What's on this page?
One of the main costs part-time students will have while studying is tuition fees. Student finance is available to cover the cost of the fees charged by your university or college – they will set your tuition fee. You should check with them how much you’ll be charged for your course, so you can apply for the right amount of loan.
Any loan you borrow has to be paid back, but not until the April four years after the start of your course, or the April after you finish or leave your course, whichever comes first, and only when your income is over the repayment threshold.
What's available?
How much you can get depends on:
- how much your university or college charges
- whether you’re studying at a publicly or privately-funded university or college
- when you started your course
- your course intensity
If you started your course on or after 1 September 2012, you can get a fee grant of up to £6,935.
Private universities or colleges may charge more than this. If they do, it's up to you to pay the difference.
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Personal circumstances
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Your university/college and course
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Armed Forces
How it's paid
You’ll need to register at your uni or college before Student Finance England can make your first payment. You’ll usually do this in the first week of your course, and you may have to take your student finance entitlement letter with you.
Your Tuition Fee Loan is paid directly to your university or college in three instalments each academic year.
| When are payments made to your uni or college? | How much is paid to your uni or college? |
|---|---|
| At the start of term one | 25% of the tuition fee |
| At the start of term two | 25% of the tuition fee |
| At the start of term three | 50% of the tuition fee |
If you started your course before 2012, and get a fee grant, this is paid in one single instalment to the uni or college.
How to apply
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New students
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Continuing students
Evidence
Proof of identity
UK nationals
Include your valid UK passport details in your application the first time you apply.
If you don’t have a UK passport (or it has expired), you can upload a copy of your UK birth or adoption certificate to your online account.
Non-UK and non-EU nationals
If you’re a non-UK and non-EU national, you will need to send us your original passport or Home Office biometric residence permit card.
You’ll also need to provide us with proof of your lawful residency status in the UK for the full three years prior to the start of your course. Your biometric residence permit card or proof of your visa stamped in your passport are both acceptable forms of evidence to prove your status. We’ll return your original documents using a secure method of post.
It’s important to apply early and send us your evidence as soon as possible. We’ll return your evidence as soon as we’ve checked it, so you don’t need to worry about being without your original documents for long.
Don't send your original documents to us if you’re due to travel within eight weeks as we can’t guarantee they’ll be sent back in time. Instead, you should send the evidence when you return from travelling.
Changing your details
You must tell Student Finance England about any change in your circumstances which might affect your student finance.
The most common examples are:
- you’ve changed university or college
- you’ve changed your course (but stayed at the same university)
- you’ve left your course
- your name or contact details have changed
Before your initial course start date, you can tell Student Finance England about any changes by filling in a ‘Change of Circumstances’ form, which you can download from www.gov.uk/apply-for-student-finance/change-an-application.
After your course start date, you’ll need to ask your university or college to tell us about any of the following changes:
- your tuition fee amount
- your course details
- your course intensity
- you repeat a year
- you leave higher education
- suspend your studies