Undergraduate Funding
The decision to study a degree is an investment into your future, there are various means of support available to you in order to help fund your tuition fees and living costs. You can apply for funding from the Spring before your course starts.
All the information on tuition fees and maintenance loans pertains to students who are applying to Student Finance England (SFE) for their funding. This is because the majority of undergraduates who come to study at Suffolk will have SFE as their funding body.
Please see the drop down headings below for the package of support that may be available to you as a student.
If you require information around other funding bodies, such as Student Finance Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland please contact us.
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
- More information on undergraduate tuition fees at the University of Suffolk
For more information and to use a student loan estimator or repayment calculator, take a look at Blackbullion.
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 here to see if you qualify.
You could be eligible to receive a maintenance loan of up to:
Undergraduate* |
2023/2024 |
| Living at home | £8400 |
| Living away from home | £9978 |
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 paid back up to :
Full-Time Undergraduate |
2023/2024 |
| Parent Learning Allowance | £1915 |
| Adult Dependant Grant | £3354 |
| Childcare Grant (not direct to student) | 85% of costs (up to a maximum) |
Please note that these grants are only available for Full-Time students and are means assessed. See here for more detailed information on additional grants
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 or take a look at our webpages.
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 means assessed loan for living costs that you may be eligible for. In 2023/24 the maximum loan available is £4221.Where household income is assessed as more than £43812, student’s will not be eligible. 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.
Click to view all of the Bursaries and scholarships that are available to University of Suffolk students.
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Ipswich Award 2023
The Ipswich Award 2023 is a £1000 award for students starting on selected undergraduate courses at the Ipswich Campus in the academic year 2023/24. The award is available to students who enrol in September 2023. Further information can be found on eligibility criteria, courses and terms and conditions.
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Financial Support Fund
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 MySuffolk pages or by contacting moneyadvice@uos.ac.uk
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Healthcare Students - NHS Learning Support Fund
Additional funding support is available to new and current pre-registration students on nursing, midwifery and some allied health professional courses that commence from September 2020. 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.
For EU students starting a course after August 2021, you must have Settled or Pre-Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to be eligible for Student Finance.
EU students may also be eligible for support with living costs if:
- You have lived in the UK for more than 3 years before the first day of the first academic year, and
- You have settled status
If you do not meet the above, there is the possibility of applying for funding as a Migrant Worker or as family member of a Migrant Worker. Take a look at the information for EU Nationals.
FAQ for EU students and Brexit
How to apply for student finance for EU Nationals
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 here.
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.
