Undergraduate Student Finance

Tuition Fee Loans

Tuition Fee Loans are available up to the full cost of your course (subject to eligibility). This loan is paid directly to the university each year and is not dependent on your household income. However, it may be restricted if you have previously studied at a higher education level.

When applying for your student loans, you will need to apply online to the relevant student funding authority for the area in which you live. Please see the government website for further information on your funding organization.

Apply for tuition fee loan

Maintenance Loans

Maintenance Loans are available to assist eligible students with living costs such as food, accommodation, and travel expenses. These loans are paid in termly instalments directly to your bank account.

Maintenance Loans are subject to different financial arrangements and eligibility criteria depending on whether you are domiciled in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.

If you are a student from Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland, you should refer to the website of the relevant funding body for loan amounts and eligibility criteria.

The maximum Maintenance Loan amounts for eligible students from England are as follows:

NB. Different rates are available for students eligible for benefits, who are aged over 60, or studying their final year.

You can work out how much loan you may be entitled to by using the Student Finance Calculator.

Repaying Your Loan

When you start repaying your loan and how much you pay depends on which repayment plan you're on. You can find out more about the different payment plans here.

You only start to repay your student loan when your income is over the threshold. If you don't earn more than the threshold, you won't pay anything.

Here's what Plan 5 monthly repayments could look like:

If your income changes, the amount you repay will change too; this happens automatically.

If you stop working or start to earn below the repayment threshold, your repayments will stop until you earn over the threshold.

You’ll make a repayment if you go over the weekly or monthly threshold at any point during the year, for example, if you get a bonus or work overtime. You can request a refund at the end of the tax year if your total income was below the annual repayment threshold. Student loans get written off after a certain length of time; this depends on which repayment plan you are on.

These loans attract interest, which is charged at different rates depending on your repayment plan. For more details on interest rates, please visit the Gov.uk website.

Part-time Tuition Fee Loans

For students normally resident in England, part-time tuition fee loans of up to £7,335 are available. Eligible students must be studying at least 25% of the intensity of the equivalent full-time course. CPD students may also be eligible for a loan based on level of study, the intensity of the course, and prior study.  Visit gov.uk website for more information and eligibility criteria.

Tuition fee loans are not means-tested and paid directly to the university so you don’t have to worry about arranging payment.

Eligible courses for part-time tuition fee loans include:

• a first degree, for example, BA, BSc or BEd
• a Foundation Degree
• a Certificate of Higher Education
• a Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE)
• an Initial Teacher Training course
• an integrated master’s degree

Part-time Maintenance Loans

Eligible part-time students normally resident in England, can apply for a Maintenance Loan to help with their day-to-day living costs, such as rent or food. The Maintenance Loan is paid directly to your bank account, in three instalments, usually at the start of each term.

For more information about funding for part-time study, visit Gov.uk

For more guidance on applying for a student loan, visit the Student Room's Student Finance Zone.

Health students

Students enrolling on a Nursing, Midwifery or Allied Health Professional course in England may qualify for a student loan even if they have accessed student loan funding for other programmes in the past. This is subject to eligibility.

Other students

If you have undertaken any other previous Higher Education study, even if your previous course was self-funded, it is important to be aware that this can sometimes have an impact on student funding. Including tuition fee loans, available to you when you start a new course. For more information, visit the gov.uk webpage.

This is a complex area. If you are not sure of your entitlement to funding, it is really important that you seek advice from your funding organisation or with a Student Money Adviser who can clarify exactly how your previous study will impact on your future student funding entitlement.

Cumbria Bursary (first year undergraduate students)

Find out more information on the Scholarships and bursaries page.

Find out more

Social Work bursary

It is possible for some undergraduate Social Work students to receive a bursary to support their studies in their second or subsequent years. The number of people who can get a bursary is limited (or capped), therefore there is no guarantee you’ll receive a bursary in your 2nd year. The university will provide a shortlist of students to the NHSBSA who will then assess bursary applications. Full details, including the eligibility criteria, are available on the NHSBSA website.

Find out more

Depending on your circumstances, you may be entitled to get additional funding to help support you during your course from Student Finance England. The figures illustrated below are based on the 2026-27 academic year and may be subject to review and inflationary increases.

• Parents’ Learning Allowance - means-tested on household income. Maximum available £2,024.
• Childcare Grant - means-tested on household income. A maximum of 85% of your weekly childcare costs may be paid on your behalf, up to £199.62 per week for one child and £342.24 per week for two or more children.
• Adult Dependants’ Grant - means-tested on household income. Maximum available £3,545.
• Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) - students with a disability or specific learning difficulty may be eligible to receive help towards enabling costs; e.g. non-medical helper, specialist equipment etc.