Funding for PGCE students
UK and EU postgraduates starting in 2013
If you enrol for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) you may be eligible for a bursary from the Teaching Agency as well as other government support to help cover the costs of your course.
Tuition fee loan
You can get a loan from the UK government to cover the cost of your tuition fees whilst you are studying. You start to pay back this student loan after you have left university and you are earning over £21,000 a year.
Maintenance grant
In addition to the student loan for living costs if you have a household income of less than £25,000 you are entitled to a full grant of £3,354 a year. If your household income is between £25,000 and £42,600 are entitled to a grant of between £3,354 and £50.
Grants do not have to be paid back.
More about the maintenance grant
Student loan for living costs
You can apply for a student loan from the government to help with costs such as accommodation, food and travel. The student loan for living costs does not have to be paid back until after you are working and earning more than £21,000 a year.
The amount you are eligible for depends on whether or not you live at your parents' home, your household income, and the size of the maintenance grant you are eligible for. A loan of up to £5,500 a year is available to students living away from home and studying outside London. A loan of up to £4,375 a year is available to students who continue to live at their parents’ home.
More about student loans for living costs
Help with living costs for EU students
If you have an EU passport but have been living in the UK for more than three years you may be able to apply for some help from the government to cover your living costs.
Find out if you qualify on the Directgov website
Teaching Agency training bursaries
The amount you are eligibe for depends on the subject you are training to teach.
| Your degree | Physics1 , mathematics1 , chemistry | Modern languages | Primary maths specialist2 | Other priority secondary3 and primary |
| 1st class | £20,000 | £20,000 | £11,000 | £9,000 |
| 2:1 | £15,000 | £15,000 | £6,000 | £4,000 |
| 2:2 | £12,000 | £12,000 | £0 | £0 |
| Free School Meals premium | 25% premium paid on the above bursaries/scholarships to School Direct trainees whose training is based in a school where more than 35% of pupils are eligible for free school meals | |||
1 Trainee teachers in physics and chemistry with a 2:1 or first are able to apply for scholarships with the relevant subject association group. The scholarships are worth £20,000 and trainees will be subject to a competitive process. Trainees who hold the scholarship will not also be eligible for the standard Department for Education (DfE) bursary. Trainees who are not awarded a scholarship will continue to be eligible for the standard bursaries in 2013/14.
2 The Secretary of State announced on 14 June that trainees with a B or better at maths A-level on the new maths primary specialist courses would receive an extra £2,000 bursary, up to a maximum of £11,000.
3 English, geography, history, computer science, Latin, Greek, music, biology and physical education.
Find out more
For details of how to apply and for further information contact our Faculty of Education and Sport.
For PGCE for secondary-school teaching
Adam Morley
Tel: 01273 643911
For PGCE for primary-school teaching
Eleanor James
Tel: 01273 643912
Or email deped@brighton.ac.uk
For further information see the Teaching Agency website
