If you are a UK undergraduate student studying for the first time, you can apply for the government-funded student loan package.
We will update this information once the UK government has confirmed details for academic year 2021–22.
Students resident in England
Starting in academic year 2021–22
Applications for undergraduate loans for 2021-22 open in February 2021.
The standard student finance package for UK students starting their course in academic year 2020–21 will include a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan. You may have access to extra help in certain circumstances, for example, if you have children or other caring responsibilities, or if you have a disability.
Check the Extra government funding for students section below to see if your circumstances qualify you for extra help.
Student loans must be paid back once have finished studying and are earning more than the repayment threshold, which will be £27,295 from 6 April 2021 (to be confirmed by government). The repayment threshold changes on 6 April each year.
Part-time students
If you are a part-time student resident in England starting an undergraduate course in academic year 2020–21, you can apply for a loan if you are studying at least 25% of the equivalent full-time course. You can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan for living costs. There's also extra help available if you have a disability. You can view further details on the Student Finance website.
Students on nursing, midwifery, allied health and paramedic science courses
The government has announced that new and continuing students studying nursing, midwifery and some allied health subjects will receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 from September 2020. Read more on the Council of Deans of Health website.
This information is for students starting one of the following pre-registration undergraduate or postgraduate courses in 2021: nursing (adult, child, mental health), midwifery, physiotherapy, podiatry, occupational therapy, diagnostic radiography, paramedic science.
If you are starting one of the above courses in 2021, you can apply for:
Student Loans
- The standard Student Finance England package of loans to cover tuition fees and living costs. This includes access to extra help in certain circumstances, for example, if you have children or other caring responsibilities, or if you have a disability.
- If you already have a degree, you can still access the full SFE undergraduate loan package for the above pre-registration courses in nursing midwifery and allied health, except for paramedic science.
NHS Learning Support Fund
- You can also apply for the NHS Learning Support Fund which offers support for:
- Parental support for eligible students
- Reimbursement of travel and dual accommodation expenses incurred whilst on placement
- Student experiencing financial hardship (Exceptional Support Fund).
NHS Training Grant
You can also apply for the following if you are eligible:
- NHS Training Grant of £5,000 each academic year
- Extra payments of £1000 a year will be available to new students who are studying the following shortage specialist subjects: mental health nursing, diagnostic radiography, podiatry.
- Additional £1000 each year towards childcare costs.
See Council of Deans website for more information.
More information about student finance for UK students
If you are a UK resident, studying for an undergraduate degree for the first time, you should apply to the student finance body where you are normally resident when you first apply, to find out if you qualify for government funding.
Students resident in the EU
The UK government has confirmed that EU, EEA and Swiss nationals starting their course in the UK from academic year 2021-22 will no longer be eligible for home fee status or access to student loans, unless they are able to benefit from Citizens' Rights under the EU Withdrawal Agreement, EEA EFTA Separation Agreement or Swiss Citizens' Rights Agreement.
The Department for Education will set out regulations about specific groups of EU students in due course.
Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland will continue to have a right to study and to access benefits and services under the Common Travel Area arrangement.