University tuition fees and financial support in Scotland

CONTENTS

1. Undergraduate student loans in Scotland, 2024/24
2. University tuition fees and tuition fee loans
3. Funding your living costs at uni
4. Grants and loans for students from Scotland, 2024/25
5. Extra funding for university
6. Loans if studying abroad or on a placement year
7. Student finance for a second degree
8. How to apply for student finance in Scotland
9. Repaying your student loan

Undergraduate student loans in Scotland, 2024/25

If you’re a degree student from Scotland, you get more help with your tuition fees than elsewhere in the UK – your fees are paid for you if you study in Scotland. The other good news is that student loans for living cost support have increased again this year after staying the same for many years.

To be classed as a student from Scotland, you must normally live in Scotland (i.e. you've not moved there just for study) and you must have lived in the UK for three years before starting your course. See our information on student finance eligibility, which also covers arrangements for students after Brexit.

University tuition fees and tuition fee loans

If you’re going to university in Scotland

If you attend university in Scotland, you can be charged up to £1,820 a year for an undergraduate degree. You don’t need a student loan for this, instead the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) will pay your fees for you if you’re eligible. You must apply to SAAS each year for them to do this.

If you’re going to a private uni in Scotland, SAAS will only pay £1,205, but the fees you're charged may be higher.

If you’re going to university in England, Northern Ireland or Wales

If you study outside Scotland your fees won’t be paid, but you can get a student loan.

• English and Northern Irish universities charge up to £9,250 per year for undergraduate tuition
• Welsh unis can charge up to £9,000
• For an accelerated degree at a publicly funded uni in England, fees can be up to £11,100 but courses generally take two years instead of the four-year degrees common in Scotland

You need to apply online to SAAS (and reapply each year) for a student loan to help with your fees. Loans are up to £9,250, or £11,100 for an accelerated degree.

If you’re heading to a uni that’s not publicly funded, the maximum tuition fee loan is £6,165 (or £7,400 for an accelerated degree) but providers may charge more. You’ll need to fund the difference yourself.

Although these options all mean you take out a student loan, when it comes to repaying what you owe you only start repayments when your income is above a threshold – and then, only 9%. So don't feel you have to restrict your course choices to unis in Scotland simply because the tuition is free, if there's a better course choice for you south of the border.

If you’re going to university in the Republic of Ireland

Scottish-resident students are eligible for a student loan if studying a first degree at certain colleges in the Republic of Ireland (ROI). Contact SAAS for details.

Funding your living costs at uni

When you go to uni, your living costs could include accommodation, travel to and from uni, food and drink. You may also have course costs such as field trips on some courses. To help with these expenses you may be eligible for a student loan.

Loans for your living costs are available from SAAS if you’re from Scotland and studying a full-time degree course – unless you’re studying paramedic science, nursing or midwifery at a Scottish university.

The amount you get is determined by your household income – which, if you’re under 25, is usually that of your parents. Otherwise, you could be classed as an independent student and be assessed on your own household income.

In either case – whether a young student or an independent one – if your household income is £34,000 or more, you’ll only be eligible for the minimum loan. However, you won’t need to include details of your household income in the student loan application.

Your student loan may not cover your living expenses, so you’ll need to budget in advance to work out how you’ll cover your living costs.

Grants and loans for students from Scotland, 2024/25

What you get in Scotland will depend on whether you’re deemed to be a young student supported by your parents or are independent and supporting yourself.

Unlike student loans elsewhere in the UK, there's no weighting for where you live while you study. Students living in London while they study will get the same funding as students who live with their parents in Scotland. There’s also no extra money if your course is longer than the normal academic year.

The good news for 2024/25 is that there's more money! An additional £2,400 per year for all students, classed as a Special Support Loan. It's still a student loan – but for disabled students or students who are parents, it means the amount won't further reduce any income-assessed benefit you may be entitled to.

Student loans for young students from Scotland

You're a 'young' student if:

• You’re under 25
• You haven’t supported yourself (on earnings or benefits) for three years outside full-time education before starting university
• You don’t have a child dependent on you
• You aren’t married, in a civil partnership or living with a partner

The maximum student loan is now £9,400, unless your household income is above £34,000. If your household income is under £34,000 you may also be eligible for the Young Students' Bursary, which you don’t need to repay. Guide amounts are shown below.

Student loans for independent students from Scotland

You're an 'independent' student if you’re any of the following:

• You're over 25
• You’ve supported yourself for three years (on earnings or benefits) before starting uni or have no parents to support you
• You’re a parent to a child who lives with you most of the time
• You’re married, in a civil partnership or live with your partner

You can get a maximum (means-tested) student loan of £10,400. Independent students with a household income of £20,999 or less are also eligible for the Independent Students' Bursary of £1,000, which doesn't need to be repaid. Guide amounts are as follows.

While most students will fall into the above categories of young or independent students, care experienced and estranged students have different arrangements for funding, as do students who study a Paramedic, Nursing or Midwifery degree in Scotland.

Care experienced students

You might be considered a care experienced student if you’ve ever been looked after by a UK local authority before you were 18 years old.

Care experienced students from Scotland are eligible for a bursary of £9,000. From 2024/25 you'll also have the option to take out a Special Support Loan of £2,400. An accommodation grant of £105 per week is available to help with housing costs during the summer holidays.

This funding isn’t based on household income and the bursary won’t need to be repaid – but if you're eligible for the bursary you can only apply for the Special Support Loan, not the full maintenance loan. Your tuition fees will be paid by SAAS if you study in Scotland; if you study elsewhere in the UK you can apply for a tuition fee loan.

Estranged students

An estranged student is someone who has no contact with their parents because of a relationship breakdown.

Scotland's financial support for estranged students comprises an estranged students bursary of £1,000 and a maximum student loan of £10,400 based on your income, same as for independent students. Your tuition fees will be paid by SAAS if you study in Scotland or you can apply for a tuition fee loan if you're studying elsewhere in the UK.

Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary

If you're studying paramedic science, nursing or midwifery at a Scottish university, you'll get funding from the Scottish Government and won't be eligible for a student loan from SAAS. Find out more about this bursary on our NHS funded courses page.

Extra funding for university

If you receive a university scholarship or bursary while you study, it won't affect the amount of student loan you can get. You can also work part-time while you study without it counting towards your household income.

Additional student funding is available to support students who have a disability, are responsible financially for another adult ('adult dependents') or are a lone parent. Find out more about this on our student finance and funding page.

Loans if studying abroad or on a placement year

If you're on a placement or studying abroad, your tuition fees will be as normal if you're only away for a term or so. If you're away for most of the academic year, you're usually charged less by your home university. How much will depend on whether you're studying in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK. SAAS may pay these fees or give a tuition fee loan.

If you're studying at a private institution, fees may be higher than the tuition fee loan and you may need to pay the balance yourself.

In Scotland, student loans for living costs don't depend on where you live while studying. Therefore, if you’re studying abroad for a term or up to a year, you’ll get your usual rate of loan or bursary. If your study abroad is compulsory, you can reclaim some travel costs.

If you’re on an unpaid placement, you'll get your normal living cost support. If you're normally eligible for a bursary and you’re on a paid placement, your bursary won’t be paid during that time.

Student finance for a second degree

The following applies to Scottish-resident students.

As far as student loans for your living costs are concerned, Scotland has no rules on previous study other than you can't be over 61 years old at the start of your course. On the other hand, if you're eligible for a bursary, you'll only get one if SAAS is paying your tuition fees.

Tuition fee support is only available for some second degrees.

Graduates taking an Allied Health Profession course in Scotland can get their tuition fees paid for the first two years, while those on the ScotGEM Medicine degree at St Andrews/Dundee have their tuition fees paid by the Scottish Government.

You could also do a degree in Divinity if you're a candidate for ministry in a recognised faith. Your tuition fees could be paid by SAAS if, by the end of that course, you've not had more than seven years funding for higher education in total.

Full-time PGDE teacher training students also receive full funding.

How to apply for student finance in Scotland

You normally apply to SAAS online.

You can apply for student finance from the April before your course is due to start. Apply by the end of June to get your funding in time for the start of your course. You'll need to reapply each year of your course to have your tuition fees and maintenance loan paid by SAAS.

Your living cost loan or bursary is paid into your bank account once you've registered on your course. Payments are monthly if you study in Scotland, or at the start of each term if your course is elsewhere in the UK.

Repaying your student loan

Loan repayments begin the April after you've left your course. You also need to be earning over a certain amount each year. You pay a percentage of your income when you reach the threshold.