UK Undergraduate Fees and Finance

UK undergraduate students starting their first degree, either on a full or part-time basis will likely be able to receive a tuition fee loan to pay their tuition fees, this is the fee advertised in the course information. The tuition fee loan has no age limit and is not means-tested. There are a number of factors in assessing your eligibility for funding; being eligible for a tuition fee loan may open up further eligibility for a maintenance loan and other grants.

A key starting point for assessing your eligibility for funding is your residency status. It is important to check with Student Finance if you have any concerns about your residency status and student funding. In most circumstances you need to meet the residency criteria by the beginning of the academic year in which you commence your course to be eligible for funding for the remainder of your studies. 

Please note, residency status can be complicated. Applying in good time will allow Student Finance to assess your eligibility before the start of the academic year and before you commit to a course. For the purpose of Student Finance, the academic year commences on 1 September for students starting their course in September/October, and on 1 January for students starting their course in January/February. 

If you have studied before, or already hold a degree or equivalent level qualification (even if you didn't take a loan at the time) it may limit your eligibility for further undergraduate funding. Some courses are eligible for funding as a second degree such as some pre-registration healthcare courses. Again, applying early will enable your funding eligibility to be checked in good time.   

Check your general eligibility and apply for Student Finance. For more information and to use a student loan estimator or repayment calculator, take a look at Blackbullion.

Part-time students are eligible for a tuition fee loan if you are studying at least 25% of the full course each year, and it is your first undergraduate degree. You can get further information and apply for funding through Student Finance.

Disabled Students' Allowance

To be eligible for Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) you must be registered for a part-time course (undergraduate or postgraduate) that lasts at least one year and does not take you more than four times as long to complete as an equivalent full-time course. You can find more information about DSAs on the Gov.uk website.

There are a range of loans and grants available to full-time and part-time UK undergraduate students. After applying for a Tuition Fee Loan, the next step for students is to apply for a Maintenance Loan. Your eligibility to apply for a Maintenance Loan, as with a Tuition Fee Loan, depends on various factors - with residency status and previous study being key points to consider. Take a look to see if you qualify, and check your eligibility, how much is available and apply for Student Finance. Part-time students will be assessed based on the intensity they study compared with the full-time equivalent.

If you, as the student, have any dependants or caring responsibilities you could be eligible to receive additional funding in the form of grants, which do not need to be paid back. Please note that these grants are only available for Full-Time students and are means assessed.

Disabled Student Allowances

Students who can show that they have a disability, mental health condition, long term health condition or learning difficulty that affects their ability to study may be eligible for Disabled Student Allowances (DSA). DSA is an additional source of funding to help with costs incurred when accessing study, for example, 1-1 specialist study skills tuition. This is not paid direct to the student. For more information on DSA's speak to the Disability and Wellbeing Team.

Students aged 60 or above

For those students who are aged 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year, there is a limited means assessed loan for living costs that you may be eligible for. This loan still needs to be repaid if you reach the repayment threshold. The Department for Work and Pensions should disregard this loan as income when assessing your eligibility for benefits. 

Distance Learning Students

Students studying a course through distance learning could be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan, but do not ordinarily qualify to receive a Maintenance Loan or any of the targeted grants - this is because students are not in attendance. You may eligible to apply for a Maintenance Loan if you are unable to attend a course due to a disability. Distance learning students are also able to access DSA's if required.

For more information and to use a student loan estimator or repayment calculator, take a look at Blackbullion. 

View all of the Bursaries and Scholarships that are available to University of Suffolk students.

 

Additional funding support is available to new and current pre-registration students on nursing, midwifery and some allied health professional courses. Students will still access funding from the Student Loans Company for tuition and maintenance loans. 

To be eligible for the Learning Support Fund you must also meet Student Finance England's course related and residency criteria. For full information on the Learning Support Fund, take a look at the Healthcare Funding page.

Universities that charge higher fees are required to put aside some of the fees funding to support students who may be experiencing financial difficulties. These funds are often referred to as Access Funds and are set out in the University Access and Participation plan, which has approval from the Office for Students.

The University of Suffolk funds are administered through the Financial Support Fund (FSF). The FSF is assessed primarily in accordance with the national guidelines set out by the National Association of Student Money Advisers (NASMA). 

The University of Suffolk, like other universities, also has local polices that assist to adapt the fund to some of the specific needs of the University of Suffolk students and the disciplines that they are studying. The main fund opens in October of each year. Once you are a student at the University of Suffolk you can find out more about making an application to the fund by visiting the Brightspace pages or by contacting moneyadvice@uos.ac.uk.

Both the Tuition Fee and Maintenance Loan's do have to be repaid, but not until you have graduated and are earning above a certain income.  The threshold at which you start repaying depends upon when you started your course.   

If you have a Plan 2 Loan 
Started course between 1 September 2012 and 31 July 2023 
You will begin to repay your loan when you earn above £27,295 per year 

If you have a Plan 5 Loan 
Started course on or after 1 August 2023 
You will begin to repay your loan when you earn above £25,000 per year 

However, if you leave your course early you may be asked to repay some of the Maintenance Loan or grants earlier.  For example, if you are a September starter and you leave your course at some point during the following January, you may have already received the second instalment of your Maintenance Loan – which is usually paid at the beginning of January. You will likely go in to ‘overpayment’ for some of the maintenance loan for that academic term and would be asked to arrange repayment of the amount overpaid.  

If you take time out during your course, you may also go into overpayment. This can be complex, so please get in touch with the team for some advice.

Any balance left unpaid will be written off: 

• Plan 2, after 30 years
• Plan 5, after 40 years

More information on student loan repayments can be found on the government website.

US Department of Veteran Affairs

If you are an American citizen or a dependent and plan on receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), please email admissions@uos.ac.uk with your name, contact details and course of study, so we can ensure your course is registered with the VA. 

MOD’s Enhanced Learning Credits Scheme

We are an approved provider of Higher Education courses for the Ministry of Defences Enhanced Learning Credits Scheme (ELC), a scheme which provides financial assistance to members of the Armed Forces. The University Provider ID is 3033. To check if you may be eligible for funding through this scheme, please visit the Enhanced Learning Credits website.

Some student finance is based on the income of parents or a partner, but the student themselves do not need to declare their own income unless it’s taxable and unearned.

Income that will be taken into account includes bank or building society gross interest, property lettings or rent received, trusts, sponsorships and pensions.

If a student is being released by their employer to attend a course at university or college, this will be taken into account as well.

This is where a student is still being paid their salary to attend the course on set days, not if they simply choose to work alongside their studies.

If they’re claiming any income-assessed benefits before they start their course, it’s vital that students understand their continued entitlement to these is likely to be affected. They should consult the Job Centre or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to understand more.

If a student is entitled to benefits, they might get a higher amount of Maintenance Loan including a ‘special support’ element. This special support element of the loan won’t be counted as income by the DWP.

The majority of any Maintenance Loan entitlement, Adult Dependants’ Grant and 30% of any Postgraduate Loans will be treated as income by the DWP.