Fees and Funding for Teacher Training Courses

Government Loans for Teacher Training Courses

Home students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan. Please see Student Finance England for more information about Student Finance for Teacher Training Courses.

EU students please visit the Government website for information on eligibility.

If you have any questions on the maintenance loan/tuition fee loan application process please contact Student Finance England.

IMPORTANT - When applying through the Student Finance England Application Portal you will be asked to enter details about the course you are applying for.  Please make sure you start this search with ‘Primary’ or ‘Secondary’ depending on your programme and then your age range (primary) or subject (secondary) to ensure you select a PGCE course rather than an undergraduate one in error.

Department for Education (DfE) Training Bursaries

In addition to the tuition support and student loans, the DfE offers further financial incentives and support to offset the costs of PGCE training for some subjects. Teaching is a prime career choice for high-quality graduates. To encourage the best people to enter the profession,  trainees will need at least a 2:2 to be eligible for a training bursary.

Bursaries are available for Home trainees on eligible postgraduate courses in England. Bursary amounts will vary depending on teaching subject and degree class. For further details please see the DfE’s Get into Teaching website.

Bursaries are paid in 10 monthly payments directly into a your bank account by the University from funds provided by the DfE, as long as you have provided your bank account details and have registered.  Payments are usually made on the first Friday of each month, with the first payment date being the first Friday in October.

Further information about teacher training bursaries can be found in section 10 of the University's Finance regulations.

Chemistry, Maths, Modern Languages and Physics scholarships offered by independent organisations

For details on the scholarships available for these secondary subjects, please see the relevant websites below:

• The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) scholarships
• Mathematics Teacher Training Scholarships
  
• British Council (for languages scholarships)
• The Institute of Physics (IoP) scholarships

University of Exeter Financial Support for PGCE students

The University of Exeter offers a PGCE Exeter Bursary to all UK students studying for a PGCE, whose household income is £35,000 or less. (in 2025/26 the bursary amount was £620, the 2026/27 bursary amount will be confirmed in due course). This is to help support those on low incomes with costs associated with their PGCE training year, including travel to placements. There is no separate application procedure for this bursary. Instead, the University of Exeter makes an assessment using the household income information provided by the student's funding body (e.g. Student Finance England). Students must make sure that they and their sponsor(s) have given consent for details of their application to be shared with the University of Exeter. This consent to share is requested during the application for financial support, but can be given at any time throughout the year by contacting their student funding body.

Students who have not applied for financial support, or who have applied but chosen not to be means tested, are unable to be considered for this bursary until they do.

University of Exeter Class of 2026 Progression Scholarship

We are pleased to offer University of Exeter students graduating in Summer 2026 and progressing direct to our University of Exeter Primary or Secondary PGCE courses, a Progression Scholarship towards the cost of their tuition fees equating to a 20% reduction in the PGCE tuition fee. This award will be applied automatically to eligible progressing students enrolling for PGCE study in 2026/27. A separate scholarship application is not required. Please apply through the DfE Apply site in the normal way.

University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship 2026/27

We also offer a University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship which equates to a 20% reduction in the PGCE tuition fee for any University of Exeter alumni meeting the criteria listed who registers onto one of our 2026/27 Primary/Secondary PGCE programmes. The scholarship will be applied automatically to eligible applicants enrolling for PGCE study. A separate scholarship application is not required. Please apply through the DfE Apply site in the normal way.

Success for All Fund

The University, in partnership with its alumni community, has created the Success for All Fund to help you if you are experiencing unexpected financial challenges affecting your ability to study. All registered undergraduate and postgraduate University of Exeter students are eligible to apply, irrespective of fee-status. Priority will be given to students undertaking their first degree who are from low income households or without family support. The majority of funds are means-tested and you will be asked to provide evidence in support of your application. Please note, funding will not be given to pay your tuition fees.

Support for Care Leavers

We offer financial support in the form of a full tuition fee waiver to students who are verified as being a care leaver and who are starting their PGCE course at the University of Exeter. Students need to meet certain criteria. The fee waiver will only be applied for a PGCE course if the student did not receive a tuition fee waiver at UG level. Further details regarding support for care leavers be found by visiting our support for care leavers webpage.

Funding information for international applicants

As an international applicant, you’ll need the right to study in the UK. You already have this if, for example, you: 

• are an Irish citizen 
• have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme  
• have indefinite leave to remain in the UK 

If you do not already have the right to study in the UK for the duration of this course, you will need to apply for a Student visa. To do this, you’ll need to be sponsored by your training provider. The University of Exeter is able to provide student visa sponsorship. 

Please note however that for the majority of PGCE teacher training courses, there are no financial support packages such as bursaries or loans available for international students and the international tuition fee for 2026/27 is £24,950. The Global Excellence Scholarships offered by the University of Exeter are not available to international PGCE students.  

For those training to teach Secondary Physics and Secondary Modern Foreign Languages (French or Spanish) international applicants can in certain circumstances be eligible for UK government bursaries and scholarships although they will still need to pay the £24,950 tuition fee. Please go to the Fees and Financial Support for non-UK trainee teachers webpage on the Get into Teaching website for more details on financial support eligibility for international applicants.

Trainees in receipt of a UK Government teacher training bursary are expected to teach in England after they gain Qualified Teacher Status.

We strongly recommend that you check your eligibility for financial support and consider whether you have the funds available to fund the course and support yourself before you apply. See here for some useful advice and guidance on the cost of living while being a student.

The University has an International Student Support team who can help – see their Student Visa – Money page for more information. 

We have a PGCE trainee expenses policy which includes information about our Discretionary Support Fund for help with specific travel/accommodation financial difficulties. 

Please read this document carefully to see what it does/doesn't cover. If you have any questions in advance of starting the programme, please contact Info at St Luke's on info.stlukes@exeter.ac.uk.

About Professor Ted Wragg

Ted Wragg was Emeritus Professor of Education at Exeter. He taught in primary and secondary schools and in two universities. He obtained his BA, a First in German, at Durham University, his MEd at Leicester and his PhD at Exeter University. He officially retired in 2003 but remained extremely active as a writer, researcher, teacher, broadcaster and adviser. He still taught students and mentored academic staff.

During his 34 years at the University of Exeter, Ted Wragg secured millions of pounds worth of research projects and wrote 800 academic articles and 50 books. He made many important contributions to UK education policy.

He served as a member of the Board of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. He was the former President of the British Educational Research Association, an adviser to a Parliamentary Select Committee on the attainments of school leavers, and chairman of the Educational Broadcasting Council of the UK. In 1992 he chaired the Research Assessment Exercise Panel for Education. He was Chair of the judging panel for 'The Platos', the annual awards for outstanding teachers.

He authored over 50 books on a wide range of topics, including teaching skills, teacher appraisal, literacy, research methods, teacher training, assessment, curriculum, many of which have been translated into other languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Polish and Portuguese. He also wrote a 120 book reading scheme and produced two CD ROMs, a DVD ROM, and many videos and audiotapes.

He was a regular columnist in the Guardian and Times Educational Supplement. He was the presenter or contributor to numerous radio and TV series and items on education.

How do the Ted Wragg Awards work?

A fundamental part of our PGCE programme is the sharing of experience, good practice and support not just from staff to trainee but between trainees themselves. We are looking for and rewarding excellent trainees because we know they are an important part of creating a programme that encourages all trainees to succeed and become great teachers.

So, what makes an excellent trainee? We are looking for those who demonstrate good subject knowledge, excellent communication and people skills. Excellent trainees are creative, able to think on their feet, confident and infuse enthusiasm both in the classroom and in their fellow trainees. Most importantly, we are looking for those who show us they are passionate about helping people learn and enjoy the challenges and rewards that teaching offers. If you think this describes you, then we want you on our course.

Unlike a scholarship, recipients will not be selected based on entry criteria – instead they will be judged on their year as a trainee. Therefore, everyone comes into this equal. Those that are selected will do so because they not only proved they will make outstanding teachers, but helped others to become the same.

All PGCE students are eligible and will be considered for this competitive award. There is no application process. The awards are handed out towards the end of the training year. Trainees will be selected based on consultations with school mentors, tutors and course leaders. The number of awards handed out each year will vary but generally about 20 trainees receive the award. Typically, awards are £500.

Similar to the DfE training bursary, the money is tax-free and will go directly to the awardees. These awards are discretionary and therefore will be administered based on the judgements of the School, the merits of each trainee and the needs of the PGCE programme. The School may reserve some awards for specific subject areas.

How do increases in tuition fees for UK students impact my studies?

On 4 November the Secretary of State for Education announced in Parliament that the government intends to introduce increases in tuition fees for UK students studying in England, and in maintenance loans for English students, for the 2025/26 academic year. These proposed increases are in line with inflation and are in recognition of the financial pressures that increased costs have placed on both universities and students.

For full-time UK Teacher Training students studying in England, the tuition fee will rise to £9,535 per year, an increase of £285. The increases, which are subject to further parliamentary approval, are proposed to come into effect from 1 August 2025 and will apply to both new and returning students.

It is the University of Exeter's intention to charge tuition fees at the new higher rate (with any subsequent further changes to the cap) for each year of your studies.

It is important to note that, for the vast majority of UK students, tuition fees are paid directly to the University by the Student Loans Company and students only begin to repay if they earn over the earnings ‘threshold’. The amount you repay for fee and living cost loans each year depends solely on what you earn, not on what you borrow, and therefore your expected monthly repayments will not increase as a result of this change.

Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert, has a helpful explainer here.

Only certain categories of students will be charged the ‘Home’ fee. Generally that is if you’re a UK national or have ‘settled status’ but full information can be found on our student finance pages.

From 2021/22 the eligibility rules for home fee status changed 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 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.

Due to the Common Travel Area arrangement, Irish Nationals living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for home fee status; further information around eligibility is available at the above gov.uk link.

Please note that the University is unable to undertake fee assessments prior to an application for a place to study being made. If you are unsure which fee category is applicable to you after making an application you may wish to contact us so we can send you a Fee Status Questionnaire to determine your fee status.

Please also note that if you have received an offer and you think your fee status is incorrect you have 28 days, from the date of your offer, to query your status. To query your fee status within the 28 day period please contact us at ad-feestatus@exeter.ac.uk  stating your full name, Exeter Reference number (or UCAS personal ID), programme for which you have been made an offer and providing details of why you think the fee classification is incorrect.

How are bursaries paid if I am an international student?

There is no difference; bursaries will be paid by the Funding team based on your subject and eligibility.