UK, outside Wales

Funding available from Student Finance England (SFE) for starting a course in September 2025.

If you live in England then you can apply to Student Finance England for funding for the academic year 2025/26. The funding available from Student Finance England is made up of tuition fee funding and funding for living costs.

Tuition fee loan

Subject to terms and conditions, students who live in England and are studying towards their first degree will not have to pay their tuition fees upfront. Instead they could be eligible for a repayable tuition fee loan of up to £9,535 per year to meet the cost of their tuition fees. This funding would be paid directly to your University after you have enrolled.

You will only start to repay this loan when you have finished your studies and are earning more than £25,000* per year (subject to terms and conditions).

*2025/26 financial year threshold. This figure is reviewed annually.

Funding for living costs

All eligible students who apply to SFE can receive a maintenance loan to help them meet their living costs. This loan is expected to contribute towards the cost of accommodation, food, travel and general living expenses. The amount available will depend on your personal circumstances and where you are living while you study.

The following table demonstrates examples of funding available depending on household income and where a student is living while they study:

Maintenance support for a full-time undergraduate living away from home in 2025/26

As can be seen above, the amount of maintenance loan available will be affected by household income details.

Please note that where the household income is higher, there is an expectation from the Government that parents will contribute towards the student’s cost of living.

The maintenance loan is paid directly to students, normally in three instalments; one at the start of each term. The first instalment is normally released to you within 3-5 working days after you have completed enrolment. Therefore it is important to arrive at University with funding for at least two weeks available to you.

Please note that if you change any details about your course or place of study after you have applied for funding, please inform SFE as soon as you know of a change otherwise payment of your funding could be delayed.

Funding for Placement Years

If you are an undergraduate on a placement year/year in industry, the funding that you can receive is different. 

Tuition Fees

For the 2025/26 Academic Year the tuition fee charge for Aberystwyth University students undertaking an integrated year in industry is as follows:

Maintenance

If you will be undertaking a placement, if eligible, you can apply to Student Finance England for a reduced rate maintenance loan. This reduced rate maintenance loan will not take your household income into account - the loan is non-means-tested - and varies according to where you will live during the placement.

The amounts for the 2025-2026 academic year are:

• £2,396 if living at home
• £3,194 if living away from home and outside of London
• £4,485 if living in London

Students with children or an adult dependent, or students with Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA), are not usually eligible for this support when in receipt of a reduced rate maintenance loan.

Students undertaking certain specified unpaid placements may be eligible for full funding, providing the placement is one of the following:

• Unpaid service in a hospital or in a public health service laboratory or with a clinical commissioning group in the UK
• Unpaid service with a local authority in the UK acting in the exercise of its functions relating to the care of children and young persons, health or welfare, or with a voluntary organisation providing facilities or carrying out activities of a like nature in the UK
• Unpaid service with a local authority acting in the exercise of public health functions in the UK
• Unpaid service in the prison or probation and aftercare service in the UK
• Unpaid research in a UK institution or, in the case of a student attending an overseas institution as a part of their course in an overseas institution
• Unpaid service with a Special Health Authority, the NHS Commissioning Board, the National Institute for Care and Excellence, the Health and Social Care Information Centre, a Local Health Board, a Health Board or a Special Health Board in Scotland, or a Health and Social Services Board in Northern Ireland
• Unpaid service in the UK Parliament

For more information, contact Student Finance England.

Eligible UK students are able apply for a reduced-rate Maintenance Loan to help with living costs such as food, accommodation, and travel.

The amount of Maintenance Loan you can receive is determined by your household income, where you are going to be living while on placement, and additional criteria.

Additional funding from Aberystwyth University

We offer a range of Scholarships and Bursaries to financially support you while you study at Aberystwyth. 

Repaying the loans

The recent UK Government policy statement on Higher Education funding and finance, affecting student loan repayment terms and conditions, applies to students commencing study from 2025/26 onwards. As soon as the changes are confirmed, we will update this page. Please also continue to check your funding body’s website for up-to-date information.

If you take a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan, these are combined to form one amount that you repay after you have left your course. You become liable to repay any loans you have taken in the April after you leave your course.

You’ll only start making repayments when your income is over a set threshold, which will be £25,000 a year until April 2027. From April 2027 the threshold is set to rise annually with inflation (RPI).  If you study a full-time course, you will be due to start repaying from the April after completing your course or leaving/withdrawing from Higher Education. A 2026 graduate who starts a job with a salary of £28,000 a year, would expect to repay around £11 per month over financial year 2027/28.  If your income drops below the repayment threshold, repayments will stop and any outstanding balance will be written off 40 years after entering repayment. You can also make additional voluntary repayments to the Student Loans Company at any time.

All students are liable for 40 years from the April after they have finished their course to repay any loans borrowed. If there is an outstanding balance at the end of 40 years, this will be written off.

Interest on your loans

You are charged interest on any loan taken from the time it is paid to you (maintenance loan) or on your behalf (tuition fee loan) until you pay your loan back in full, or any balance is written off.

The interest rate is currently RPI (Retail Price Index) + up to 3%. The amount you are charged also depends on whether you are studying or working, and if you are working, how much you are earning.

You can find more details about how interest is applied to your student loan from the Student Loans Company.

Interest on your loans

You are charged interest on any loan taken from the time it is paid to you (maintenance loan) or on your behalf (tuition fee loan) until you pay your loan back in full, or any balance is written off.

The interest rate is currently RPI (Retail Price Index) + up to 3%. The amount you are charged also depends on whether you are studying or working, and if you are working, how much you are earning. 

You can find more details about how interest is applied to your student loan from the Student Loans Company.

Cost of repayments

Currently repayments on undergraduate loans are set at a rate of 9% of your income over £25,000 per year. Repayments will normally be deducted from your salary through the tax system. You can also make voluntary repayments.

How to apply for funding

Students who are ordinarily resident in England will apply to Student Finance England for their funding. The application process for students who intend to start a course in September 2025 is due to open in March 2025.

Tuition Fee Loan – Up to £9,535 a year

You can apply to Student Awards Agency Scotland for a student loan to pay part or all of your tuition fees. Eligible Scottish domiciled students are entitled to a non-income-assessed loan of up to £9,535 a year towards the cost of your tuition fees.

More information is available on the Student Awards Agency Scotland website.

Tuition Fee loan – Up to £9,535 a year

You can get a Tuition Fee Loan to cover all or part of your tuition fees which is paid directly to the University which is repayable. How much you can receive will depend on where in the United Kingdom you decided to study. If you decide to study here in Wales, you can get a Tuition Fee Loan to cover the full amount of tuition fees, up to a maximum of £9535. You will be charged interest on any amount you borrow.

Visit the Student Finance Northern Ireland website for more information on what you may be eligible to receive.