
School of Marine Science and Engineering
2370
MSc Coastal Engineering
3404
School of Marine Science and Engineering
4148
MSc Marine Renewable Energy
3403
3403
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Appendix 1 – PSS Qualifying Masters Courses
The Postgraduate Scholarships Scheme (PSS) 2015/16
3404
School of Marine Science and Engineering
4149
MRes Marine Renewable Energy
3410
School of Biological Sciences
2678
MSc Zoo Conservation Biology
3410
School of Biological Sciences
3606
MSc Sustainable Aquaculture
3606
School of Biomedical & Healthcare Sciences
4797
MSc Biomedical Science
4630
MSc Restorative Dentistry
4636
MSc Simulation and Patient Safety
3602
3601
Peninsula Dental School
Peninsula Medical School
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Appendix 1 – PSS Qualifying Masters Courses
The Postgraduate Scholarships Scheme (PSS) 2015/16
Appendix 2
Background
The following notes are reproduced from the HEFCE documentation on the
PSS 2015/16 sent to the University
1. In its Autumn Statement 2014, the Government confirmed that HEFCE would provide
£50 million to institutions during 2015-16, which with matched funding would enable
10,000 masters students each to receive a £10,000 contribution towards the cost of
their studies. This is intended to build upon the pilot Postgraduate Support Scheme
(PSS) during 2014-15, and to provide a bridge to the proposed implementation of a
loan scheme for masters students from 2016-17 onwards.
2. In November 2013, the Government announced that it would repurpose £50 million
from the National Scholarship Programme to support progression to taught
postgraduate education. It signalled that its approach to allocating the funding would
build upon lessons derived from the Postgraduate Support Scheme 2014-15, which
was launched by HEFCE in July 2013 to test innovative activity and finance models
to support progression and participation.
3. In the 2014 Autumn Statement, the Government confirmed its intention to introduce
income-contingent loans for students under 30 years old wishing to undertake a
postgraduate taught masters in any subject. These loans, of up to £10,000, are
planned to be available from 2016-17. The Government also indicated that, as a
bridge to this during 2015-16, HEFCE would allocate £50 million to enable institutions
to offer awards of £10,000 to students on a matched-funding basis.
4. The Government has agreed that we should focus the allocation on students who are
under-represented at taught postgraduate level. We know from previous HEFCE
research that students from the areas identified as lower participation at
undergraduate level are also less likely to progress directly to a masters course,
compounding the disparity at undergraduate level (see ‘Trends in young participation
in higher education’, HEFCE 2013/28). There have also been concerns about the
level of support for students who report a disability at postgraduate level, compared
with that available for undergraduates. The formula used to determine institutional
allocations is therefore based on the population of HEFCE-fundable masters
students in each institution who are from the lowest participation areas or in receipt of
a Disabled Students Allowance.
5. Awards should be restricted to students who are:
 progressing from an undergraduate course for which they were charged the
higher tuition fee applying since 2012-13
 undertaking masters courses in any subject
 studying full-time or part-time for a maximum of two years
 domiciled in the UK or European Union (EU)
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Appendix 1 – PSS Qualifying Masters Courses
The Postgraduate Scholarships Scheme (PSS) 2015/16

from a group that is evidentially under-represented among the institution’s taught
masters population.
6. In headline terms, the under-represented students supported in 2014-15 have for the
most part been from low-participation backgrounds at undergraduate level,
specifically those from low performing socio-economic areas, with disabilities, or with
characteristics that are under-represented in specific disciplines such as women in
Engineering.
7. To ensure funding reached the intended students, pilot projects developed
application processes to identify one or more of the following attributes:
 classification in the lowest quintiles of the Participation of Local Areas
(POLAR) measure
 disability
 household income
 status as a care leaver
 status as the first in a family to attend higher education
 receipt of benefits
 domiciled in the UK or EU.
 The institutions then used these criteria to determine eligibility for their
financial support.
8. The list above is not exhaustive, and institutions in 2015-16 may determine other
preferable criteria to use, reflecting the particular student and employer
constituencies with which they work.
9. PSS funding is intended to support HEFCE-fundable masters provision. It should not
be delivered to students undertaking non-HEFCE fundable provision, such as those
on courses funded by other public bodies, or students from outside the EU.
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