Funding for Veterinary Science students

Veterinary Science (5 year programme) – first degree

Pre-Veterinary Year - where applicable (Not open to graduates)

Years 1 to 5

Veterinary Science (5 year programme) – second degree

Years 1 to 5

If you need additional financial support you may wish to explore the following options:

Further reading


Veterinary Science (Pre-Veterinary year)

As the Pre-Veterinary year is studied as a requirement of the Veterinary Science with Pre-Veterinary Year programme, then the funding in the Pre-Veterinary year will be the same as the main five years of the programme.

Tuition fee support

If you are studying towards a degree as a Veterinary Doctor and it will be your first undergraduate degree you can apply to your regional government for a non-means tested Tuition Fee Loan to cover the cost of the tuition fees charged by the University of Bristol for your Pre-Veterinary year.

Statutory support for living costs from the government

Regional government

In the Pre-Veterinary year, undergraduate Veterinary Science students who are classified as being home (UK) and and who are studying towards their first degree can apply to their regional government for grants and loans to assist with their living cost expenditure.

Depending on your income, family circumstances and where you are domiciled, you may be entitled to:

Supplementary Grants

Support from the University

Students who are in receipt of a maintenance grant or special support grant and whose household income is below £50,020 will be eligible to receive a University of Bristol bursary.

In addition, students’ who are living at a BA or BS postal code area at the time of their UCAS application will be eligible to receive a Local Student Bursary from the University of Bristol.

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Veterinary Science (5 year programme) – First degree

Tuition fee support

If you are a studying towards a degree as a Veterinary Doctor and it will be your first undergraduate degree you can apply to your regional government for a non-means tested Tuition Fee Loan to cover the cost of the tuition fees charged by the University of Bristol.

Statutory support for living costs from the government

Regional government

In years one to five of their studies, undergraduate Veterinary Science students who are classified as being home (UK) and and who are studying towards their first degree can apply to their regional government for grants and loans to assist with their living cost expenditure.

Depending on your income, family circumstances and where you are domiciled, you may be entitled to:

Supplementary Grants

Support from the University

Students who are in receipt of a maintenance grant or special support grant and whose household income is below £50,020 will be eligible to receive a University of Bristol bursary.

In addition, students’ who are living at a BA or BS postal code area at the time of their UCAS application will be eligible to receive a Local Student Bursary from the University of Bristol.

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Veterinary Science (5 year programme) – Second degree

Tuition fee support

Second degree veterinary students’ would need to make provision to pay the tuition fees in all years of study as there is no support available from the Student Loans Company.

The tuition fee rate for the Veterinary Science programme undertaken as a second degree are detailed on the University's Academic Registry web page.

The 2011/12 tuition fee rate for Veterinary Science has been published.

The 2012/13 tuition fee rate can be found on our 2012 prospectus tuition fee web page, under the 'miscellaneous fees' tab.

Statutory support for living costs from the government

Regional government

In years one to five of their studies, undergraduate Veterinary Science students who are classified as being home (UK) and and who are studying towards their second degree can apply to their regional government for a loan to assist with their living cost expenditure.

You would not be eligible to receive the Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant for Living Costs, or any of the bursaries available from the University of Bristol.

Depending on your income, family circumstances and where you are domiciled, you may also be entitled to:

Supplementary Grants

Support from the University

Second degree Veterinary Science students are not eligible for the University of Bristol bursary as they will not be in receipt of the maintenance grant from their regional government.

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Statutory support – where to apply

Where you apply for support with living costs will depend upon where you normally live when not at University. The regional Governments of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland each provide different levels of loan and grant support, depending upon your household income.

Students from England apply to Student Finance England

Students from Wales apply to Student Finance Wales/cyllid myfyrwyr cymru

Students from Northern Ireland apply to Student Finance Northern Ireland

Students from Scotland apply to Student Awards Agency for Scotland

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Betty Mattock Tippett Fund

This fund provides an entrance bursary for new veterinary science students who have not previously studied for a first degree.

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Nita's Fund

This fund provides financial assistance primarily for fourth and fifth year veterinary science students.

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Access to Learning Fund (ALF)

Students in financial difficulty can apply for financial assistance from the Access to Learning Fund. Further information about ALF can be found on our ALF page.

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Professional Studies Loan (PSL)

Second degree Veterinary Science students may wish to consider taking out a PSL to help with the additional costs of their elective. Students are advised to apply to the Access to Learning Fund (ALF) before applying for a PSL to help with general living costs, as under the ALF guidelines, we will have to include any PSL payments as income.

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Trusts and Charities

There are many Trusts and Charities in the country that can provide grants (usually small) to assist students in financial need, provided they meet the necessary criteria.

If you are a registered student at the University of Bristol, you can log-in and access the FunderFinder database via the careers web site. FunderFinder is a database of about 4,000 charitable trusts and foundations that give grants to individuals for educational purposes or career development. Users will need to provide some basic information (including age, gender and location) in order to search the database. Results will provide contact details and information about how to apply.

Non members of the University without a Bristol email address can access the database from the FunderFinder website for a fee.

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Useful external web sites

The links below take you to web sites which may provide you with additional useful information. The Student Funding Office is not responsible for the content provided by these web sites.

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