Sutton Trust · 2021
This report investigates socioeconomic inequalities in access to postgraduate (master's and research) education in the UK, using large-scale graduate survey data covering 2012/13–2017/18. It finds that while master's loans introduced from 2016 have increased progression rates for all graduates and narrowed the gap between socioeconomic groups, disadvantaged students remain less likely to access postgraduate study — particularly at the most prestigious institutions. Postgraduate tuition fees have risen well beyond inflation, with the result that loan funding is increasingly insufficient to cover the full cost of study and living, especially at Russell Group universities.