3 students sitting at a desk in a social space

Student finance

UK Undergraduate students can apply for Student Finance now. You are advised to apply as early as possible so that you can pay your tuition fees and living costs when you arrive at university.

a man and woman walking past a graffiti wall

As a UK undergraduate student, you may be entitled to two types of financial support – tuition fee and maintenance loans.

A tuition fee loan usually covers your course fees in full per year and is paid directly to the university. However, you can also apply for a maintenance loan to help you with your living costs while at university. This is paid directly into your bank account, usually in three instalments throughout the year, at the start of each semester.

Student loans are not like standard loans that you would receive from a bank. You only start repaying them once you are employed and are earning over a certain amount of money per year. The earliest you’ll start repaying is the April after you leave your course.

Tuition Fee Loan

If you take out a tuition fee loan your tuition fees will be paid directly to us, so you don't need to worry about paying your course fees while you are studying.

Loan information for new full-time students

If you're a part-time student, you may be able to get a loan if your course has a ‘course intensity’ of 25% or more. ‘Course intensity’ measures how much of your course you complete each year compared to an equivalent full-time course.

You can work this out by comparing your module credits with the number of module credits a full-time student will study. You’ll be asked how many credits you’ll study when you apply for the loan. Check with us if you’re not sure.

Loan information for part-time students

Condensed Course – January start date

If you’re a student funded by Student Finance England (SFE), Student Finance NI (SFNI) or Student Finance Wales (SFW), tuition fee payments will be made to the university in January, May and October for each year of study for a January start.

Even in the final year of study after a student’s completion of a course, the final payment to the university will be in October. Tuition fee payments from the Student Loans Company in Scotland will be made to the university in January.

If for any reason we do not receive your student finance, the obligation remains with you to pay your tuition fees.

Foundation Year Funding

Foundation courses are 4-year undergraduate courses that consist of 1 Foundation Year and 3 Degree years. Foundation years are not 1-year courses that stand on their own but are an integral part of a 4-year Degree programme.

In order to receive funding for these types of course, you must always make the Student Loans Company aware that you are completing a 4-year Degree course with a Foundation Year attached. This is the same whether you choose to continue within the Coventry University Group or progress elsewhere.

Problems can arise if students decide to progress outside of the Coventry University Group as other institutions may not offer four-year courses with a foundation year. This means that this will not be reflected in their student finance course list. In this situation, you may still be able to get funding, but will be required to contact your new institution to request that a 4-year option including a foundation year is added to the course list.

Otherwise, you may be liable for your foundation fees. Unfortunately, Coventry University Group does not have any control over these requests and are unable to support/guarantee this option. If you do change institutions and funding is not available for the foundation year, there are no timeframes for SFE to pull back the foundation year funding and this can happen at any time throughout the 4-year degree programme.

Maintenance Loan

UK students studying full-time can take out a maintenance loan from the UK government to help with costs such as food, accommodation and travel. How much maintenance loan you get depends on where you'll study and your household income.

To apply, you have to give details of your household income and your course start date.

All Maintenance Loans have to be paid back once you're working and earning over a certain amount a year.

Use the government's step-by-step guide to estimate how much Maintenance Loan you’ll get - it will also tell you if you’re eligible for extra grants or allowances.

Depending on your household income you might not get the full amount, so you may have to find other ways to fund the rest of your living costs. This could include part-time work, local authority assistance, bursaries, scholarships or family contributions.

If you’re a student funded by Student Finance England (SFE), Student Finance NI (SFNI) or Student Finance Wales (SFW), the loan is paid directly into your bank account, usually in January, May and October. If you receive payments from the Student Loans Company in Scotland, they’ll be paid into your bank account each month.

Condensed Course – January start date

For students starting a condensed degree course of full-time study for the January intake, your finances will be slightly different.

For Years 1 and 2 your Maintenance Loan payments will go into your bank account mid-month for January, May and October and usually, this will stay the same for the following year. For your final year, your Maintenance Loan should arrive mid-month for January, March and April.

The first year of your Maintenance Loan (starting in January) is designed to support you for the whole academic year. SFE will not offer support twice within a 12-month period (please check other home nations for their own arrangements). This means you cannot access your second-year funding before January of the following year and the same applies to your final-year maintenance loan.

Starting a condensed course in January means that, for funding purposes, you’ll be classed as a January starter for the duration of your course.

Students sitting together in a social space

Guide to student finance

You may also be able to get extra money on top of this, for example if you’re on a low income, are disabled or have children.

Check if you’re eligible for student finance, how much you can get and how to apply.

Student finance step by step

Students sitting at a table with laptops

Professional and Career Development Loans

Students may be able to apply for a Professional and Career Development Loan (PCDL) to help towards costs. PCDLs are bank loans that can be used to pay for work-related learning. You can borrow between £300 and £10,000 to help support the cost of up to two years of learning (or three years if it includes one year’s relevant unpaid practical work). Further information on financial assistance to support your learning can be found on the PCDL website.

If you need to send in your PCDL form to be completed by the University or have your PCDL approved letter please send to the Finance Office, Student Centre.