Financial support
Financial Support Available
Subject to eligibility and personal circumstances, financial support is available consisting of 2 main elements:
- A fees grant to cover your tuition fees (subject to the limits and contributions referred to below)
- A means-tested maintenance grant towards your living expenses
The Department will also offer a loan facility to students to fund the annual £2,500 fees contribution.
Tuition Fees Grant
Providing you meet the eligibility criteria, the Department will pay your tuition fees for an approved course, but less any student or means-tested contribution you are required to make.
The normal maximum limit for approved tuition fees is £9,250 per annum, inclusive of the student and means-tested contributions, but this may be varied where the Department considers it reasonable to do so, having regard to the maximum tuition fees and availability of other equivalent courses at publicly funded institutions within the British Islands.
Certain courses, such as clinical medicine, clinical dentistry, veterinary science and some conservatoire music courses will be eligible for support in excess of the normal upper limit as these courses have higher tuition fees. College fees will also be funded in addition to the maximum tuition fees limit but, for the purposes of calculating the means-tested contribution, these will be included with the tuition fees.
If you are undertaking a course on a part time/distance learning basis, the fees grant may be reduced. For calculating the amount by which the grant is reduced, the Department takes into account the income of the student and the contributors
Student and Means-Tested Contributions to Tuition Fees
Where your contributors’ total gross income exceeds £112,000 per annum, an additional contribution is required. This means-tested contribution is set at 35% of that part of gross income above £112,000 up to a maximum contribution of £6,750 per student (see examples). This additional contribution is payable by the student and/or contributors and is not covered by the loan scheme operated by the department.
| Level | Contribution type | Annual contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate and postgraduate | Universal | £2,500 |
| Minimum means-tested | £0 | |
| Maximum means-tested | £6,750 |
Private/Overseas Institutions
Support may be considered for a private or overseas institute but will be limited to a maximum of the tuition fees payable by the Department for an equivalent course at a publicly funded institute in the UK. Tuition fees for institutions outside the UK must be paid in advance by the student before being claimed back from the Department.
Please be aware that certain institutions (Cambridge University, Imperial College London and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) do not charge the agreed 'Island Fees' that most other UK institutions do. Should you choose to study at any of these institutions, your tuition fee support will be limited as a result.
Maintenance Grant
Subject to means-testing, support may be available to assist you with your living expenses. The basic amount of grant payable in respect of full-time study is shown overleaf.
The maintenance grant is calculated according to the contributor’s income, the level of which is used to determine a reduction figure. The amount payable is calculated by deducting the reduction figure from the basic grant and no grant is payable where this calculation produces a zero or negative figure.
Should more than one student from a particular household be at university at the same time, the reduction figure will be divided equally among each of the students.
Maintenance grants – Basic amount payable for full-time study
| United Kingdom and overseas | Basic amount | Extra weeks (per week) |
|---|---|---|
| Non-advanced, undergraduate or postgraduate courses | - | - |
| London area & overseas (30 week course) | £8,000 | £267 |
| Oxford or Cambridge ( 25 week course) | £7,500 | £250 |
| Elsewhere in the UK (30 week course) | £7,500 | £250 |
| University College Isle of Man | Basic amount | Extra weeks (per week) |
| Non-degree course (36 weeks) | £2,750 | - |
| Degree course (33 weeks) | £5,000 | - |
