2017 Health finance | University of Cumbria

There are a range of financial options for those studying for a career in the health industry. This includes NHS funded courses, Social Work Bursaries, maintenance grants and more.

This information is for students who started study in the 2017-18 academic year. If you're starting in the 2018 academic year, please see the 2018 finance page.

2017 Entry

From 2017 the government will cease to provide bursaries for undergraduate NHS courses. Students will have access to the standard student support package of tuition fee loans and support for living costs, rather than getting an NHS grant.

How we can support you

If you enrol onto an undergraduate NHS programme in 2017, the following costs will be covered:

Uniform
DBS check**
Occupational Health check

^{**Paid on successful enrolment onto course}

If I am already a student, does this affect me?

This change is for new students starting Autumn 2017 onwards.

New students are defined as those starting a course:

for the first time on 1 August 2017 or later
on 1 August 2017 or later, having withdrawn from or abandoned a previous higher education course in the 2016/17 academic year or an earlier academic year
on 1 August 2017 or later, as a full time student, having transferred from a previous part-time course or full-time distance learning course which started before 1 August 2017

Supplementary funding

Eligible students may be able to access support from the NHS Learning Support Fund:

a non-repayable grant of £1,000 per year for students with eligible child dependents
access to exceptional support of up to £3,000 per year for those students in severe hardship
support for excess travel and dual accommodation expenses incurred due to attending practice placements.

More information and eligibility criteria

Students who have studied before

The Government intends to make an exception for students with an equivalent qualification who want to study the allied health professions as a second degree, so that students can access student loans.

Please note: these arrangements are in place for students starting their studies in the 2017/18 academic year. Discussions are taking place regarding what will happen for students who start their studies in 2018/19 and beyond. We will keep this website updated with any further information as it becomes available.

Social Work

The fees payable by students beginning social work programmes in 2017/18 can be found below. These fees apply to the 2017/18 year only and are expected to increase by inflation (RPI-X) each year of study.

Course	Home/EU	International
BA (Hons) Social Work	£9,250	£15,500
MA Social Work	£10,350	£12,000

It is possible for students of Social Work to receive a bursary to support their studies. The levels of funding available will differ depending on whether you are applying for an Undergraduate or Postgraduate course. You can get full details of applying for this bursary through the NHSBSA website.

Undergraduate students will be ranked against 6 criterion, and postgraduates using 5. These are listed below in priority order:

Meet the outcomes set out at entry level of the Professional Capabilities Framework
Have experience of the sector
Have other work/life experience related to the sector or likely to be of value to the sector
Have passed the readiness to practice core module
Highest marks for year 1 (excluding the readiness to practice module which must be passed, where not complete in light of ECs and delayed first submission, predicted marks will be used-Undergraduate only)
Highest attendance record for year 1 (Undergraduate only)
Highest interview score (Postgraduate only)
Highest first degree classification (where not yet known predicted grade will be used-Postgraduate only)

We produce a ranked, anonymous listing of applicants for internal agreement. If any student has extenuating circumstances, prior to the list being produced, the academic team will be asked to provide mark predictions based on work to date. Names will only be entered at time of submission to the NHSBSA to ensure impartiality.

Whilst this bursary is administered by the NHS, it is different to an NHS bursary for nursing or health professions students. When you are completing your funding application, remember that you are applying for a Social Work Bursary, not an NHS bursary. If you apply for the wrong bursary, you will not award you a tuition fee loan, maintenance loan or maintenance grant, so keep vigilant when filling out your application.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

If you’re interested in taking a CPD in the health sector, then you can find out all about the standard rates for courses on our part-time finance page. If you are not sure which category your course falls under, please contact our Enquiry Centre on 0845 606 1144 or enquirycentre@cumbria.ac.uk.

Health Finance 2017