How much can you actually borrow for an MS or MBA abroad?

"How much can I borrow" sounds like it should have one clean number attached to it. It does not, because the real ceiling on any education loan is not really set by a lender's appetite, it is set by what your school says your programme costs. Here is how that ceiling actually works, broken down by degree type and destination, and where Prodigy Finance's own limits fit in.

What actually sets the borrowing limit

Two things determine how much you can borrow: your school's stated cost of attendance (COA), and the lender's own maximum. Your school's COA covers tuition plus an estimated living allowance for one academic year, and it is the figure a lender uses as the ceiling for what it will fund, regardless of how much you might want to borrow. On top of that, a lender applies its own cap and its own assessment of your specific application. So the honest way to think about "how much can I borrow" is: the smaller of your school's cost of attendance, and your lender's stated maximum, subject to their assessment of your application.

Prodigy Finance's own position, stated plainly

Prodigy Finance can fund up to 100% of your total cost of attendance, up to a maximum of USD 220,000*, subject to the cost-of-attendance limits set by your school and to our eligibility, funding and credit assessment criteria. There is no co-signer and no collateral required; your application is assessed on your admission, your programme, and your future earning potential. Funds are disbursed directly to your school rather than to you personally. A USD 500 processing fee is the only upfront fee.

If you have already paid an enrolment deposit to your school, you can also request a loan increase to cover it, from a minimum of USD 1,000 and capped at 50% of your tuition cost*. See how we can refund your university enrolment deposit for the details.

What this means in practice: if your school's cost of attendance for your MBA is, say, USD 90,000 for the full programme, that is your effective ceiling, not the USD 220,000 headline maximum. The USD 220,000 figure matters most for longer or higher-cost programmes where cost of attendance itself is very high.

How the ceiling differs by degree type

Cost of attendance, and therefore how much you are likely to need and be able to borrow, varies significantly by degree type:

• MS and other one to two-year master's programmes: typically the lower end of the cost range, though this varies enormously by school, subject and country. A technical MS at a public university generally costs a fraction of a two-year MBA at a leading business school.

• MBA programmes: generally the highest cost of attendance among master's-level programmes, particularly at well-known business schools, because tuition is high and living costs in the cities where top schools are based add to it. The Graduate Management Admission Council's Cost of MBA Report 2026 puts the average total cost (tuition, living expenses, health cover and materials) of studying at a top-ranked MBA at around USD 180,000, with individual programmes ranging from roughly USD 45,000 to over USD 280,000. Where your target programme sits in that range shapes how much financing you will need. Treat any specific figure as indicative, and confirm the current number directly with your target school.

• Other specialised master's (e.g. finance, data science, engineering): costs sit across a wide range depending on school prestige and country, generally between the MS and MBA bands above.

How the ceiling differs by destination

Destination affects cost of attendance through both tuition norms and living costs. As general patterns rather than fixed figures (confirm current tuition directly with your target school in every case):

• United States: among the highest-cost destinations for both MS and MBA study, driven by tuition and city living costs, particularly in New York, Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area. See our US study destination page for destination-specific detail.

• United Kingdom: generally lower total cost than the top US programmes for a comparable one-year master's, partly because many UK master's programmes run a single year rather than two. See our UK study destination page.

• Germany: public universities often charge little to no tuition, though a student visa still requires proof of funds, commonly via a blocked account. As of recent checks, the standard blocked-account requirement is EUR 11,904 for the year (about EUR 992 a month); confirm the current figure with your local German mission before relying on it (Expatrio, blocked account guidance). See our Germany study destination page.

• France: costs vary widely, from modest public-university tuition to significantly higher fees at leading business schools such as INSEAD; Paris living costs also push total cost of attendance up compared with smaller French cities. See our France study destination page.

• Canada: costs vary a great deal by city and institution. See our Canada study destination page.

• Australia: cost of attendance sits across a wide range depending on city and institution. See our Australia study destination page.

Because these figures shift year to year and school to school, treat every number above as a planning range rather than a quote, and always confirm your specific programme's current cost of attendance directly with the school's financial aid or international office.

Why the school's cap matters more than the lender's maximum

It is worth repeating this because it trips people up: no lender, including Prodigy Finance, will fund beyond what your school states as your cost of attendance for your programme, no matter how high that lender's own maximum is. If your school's COA is USD 60,000 and a lender's stated maximum is USD 220,000, your effective borrowing ceiling is USD 60,000, not the lender's headline figure. This is a school-driven limit, not a lending-appetite limit, and it applies across the industry, not just to one lender.

What if your MBA costs more than USD 220,000?

For the most expensive programmes, at the very top of the GMAC cost range, a single loan may not stretch to the full total cost of attendance. In that case, many students combine funding sources: a Prodigy Finance loan for the bulk of it, alongside a scholarship, savings, or a smaller top-up loan from elsewhere. Running your specific numbers through our loan calculator early, ideally before you accept an offer, gives you a realistic picture of any gap well in advance.

How to work out roughly how much you will need

• Get your school's official cost of attendance figure in writing, not an estimate from a forum or ranking site.

• Add any costs your school's COA figure might not fully capture, such as visa fees, travel, or a blocked account requirement in destinations like Germany.

• Subtract any confirmed scholarship or grant funding, and any savings or family contribution you are certain of.

• The remainder is roughly what you need to borrow. Run that figure through a loan calculator to see what a realistic monthly repayment could look like once you are working.

Get a real number for your own programme

General ranges are useful for planning, but the number that actually matters is the one specific to your school, your programme and your circumstances. Checking takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.

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Disclaimer

*Loan and promotion offers are subject to our eligibility, funding, and credit assessment criteria. Loan amounts are subject to the cost of attendance limits set by schools.