Department for Education written question – answered at on 20 January 2026.
Juliet Campbell
Labour, Broxtowe
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to remove the prohibition on student finance for applicants with PhDs wanting to study in Government-prioritised research fields.
Josh MacAlister
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education
The Postgraduate Doctoral Loan provides up to £30,301 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2025 and is intended as a contribution to the costs of PhD study.
Students who already have a doctoral degree, or a qualification that’s equivalent or higher, are not eligible for the Postgraduate Doctoral Loan.
There are no plans to change the eligibility criteria of Postgraduate Doctoral Loans.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
