Undergraduate student loan

Undergraduate students from the UK can access funding from the government. This is made up of a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan to help cover living costs.

How much you can borrow

Tuition fees

Tuition fee loans of up to £9,535 per year are available for UK students who are starting a full-time undergraduate course at the University in 2025/26. This loan is paid directly to the University to go towards your tuition fees.

Living costs

Maintenance loans help with your living costs, such as food, accommodation and travel. This loan is paid directly into your bank account 3 to 5 working days after the university has confirmed your registration to the Student Loans Company.

For 2025/26, students funded by Student Finance England can borrow:

  • up to £8,877 if you live at home while you study
  • up to £10,544 if you live away from your family home.

Use the student finance calculator to estimate how much maintenance loan you could receive.

For students from Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, refer to your government website.

Special support maintenance loan

As a full time undergraduate student, you may qualify for more maintenance loan if you meet one of these criteria:

disability related:

  • have a disability and qualify for the Disability Living Allowance, Disability Premium or Severe Disability Premium.
  • qualify for Personal Independence Payment or Armed Forces Independence Payment
  • are deaf and qualify for Disabled Student Allowance.
  • have been treated as incapable of work for a continuous period of at least 28 weeks.
  • have a disability and qualify for income-related Employment and Support Allowance.
  • are waiting to go back to a course having taken agreed time out from that course due to an illness or caring responsibility that has now ended.

living circumstances related:

  • are a single parent or single foster parent of a child or young person under 20 who is in full-time education below higher-education level or on an approved training course
  • have a partner who is also a full-time student and one or both of them is responsible for a child or young person under 20 who is in full-time education below higher-education level or on an approved training course.

If you qualify for this loan, you can apply for it in your student finance application form. 

Previous study

You will not be eligible for a tuition fee loan or maintenance loan from Student Finance England if:

  • you already have an honours degree
  • your current course is at the same or a lower level than your previous course.

Read more about funding for second-degree students studying medicine, dentistry, or veterinary science.

If compelling personal reasons affected your studies, you may be able to apply for additional funding from Student Finance.

Part-time study

Part-time undergraduate students can apply for funding from Student Finance England, if:

  • you are studying over 25% of the full-time course in each year
  • you do not have a degree qualification already.

If you started your course in or after August 2018, you can apply for a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan. If you started your course before August 2018, you can apply for a tuition fee loan only. Find guidance on loans for part-time study on the GOV.UK website.

If you don't live in England, you can find further information on the following websites:

How to apply

  • Students from England: apply online at GOV.UK.
  • Students from other parts of the UK: apply online via your government website.

Repayment

You must pay back the tuition fee loan and the maintenance loan. You will start to pay back the loans once you have finished or left your course. Repayments usually start in April, after you leave.

If you are funded by Student Finance England, you will begin to repay your loan when your income is:

  • over £25,000 a year if you started a course on or after 1 August 2023
  • over £27,295 a year if you started a course between 1 September 2012 and 31 July 2023.

For UK students, the Gov.uk website provides useful guidance on repaying your student loans.

Students from other regions

European Union

If you're coming to the UK from 1 January 2021, you may need to apply for a visa to study here.

Irish citizens do not need to apply for a visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme.

More information on student finance for students from the EU can be found at GOV.UK. 

International students

You must have enough funding in place for your living costs and your tuition fees before you arrive at university. You can use our funding search tool to look for relevant scholarships and bursaries.

Isle of Man and Channel Islands

Find out what living cost and tuition fee support is available from the relevant island government website: