University tuition fees and financial support in Wales

CONTENTS

1. Undergraduate student finance in Wales, 2024/25

2. University tuition fees and tuition fee loans

3. Funding your living costs at uni

4. Grants and loans for students from Wales, 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 Wales

9. Repaying your student loan

Undergraduate student finance in Wales, 2024/25

Undergraduates from Wales have the most generous package of student living cost support in the UK. University funding includes a tuition fee loan, plus a maintenance loan and grant. And once you begin to repay your student loan, you could get up to £1,500 knocked off your repayments.

To be considered a Welsh student, you must normally live in Wales (i.e. you've not moved there just to study for a degree) and have lived in the UK for the three years before the start of your course. There are some exceptions. To find out more, see our information on student finance eligibility.

University tuition fees and tuition fee loans

From September 2024, universities in Wales will be able to charge you up to £9,250 a year for undergraduate tuition, bringing them into line with universities elsewhere in the UK. If you’re taking an accelerated degree in England (which is completed in less time than a normal degree) fees can be up to £11,100 per year.

To pay your tuition fees you can apply online for a loan of up to £9,250 to cover your university tuition fees. If you're attending a private uni, you can get a loan of £6,615. There's no additional support if you’re taking an accelerated degree, so you’d need to fund the difference in cost yourself.

Funding your living costs at uni

If you’re away at university, your living costs will include your accommodation, food and drink, and your travel costs. You could also have extra course-related costs like lab coats or field trips.

To help meet these costs, full-time Welsh university students may be eligible for financial support of £10,315–£15,170, depending on where you live during term time.

Welsh student finance doesn't calculate any contribution from parents. What’s more, some of that money is in the form of a non-repayable grant. The amount of grant you get depends on your household income. Between the lower and upper household incomes shown below, the amount of grant decreases and the loan increases.

If you don’t give details of your household income you’ll only be entitled to basic support, assessed as though your income were £59,200 or more. All eligible undergraduates can get the minimum £1,000 grant and maximum loan amount.

However, with living costs remaining high you'll still need to budget to make sure your funds meet your estimated expenses.

Grants and loans for students from Wales, 2024/25

Figures above are shown for illustration – actual amounts will depend on your personal circumstances.

Sometimes you’ll only be awarded a ‘reduced rate’ maintenance loan, with no living cost grant. This might apply if you’re on a paid placement year or if you’ve got an NHS bursary. In this case, for 2024/25 your maximum loan would be:

• £4,655 – if you’re living with your parents
• £7,085 – if you’re living in London
• £5,575 – if you’re living elsewhere

In Wales, you have the choice of accepting an NHS Wales bursary or opting for full student finance when you start an eligible nursing, midwifery or allied health professional degree. For details, check our page on the NHS bursary.

Long course loan in 2024/25

If your university course is longer than 30 weeks and three days in the year, you can get an additional amount of loan. You must be in receipt of income-assessed student finance to be eligible, and you won’t get this money if you’re on a paid sandwich course placement or an NHS bursary year.

In Wales, the fixed rate of loan per week is:

• £94 – if you’re living with your parents
• £181 – if you’re living in London
• £142 – if you’re living elsewhere

Student finance partial cancellation scheme

You may also be able to receive a partial cancellation of up to £1,500 on your maintenance loan debt. The change will be made to your balance once you begin repayments.

Extra funding for university

You may qualify for a Special Support payment if you're a lone parent, deaf, over 60 years old, or meet a range of other criteria. This gives extra financial support to those on the lowest incomes.

There's also extra funding available if you’re disabled or need support for childcare. We've got more on this in our page on student finance and funding.

You may be able to get a bursary, scholarship or award from your university. If you do, it won't count towards your household income. However, if you get other public money such as an NHS bursary, it'll reduce the amount of student finance you could get.

Loans if studying abroad or on a placement year

You might study abroad or take a placement as part of your university course. If you're away for a year, your usual university tuition fees are normally reduced – though by how much varies between the UK nations. Your tuition fee loan will be reduced also. If you're at a private university, where fees might be higher, you'll need to fund the difference.

If you're studying abroad, your living cost support will be based on how long you're away, whether it's for a term or up to a year. Welsh students get the 'living elsewhere' rate for living cost support (see the table above). There's also a travel grant to help with expenses – you can learn more about this from our page on student finance and funding.

If you're on a placement as part of your university course, your financial support will depend on whether it’s paid or unpaid. Taking an ‘approved’ unpaid placement is unlikely to affect your usual student finance. Those on a paid sandwich course year get a 'reduced rate' maintenance loan.

Student finance for a second degree

Normally you can only get undergraduate funding for your first university degree. However, you may get further funding if you want to study specific subjects, including:

• Medicine
• Dentistry
• Veterinary science
• Architecture (if a MArch RIBA Part 2 course)
• Social work
• Teacher training courses like a PGCE

These are ‘equivalent or lower qualifications’ (ELQ) that are approved for funding. In the above cases you could still be eligible for a living cost loan. Depending on the subject, you may need to fund some or all of the tuition fees yourself. It’s worth checking with the university and Student Finance Wales whether the subject you wish to study is covered by the ELQ rule.

You may notice that healthcare courses aren’t in the above list. While England has made healthcare courses eligible for student finance if taken as a second degree, Wales has not.

If you study part-time, there may be financial support for a wider range of subjects taken as a second degree, including STEM subjects and subjects studied in Welsh.

How to apply for student finance in Wales

The quickest way to apply is online to Student Finance Wales. You’ll need to reapply for each year of your university course.

Applications for student finance usually open in March. If you're starting a course in the autumn, it's best to get your application in by late spring to ensure your tuition fee and maintenance loan is ready in time. You can apply after this date, but your funding may be delayed. If you've not yet made your final choice of degree, you can always update the details after your application is in.

The Student Loans Company (SLC) will handle your loan payments on behalf of the government. Your tuition fee will be paid direct to your university. Both the grant and loan are paid into your bank account at the start of each term, once you’ve registered on your degree course.

Repaying your student loan

Your loan repayments begin the April after you leave university. You’ll also need to be earning over a certain amount.