Funding your undergraduate course

When it comes to funding, it's important to start preparing early. We have all the information you need to understand UK undergraduate student finance and funding, including:

  • Applying for student finance
  • Payment plans and methods if you're self-funding your course
  • Documents needed if you're a sponsored student
  • Scholarship opportunities available to you

Tuition fees are published on our course pages so make sure you check the course you're interested in for the latest information. As well as your course fees, you will also need to consider the cost of living. While this will depend on your lifestyle and spending habits, you could find your money goes further here in Coventry than in many other parts of the UK.

Apply for student finance

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.

  • 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.

  • 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.


Guide to student finance

Student finance step by step

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.

 

Self-funding your course

Pay your fees with Convera GlobalPay

If you don't want to borrow your tuition fees from the government then you can self-finance your course – either by paying in full or arranging to pay your fees in instalments. As long as you are studying over 30 credits, you will be defaulted into the appropriate three instalment payment plan as detailed in our Tuition Fee Terms and Conditions.

Payments and instalments need to be made through Convera GlobalPay which is a quick and secure way to pay your deposit, tuition and accommodation fees online. You can check the fees for individual courses on our course finder.

Please note that any student failing to adhere to the applicable instalment scheme will be at risk of having restrictions applied to their university account.

If you have any queries about payments please contact a member of the Finance Team.

 

Sponsored students

If your fees are to be paid in part or fully by a sponsor (such as your employer), you will be required to provide a sponsor letter prior to enrolment every academic year. The evidence must meet the following criteria:

  • Must be on company letterhead
  • Quote student’s name and student ID
  • Amount payable (must be in GBP)
  • Purchase order number (if applicable)
  • Email address for invoicing
  • Signed/stamped
  • Current date
  • State the academic year and course/modules
  • State that it is payable to Coventry University
  • State invoice address if different to the sponsor’s address
  • Contact details

Sponsored Letters are only to be completed by registered organisations and companies, and should not be used if your fees are to be paid by family members, friends etc., unless you are officially listed as an employee of theirs.

The completed sponsor letter needs to be emailed to debtenq.fin@coventry.ac.uk.

 

Contact us

We're here to help with any finance and funding questions you might have. Take a look at the relevant team's contact details below.

  • Self-funding student queries

    Contact us for help and information relating to self-funding student tuition fees and payment questions.

    024 7765 2266

    debthelp.fin@coventry.ac.uk

  • Scholarship approvals

    Contact us for help and information relating to new scholarship approvals and appeals, and applications for emergency and hardship funding.

    024 7765 2040

    funding.ss@coventry.ac.uk

  • Tuition fee refunds

    Contact us for help and information relating to requests for tuition fee refunds.

    024 7765 0468

    refundreq.fin@coventry.ac.uk

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