Yes. Disabled Students' Allowance covers master's and postgraduate students too, on the same single allowance of up to £27,783 for 2025/26 and 2026/27, if you get Student Finance England postgraduate funding. There is no smaller, separate postgraduate pot: the ceiling is the same for postgraduates as for undergraduates in England.
The eligibility rule
Three things have to be true. You qualify for Student Finance England funding for the course (a postgraduate master's loan counts; a Tuition Fee Loan on its own does not). Your course lasts at least one year, and full-time, part-time and distance learning all qualify, with part-time study at a minimum of 25% intensity. And you meet the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability: a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial, long-term effect on your normal day-to-day activities. That definition expressly takes in long-term health conditions, mental-health conditions, and specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia.
DSA is not means-tested, so your income does not come into it, and a needs assessment then sets the actual support, not a cash sum. You do not need a formal diagnosis as such, only evidence that you meet that definition, whether you have a formal diagnosis or medical or diagnostic evidence of a long-term condition. For a specific learning difficulty, that evidence is usually a diagnostic assessment. You can read more on what counts in our guide to the evidence you need for DSA.
Who does not qualify
Qualifying and being granted DSA are not the same thing, and there are exclusions students miss. You cannot get Student Finance England DSA if:
- you only get a Tuition Fee Loan, with no maintenance or postgraduate funding;
- you get equivalent disability support from another source, such as your university or a social-work bursary;
- you are on the separate NHS Disabled Students' Allowances scheme; or
- you are on a higher or degree apprenticeship.
The £27,783 figure and these rules are England-only, set by Student Finance England. Wales, Scotland (through SAAS) and Northern Ireland run their own DSA schemes with different maxima, so you apply to your own home-nation funding body, not to England's.
How to apply
Apply directly to Student Finance England, using the DSA1 form or the shorter DSA Slim form, and send evidence of your disability. A needs assessment then works out the specific support, which can fund a specialist mentor, a study-skills tutor, and assistive technology again at master's level, just as it could as an undergraduate. The full route is set out in our step-by-step on applying for DSA, and gov.uk lists the current postgraduate eligibility rules in full.
Where the law comes from
- GOV.UK: Disabled Students' Allowance (what you'll get, 2025/26 and 2026/27)
- GOV.UK: Disabled Students' Allowance eligibility
- Student Loans Company: postgraduate DSA eligibility (practitioners)
- Equality Act 2010, section 6 (definition of disability)
- Disability Rights UK: funding postgraduate education for disabled students
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.