Student finance if your course starts on or after 1 January 2027
What student loans you can get
You may be able to apply for:
- Tuition Fee Loans to help pay your course tuition fees
- Maintenance Loans to help with your living costs
All courses which qualify for Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) funding will be worth a certain number of credits. For example, a year of studying a bachelor’s degree full time is usually worth 120 credits.
Any loans you borrow need to be paid back, but not until you’ve finished or left your course, and you earn over a certain amount.
Tuition Fee Loans are paid directly to your university or college. Maintenance Loans are paid directly into your bank account.
Tuition Fee Loans
Depending on how much previous study you’ve done, you can apply for Tuition Fee Loans up to a total amount of £39,160. This can be for a full course or split over multiple courses. This amount is based on current rates and may change over time. £39,160 represents around 4 years of full-time study or 480 credits.
You may be able to get Tuition Fee Loans for courses longer than 4 years, for example:
- if they include a foundation or study abroad year
- medicine
- nursing
- social work
- veterinary surgery
- architecture (including ‘part 2’ courses after completing an undergraduate degree in architecture)
- bachelor’s degrees and integrated master’s degrees provided in Scotland
How much you can get
How much you get in Tuition Fee Loans depends on:
- the number of credits you study
- the cost your university, college or training provider charges for each credit
- your university, college or training provider, for example, their type of Office for Students (OfS) registration and their Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) quality rating
- whether you study in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
You can get up to a maximum of £9,790 for every 120 credits you study.
You may get a lower amount in Tuition Fee Loans for:
- lower-fee foundation year study
- sandwich placements
- study abroad
- Turing Scheme study and work placements abroad
Your Tuition Fee Loans may not cover all of your course tuition fees. You may have to pay any course tuition fees not covered by loans yourself.
Example 1
You’re studying a 480-credit degree course over 4 years which includes a study year abroad in the third year. You study 120 credits in each course year.
Because of your college and where you’re studying, you could get up to a maximum of £6,185 for every 120 credits you study in your first, second and last year. You could get up to £925 for the 120 credits you study in your study abroad year.
If you get these maximum amounts, you’ll have used up £19,680 out of the £39,160 available for Tuition Fee Loans by the time you’ve finished studying. You’ll then have £19,480 remaining to help cover course tuition fees in the future.
Example 2
You’re studying on a 360-credit degree course over 6 years. You study 60 credits in each course year.
Because of your university and where you’re studying, you could get up to a maximum of £9,790 for every 120 credits you study. As you’re studying 60 credits, you could get half that amount each year which works out at £4,895.
If you get these maximum amounts, you’ll have used up £29,370 out of the £39,160 available for Tuition Fee Loans by the time you’ve finished studying. You’ll then have £9,790 remaining to help cover course tuition fees in the future.
Example 3
You’re studying on a 120-credit course for a Certificate in Higher Education (“CertHE”) qualification in Business Administration. You study 30 credits in your first year and the remaining 90 credits in your second year.
Because of your college and where you’re studying, you could get up to a maximum of £9,275 for every 120 credits you study. As you’re studying 30 credits in your first year, you could get a quarter of that amount which works out at £2,318.75. As you’re studying 90 credits in your second year, you could get three-quarters of £9,275 which works out at £6,956.25.
If you get these maximum amounts, you’ll have used up £9,275 out of the £39,160 available for Tuition Fee Loans by the time you’ve finished studying. You’ll then have £29,885 remaining to help cover course tuition fees in the future.
Maintenance Loans
You can only apply for Maintenance Loans to help cover your living costs when you:
- still have at least £1,587.50 left from your Tuition Fee Loan amount
- attend your course in person
You may be able to apply for Maintenance Loans after you’ve used all your Tuition Fee Loan amount if you study certain degrees which last longer than 4 years.
You normally cannot get a Maintenance Loan for distance learning courses. If you cannot attend your course in person, you can only apply for a Maintenance Loan if you have a disability or long-term illness.
How much you can get
How much you get in Maintenance Loans depends on:
- where you live while you study, such as with your parents, in London or abroad
- the number of credits you study
- how many weeks you study each year
- your household income
You can get up to a maximum of £15,415 for your course year when you’re studying up to 30 weeks.
Your course year is a 12-month period that starts the first day of the month your course begins. If your full course takes longer than 12 months, each following course year starts on the same day and month as the first course year.
If you study over 30 weeks a year, you may be able to get additional support depending on your household income.
If you’re studying less than 120 credits a year, your Maintenance Loan is paid proportionally to the number of credits you study.
If you move house during your course, how much you can get may change.
You may get a lower amount in Maintenance Loans depending on your course, for example, if:
- you’re studying a subject which means you get other funding, such as a bursary
- your course includes a placement year
Your Maintenance Loans may not cover all of your living costs, so you may have to find other ways to pay for them. This could include, for example, part-time work, local authority assistance, bursaries, scholarships or family contributions.
Example 1
You’re studying on a 360-credit degree course over 3 years. You study 120 credits in each course year for up to 30 weeks a year.
Depending on your household income and where you live, you could get up to a maximum of £15,415 for every course year.
Example 2
You’re studying on a 360-credit degree course over 6 years. You study 60 credits in each course year for up to 30 weeks a year.
Depending on your household income and where you live, you could get up to a maximum of £15,415 for every course year if you study 120 credits. As you’re studying 60 credits, you could get half that amount each year which works out at £7,707.50.
Example 3
You’re studying on a 120-credit course for a Certificate in Higher Education (“CertHE”) qualification in Business Administration. You study 30 credits in your first year and the remaining 90 credits in your second year. Your course lasts less than 30 weeks a year.
Depending on your household income and where you live, you could get up to a maximum of £15,415 for every course year if you study 120 credits. As you’re studying 30 credits in your first year, you could get a quarter of that amount which works out at £3,853.75. As you’re studying 90 credits in your second year, you could get three-quarters of £15,415 which works out at £11,561.25.
Studying multiple courses in the same year
You can get multiple Maintenance Loans if you study more than one course in the same year. If your courses overlap, you will not receive the full loan amounts for all your courses during that period. Instead, you’ll receive an adjusted amount of support.