Student loans
You can apply for an undergraduate student loan or postgraduate student loan to cover your tuition fees and living costs.
Please click on the relevant heading below for further details.
The information below is intended for Undergraduate UK* students who are resident in England.
If you are resident elsewhere in the UK, you will need to check the information provided by your national funding authority as different schemes are in place in each country of the UK. Please visit one of the following websites;
*for information on whether you qualify as a UK student for funding purposes, check the UKCISA website.
The basic types of grant and loan that are available to full-time UK undergraduate students are;
- Student Maintenance Loan - this loan is intended to help cover living and course related costs, such as accommodation, food, books, travel etc.
- Tuition Fee Loan - eligible students can apply for a loan to cover the cost of their tuition fees.
- Special Support Grant – like the Maintenance Grant, but paid to students who are in receipt of means tested benefits whilst studying (eg Housing Benefit).
You may also be eligible for supplementary grants if you have a disability or Specific Learning Difficulty or if you are a student with dependent children or have adult dependants.
You will find information on how to apply for all of the above in the Applying for Student Loans and Grants section.
Part-time study
Part-time undergraduate students are able to apply for funding from Student Finance England, providing:
- you are studying over 25% of the full-time course in each year;
- you do not have a degree qualification already.
If you started your course in or after August 2018, you can apply for a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan.
If you don't live in England, you can find further information on the following websites:
PGT Masters Loan
Students living in the UK can apply for a Postgraduate Master's Loan. This can help with course fees and living costs while you study. For information on how to apply and your student finance entitlement, please visit:
England
If you live in England, your application will be assessed by Student Finance England. Find the loan eligibility criteria on the Gov.uk website.
Wales
If you live in Wales, your application will be assessed by Student Finance Wales. Find the loan eligibility criteria on the Student Finance Wales website.
Northern Ireland
If you live in Northern Ireland, you can check your eligibility on the Student Finance NI website.
Scotland
The Student Awards Agency for Scotland will ordinarily only fund students from Scotland to study at an institution in Scotland. In exceptional circumstances, they may fund study outside Scotland if the course is not available in Scotland. Further information is available on the Student Awards Agency for Scotland website.
European Union
From 2021/22 the eligibility rules for home fee status are changing for EU Students. Please refer to the UK Government website to see how this change affects you at www.gov.uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students. Where EU students are not eligible for home fees, they will be required to pay international fees.
EU Students from 2021 Academic year onward will also no longer be able to access UK Government student loans. This decision has been made by the government as part of the transition process of the UK leaving the EU.
PGR - Doctoral Loan
England and Wales
Students living in England and Wales can apply for a postgraduate doctoral loan of up to £27,892. This can help with your course fees and living costs while you are studying for a postgraduate doctoral degree, such as a PhD. More information can be found on the Government webpage here: www.gov.uk/doctoral-loan
Scotland and Northern Ireland
If you are a UK national living in Scotland or Northern Ireland (or have settled status in the UK and live in Scotland or Northern Ireland), you are not eligible for the postgraduate doctoral loan.
European Union
From 2021/22 the eligibility rules for home fee status are changing for EU Students. Please refer to the UK Government website to see how this change affects you at www.gov.uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students. Where EU students are not eligible for home fees, they will be required to pay international fees.
EU Students from 2021 Academic year onward will also no longer be able to access UK Government student loans. This decision has been made by the government as part of the transition process of the UK leaving the EU.
If you are a full-time student with children or adult dependants you may qualify for extra help. Non-repayable funding sources (2023/24 figures) that are dependent on household income include:
- Childcare Grant – up to 85 per cent of childcare costs per week, up to a maximum of £188.90 for parents with one child or £323.85 for parents with two or more children
- Parents’ Learning Allowance – up to £1,915 per year towards course-related costs
- Adult Dependants Grant – up to £3,354 per year if you have a financially dependant partner or other adult
You should be aware that if you are claiming benefits, your eligibility for a maintenance loan (whether you take it or not) and some student grants may be counted as income by the job centre and housing benefits office. Further information on these grants, including eligibility criteria, can be found at www.gov.uk/student-finance.
You will only start to repay your student loans once you have completed your studies and your income is above the earnings threshold. Your tuition fee loan and maintenance loan will be added together and paid back in the same way, with the same rate of interest applied. Repayments will be deducted from your salary if you are an employee. If you are self employed you will need to calculate and make your own repayments.
The rate of interest and the terms and conditions of your student loans can change in line with Government legislation and review. Any change in repayment conditions should be communicated to you by your relevant UK Funding Body, eg Student Finance England.
We are aware that students of certain faiths may not wish to take out Student Finance (SFE) loans to fund their study and living costs because of the interest added to the repayment of such loans. The UK government are planning to introduce a suitable alternative, but currently there is no confirmed launch date for this.
In the meantime, affected students who follow the SFE income assessment process but apply for a £0.00 loan could still be eligible for our Access to Exeter bursary; please see the Bursaries and Scholarship pages for further details.
All full-time UK and EU* students wanting to apply for a tuition fee and/ or maintenance loan to support their studies should make an application through one of the following, depending on where you live:
- Student Finance England
- Student Finance Wales
- Student Awards Agency for Scotland
- Student Finance Northern Ireland
The financial information you provide in your application will be used to determine your eligibility for an Access to Exeter Bursary, on the condition you have not withdrawn your consent to share this information with the University.
*for more information on whether you qualify as a UK or EU student, visit the UKCISA website.
When to Apply
Full-time Undergraduate UK students can apply for tuition and maintenance loans from Student Finance from March of the year they commence their studies. You should apply by 31st May to ensure you receive your funding when your course commences in September.
You will need to make a new application for each year of study.
Applying for Financial Support Based on your Household Income
When you apply for funds, you will be asked whether you wish to apply for student finance based on your household income. If you do not share household income data then you will only be eligible to receive the Tuition Fee Loan and a portion of the Maintenance Loan. In providing your household income data, you can be assessed for a full maintenance loan and an Access to Exeter bursary or PGCE bursary from the University.
What happens next?
You must provide all documents in support of your application. If you do not provide this documentation, your financial assessment will be delayed.
Once your assessment is complete, you will receive notification of your financial support entitlement from the relevant funding body.
When applying for financial support, you must provide your National Insurance Number. If you do not supply this information, your student loan and any other grants may be delayed.
From the 2021/22 academic year, new and continuing students living in the Crown Dependencies (the ‘Islands’), who come to England solely for the purposes of higher or further education study, will be eligible for home fee status, on the basis of 3 years’ residency in the UK or the Islands. The UK Government confirmed this eligibility in December 2020.
For information on support available to you for tuition fees and living costs you should contact your island education offices
If you live in:
- Guernsey - please visit the Guernsey Government website
- Jersey - please visit the Jersey Government website
- Isle of Man - please visit the Isle of Man Government website
Please note that Islands students are not eligible for the Maintenance Loan, Access to Exeter Bursary or Childcare Subsidy Fund.
For further information on tuition fees, please refer to our Student Fees section of the website.
For any further enquiries, please contact the Student Information Desk (SID) Online 0300 555 0444 (UK callers) or +44 (0)1392 724724 (International callers).
From 2021/22 the eligibility rules for home fee status are changing for EU Students. Please refer to the UK Government website to see how this change affects you at www.gov.uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students. Where EU students are not eligible for home fees, they will be required to pay international fees.
EU Students from 2021 Academic year onward will also no longer be able to access UK Government student loans. This decision has been made by the government as part of the transition process of the UK leaving the EU.
The Government of Canada offers full and part-time loans to students with demonstrated financial need in all provinces and territories across Canada, with the exception of Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
The purpose of a Canadian Student Loan is to supplement, not replace, the financial resources that you (and your family, where applicable) are expected to contribute.
For more information about the Canadian Student Loans programme see the CanLearn website.