Hi Kristian,

(I'm sorry that no one else has replied to your question.) Five years ago at the age of 51 I began studying for an MA (part time over two years) in history, at a university in the midlands (and am now doing a PhD, also part-time). I saw the MA course advertised, and e-mailed the professor who ran the course. We then had a chat over the phone, and he was very happy to let me onto the course. I had a 2:1 BA in History of Art taken 28 years before, but he also admitted a chap aged 60 who had left school with only O-levels, but who had since undertaken some significant local history research. The point is that it was very much up to the professor to decide whom he admitted to his course, whatever their academic achievements.

So I suggest that you firstly look at the MAs that are available in subjects that interest you, and then e-mail the professors of a few to find out if they think you are suitable and whether your degree is sufficient to let you in. If you are keen enough then they may welcome you with open arms.

Best wishes,

William

On the forum I have only seen passing references to the new Doctoral Student Loans, which started this September, and thought that others might be interested to hear of my experience in applying for one.

I have applied for and, official acceptance of my Proposal permitting, will be commencing a PhD in First World War Studies at the University of Wolverhampton on 1 January 2019. I am aged 54, have a full-time job as a self-employed horticulturist (which provides a modest but sufficient income), and will be studying part-time over six years.

As a self-funder I applied online for a Doctoral Student Loan of £25,000 (which would nicely cover my tuition fees and some extra expenses, given that I will continue to work almost full-time), which was easy. I received the message that it would be four to six weeks before I would receive a decision.

In fact after just ten days, last week, I heard by post that I had been successful: the money will come into my bank account three times a year for six years starting in Jan 2019.

So the system is working OK (there are conditions - you have to be starting studying PhD on Sept 2018 or later, and you can't have certain other funding such as Research Council). For for those who are interested the details are here: https://www.gov.uk/doctoral-loan

William