Student finance if your course starts on or after 1 January 2027
Getting an extra Tuition Fee Loan
You may be able to get an extra Tuition Fee Loan if you use up all your original loan amount and either:
- are studying or want to retrain in a priority subject - this is sometimes referred to as priority additional entitlement (PAE)
- are studying for certain additional periods or longer courses - this is sometimes referred to as special additional entitlement (SAE)
You’ll be told what you can get in your Notification of Entitlement after you apply for student finance.
You may not be able to see additional funding in the estimated Tuition Fee Loan amount in your student finance online account.
If you’re studying an eligible priority subject (PAE)
You can only get priority additional entitlement for full courses in:
- medicine
- dentistry
- nursing
- midwifery
- certain allied health professions subjects (for example - physiotherapy, radiography or speech and language therapy)
- initial teacher training
- social work
You might need this because:
- your Tuition Fee Loan does not cover the full cost of a longer priority course
- you’re planning to retrain in a priority subject having already used up some or all of your original loan
This funding can only be used to pay for full courses that lead to a professional qualification - individual modules are not eligible.
Example
A student who has previously studied has £9,790 remaining from their original Tuition Fee Loan to use for future study.
They begin a 3-year social work degree so need to borrow £9,790 per year (or £29,370 in total). The remaining loan balance only covers the first year of the degree.
When their balance reaches £0, they will get priority additional entitlement to fund the remaining 2 years of their degree.
If your course includes a foundation year, placement, time abroad or at least 5 years of full-time equivalent study (SAE)
You may be able to get special additional entitlement if you’re taking a course that includes an additional period of study, such as a year abroad.
The additional period could be a:
- study period abroad
- sandwich (work) placement
- Turing Scheme placement
- foundation year
You can also get funding for the following courses that include at least 5 full-time equivalent years of taught study:
- veterinary surgery
- architecture (including ‘part 2’ courses after completing an undergraduate degree in architecture)
- longer degree courses provided in Scotland
Example 1
A student with a full Tuition Fee Loan entitlement takes a 5-year degree in veterinary surgery, costing £9,790 per year (or £48,950 in total).
When the balance of their entitlement reaches £0 after 4 years of study they can get £9,790 of special additional entitlement to cover the tuition costs of the final year.
Example 2
A student has previously studied and has £27,000 of their Tuition Fee Loan entitlement remaining.
They start a 3-year degree which also includes a foundation year and a year abroad. Each year of study costs £9,000 and the year abroad costs £1,000. In total there are 5 years of study costing £37,000 overall.
For the foundation year, the student uses £9,000 of their remaining entitlement. This means they have £18,000 left. For years 1 and 2, the student uses £9,000 of Tuition Fee Loan each year. This uses up the rest of their balance.
To fund their year abroad and final year of study, the student can apply for £10,000 of special additional entitlement (£1,000 + £9,000).
Maintenance Loans
You can still apply for Maintenance Loans to cover your living costs if you’re getting PAE or SAE. Find out what student loans you can get.