Graduate student loan provider Prodigy Finance has added more than 1,000 new postgraduate courses to its loan offer as it responds to an increase in demand for STEM programs.
Of the courses added to Prodigy, 800 will be in STEM subjects – half of that total in science courses.
“The main focus of this expansion is really embracing the overall growth of STEM,” Joel Frisch head of Business Development at Prodigy Finance said.
“It’s a really substantial move because of the breadth of courses and schools”
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates STEM jobs will grow 8.8% by 2028, compared to 5% for non-STEM jobs, the company noted.
According to Prodigy, the new courses complement the company’s “historic strength in business and engineering programs”.
“The continued expansion [is] moving the business to where the interests are in the economy and the jobs, but also for the schools and their programs,” Frisch added.
“And [we] continue to do that in a smart way, so that the students are funding their programs in a smart way where they can responsibly repay them and put them on the path to success.
“It’s a really substantial move because of the breadth of courses and schools,” he said.
Demand for STEM program from international postgraduates is overtaking business programs, according to Prodigy.
More than 100 new university partners have also been added to Prodigy Finance’s offering, primarily in the US and Canada.
“We are also considering some of these programs in Western Europe, and they’ll be included in part of the expansion but the majority of the new programs will be in the US and Canada,” Frisch told The PIE News.
Prodigy Finance has funded more than $900 million in graduate education loans to almost 19,000 students since it was established. Funding for the new courses is tied to 2018 investment from the likes of Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, in addition to “arrangements that are in the works”, according to Frisch.
“It’s all tied into the longer-term strategy that we have been working on for a while,” he said.
