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Are you considering Undergraduate study, but aren't sure what funding options are available? Explore this page to start your search.
All undergraduate home students who meet the eligibility criteria and are studying for their first degree are entitled to a student loan from the Student Loans Company (SLC).
As a rule, you're eligible for a Maintenance Loan if you're a UK national (or have 'settled status'), or if you normally live in the UK (or the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man) and have done so for the three years prior to the start of your course.
This loan will be divided into two parts:
This will be paid directly to your university to cover tuition fee costs.
Directly paid to you and is designed to support you with your living costs.
You should refer to the Government website for the most up-to-date information and guidance. It will also tell you what bursaries you are entitled to. The amount may vary according to where you are living in the UK, your age and what your personal circumstances are.
View further information on your student funding allowance via the Government’s website, including student funding criteria, eligibility, and application processes.
To find out how much student funding you are entitled to, including loans, grants, and scholarships, please use the Student Funding Calculator.
Your studies may not always progress how you had planned. Sometimes you may need to repeat a year of study, change university or change course, in which case you may need to apply for Compelling Personal Reasons (CPR) additional funding.
Most Student Loan companies will offer an additional year of student funding. The Government website provides information on previous study and the Compelling Personal Reasons (CPR) process for full-time, home, undergraduate students.
Common reasons for applying for an extra year include:
If any of the above apply to you, you could be eligible for support.
If you wish for some advice on the application process, Guild Advice can support you by looking at a draft of your statement before you submit to the SLC.
If you’re estranged from your family, either prior to starting or during your studies, you may be able to get additional student funding from both the University and the Government as part of your Student Funding loan.
The University also offers additional funding support for estranged students, which you can explore via their website. Plus, you can learn more about available financial support via UCAS.
You can access the University’s support services or visit national charity; Standalone’s website for advice and guidance on coping with estrangement.
If you are a ‘Care Leaver’ you may be able to access additional support from the University or apply for their Care Leaver’s Scholarship. For further support and information please visit the UCAS website.
Explore the Undergraduate Funding Database for full details of funding opportunities available to support your studies at the University of Birmingham. You can select the most relevant options on the webpage to identify funding opportunities relevant to your subject, fee status and country of domicile.
EU students (including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland) may be entitled to help from the UK Government with tuition fees if studying in the UK, Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.
Students who have lived in the UK for three consecutive years before the first day of their academic course and have ‘settled status’ may also be entitled to some maintenance funding.
Learn more about funding options available for EU students and be sure to use the student finance calculator to calculate your entitlement.
Funding for international students is often limited in the UK because international students are expected to have sourced their funding from their home country before applying for their student visas. So, funding for international students is not readily available in the UK after the start of your studies.
However, we appreciate that sometimes unexpected financial issues can occur due to problems with your funding sources; be it parental support, a private loan from your home country, scholarship support or from economic issues arising within your home country.
If that’s the case, you may wish to explore alternative financial funding options during your studies. We would suggest looking at the following financial support options that international students could apply for, they are not guaranteed, and success would be dependent upon meeting the eligibility criteria.
It could be helpful for you to look at the University’s website to learn more about Loans and explore Scholarships available to International Students.