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For courses starting on or after 1 January 2027, you may need to apply for student finance through the new student finance system. The new system is called your Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE). It replaces previous higher education and some further education funding.

You鈥檒l need to apply through LLE funding if you study certain courses and modules from levels 4 to 6 or some courses from level 7. This includes most undergraduate and some postgraduate and further education courses.

Find out if you鈥檙e eligible to apply.

What you can get

You may be able to apply for:

• Tuition Fee Loans to help pay your course tuition fees
• Maintenance Loans to help with your living costs

The amount of Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans you get partly depends on the number of credits you study.

All courses that qualify for funding will be worth a certain number of credits. For example, a year of studying a bachelor鈥檚 degree full time is usually worth 120 credits.

You can apply for Tuition Fee Loans up to a total amount of 拢39,160. This is the same as around 4 years of full-time study or 480 credits. Depending on your course, you may be able to get funding for more than 4 years.

You may also be able to apply for extra financial help, for example:聽

• a grant or allowance if you鈥檙e on a low income, are disabled or have children
• money from your university or college such as a bursary, scholarship or hardship fund
• NHS funding or a bursary if you鈥檙e studying certain courses such as nursing or social work

Find out what student loans and extra financial help you could get.

How you鈥檒l repay

Any student loans you borrow need to be paid back, but not until you鈥檝e finished or left your course, and you earn over a certain amount.聽

For courses starting from 1 January 2027, you鈥檒l start repaying your loans when you earn over 拢25,000 a year.

Your loans will be written off 40 years after the April you鈥檙e first due to repay.

You do not usually need to pay back extra financial help such as grants, allowances or bursaries.

Interest

You鈥檒l be charged 3.2% interest:

• from the day the first loan payment is made to you or your university, college or training provider
• until your loans are repaid in full or written off

When to apply

You can apply from September 2026 for courses that start from January 2027.

You will need to apply for funding for each course you study. If your course lasts longer than a year, you will need to reapply each year of your course.

If you鈥檙e not from England

There鈥檒l be a different process if your home is not usually in England and you鈥檙e:

You may be eligible for student finance including:

• Tuition Fee Loans to help pay your course tuition fees
• Maintenance Loans to help with your living costs
• extra funding such as a grant or allowance, for example, if you鈥檙e on a low income, are disabled or have children

For most courses starting on or after 1 January 2027, you鈥檒l need to apply for student finance through Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) funding.

Your eligibility for student finance depends on:

• your course
• the number of credits you study each year
• your university, college or training provider
• how much previous study you鈥檝e done
• your nationality and residency status
• your age

Your course

You may be eligible if you鈥檙e studying most qualifications from level 4 to 6. You may also be eligible if you鈥檙e studying some postgraduate level 7 courses.

Examples of eligible courses and modules include:

• a bachelor鈥檚 degree
• a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
• an integrated master鈥檚 degree
• a foundation year, as long as it forms part of a bachelor鈥檚 degree
• a foundation degree
• courses and modules of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs)
• modules from level 6 qualifications which meet skills gaps such as engineering, midwifery or social work
• some courses currently funded by Advanced Learner Loans
• a postgraduate healthcare course

Check with your university, college or training provider before you start applying if you鈥檙e not sure if your course qualifies for student finance through LLE funding.

The number of credits you study a year

All courses which qualify for funding will be worth a certain number of credits. One credit is equivalent to 10 hours of the learning time your university, college or training provider expects you to do. This might include things like studying, reading or coursework. For example, a year of studying a bachelor鈥檚 degree full time is usually worth 120 credits.鈥�

You鈥檙e normally only eligible for student finance when you study between 30 and 180 credits a year.

Your university, college or training provider

Your university, college or training provider needs to be registered with the Office for Students (OfS).

Check this with your university, college or training provider before you start applying.

How much previous study you鈥檝e done

You may be eligible even if you鈥檝e studied before. This includes if you need help funding a qualification at the same or a lower level. For example, a second undergraduate degree.

The total Tuition Fee Loan amount you can usually get is 拢39,160. Any government funding you鈥檝e previously received to cover course tuition fees will usually be deducted from that total, leaving you with a smaller amount. The deducted amount will include previous Tuition Fee Loans which may take into account inflation.

If you did not have to pay tuition fees when you studied, the amount you would have paid will be deducted at today鈥檚 equivalent value.

If you鈥檝e already used up the Tuition Fee Loan total amount of 拢39,160, you usually cannot apply for more student finance. You may be able to get more student finance through LLE funding, for example, if you鈥檙e studying certain courses such as medicine, nursing or social work.

Your nationality and residency status

You may be eligible for either:

• a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan (also known as 鈥榝ull support鈥�)
• a Tuition Fee Loan only (also known as 鈥榯uition fee only funding鈥�)

The type of help you can get depends on your nationality and residency status.

If you鈥檙e a UK national or Irish citizen or have 鈥榮ettled status鈥� in the UK

You can apply for both a Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan if both the following apply:

• your home is in England
• you鈥檝e been continuously living in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for 3 years before the first day of the month your course starts (apart from temporary absences such as holidays)

If you have a different nationality or you live outside the UK

You may be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan, for example if:

• you鈥檙e a UK national who鈥檚 been living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Gibraltar聽
• you鈥檙e a non-UK national who has a valid residency status in the UK聽
• you鈥檙e a non-UK national who鈥檚 lived in the UK for at least 7 years (if you鈥檙e under 18) or at least 20 years or half your life (if you鈥檙e over 18)聽聽

You may only be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan and not a Maintenance Loan if you:

• have pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme聽聽
• are a family member of someone with settled status and you鈥檝e been living in the UK聽聽

Your age

You must be under 60 on the first day of your course to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan.

If you鈥檙e 60 or above, you may be able to apply for an additional loan to help cover your living costs.

You may be able to apply for:

• Tuition Fee Loans to help pay your course tuition fees
• Maintenance Loans to help with your living costs

All courses which qualify for Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) funding will be worth a certain number of credits. For example, a year of studying a bachelor鈥檚 degree full time is usually worth 120 credits.

Any loans you borrow need to be paid back, but not until you鈥檝e finished or left your course, and you earn over a certain amount.

Tuition Fee Loans are paid directly to your university or college. Maintenance Loans are paid directly into your bank account.

Tuition Fee Loans

Depending on how much previous study you鈥檝e done, you can apply for Tuition Fee Loans up to a total amount of 拢39,160. This can be for a full course or split over multiple courses. This amount is based on current rates and may change over time. 拢39,160 represents around 4 years of full-time study or 480 credits.

You may be able to get Tuition Fee Loans for courses longer than 4 years, for example:

• if they include a foundation or study abroad year
• medicine
• nursing
• social work
• veterinary surgery
• architecture (including 鈥榩art 2鈥� courses after completing an undergraduate degree in architecture)
• bachelor鈥檚 degrees and integrated master鈥檚 degrees provided in Scotland

How much you can get

How much you get in Tuition Fee Loans depends on:聽

• the number of credits you study
• the cost your university, college or training provider charges for each credit
• your university, college or training provider, for example, their type of Office for Students (OfS) registration and their Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) quality rating
• whether you study in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland

You can get up to a maximum of 拢9,790 for every 120 credits you study.

You may get a lower amount in Tuition Fee Loans for:

• lower-fee foundation year study
• sandwich placements
• study abroad
• Turing Scheme study and work placements abroad

Your Tuition Fee Loans may not cover all of your course tuition fees. You may have to pay any course tuition fees not covered by loans yourself.

Maintenance Loans

You can only apply for Maintenance Loans to help cover your living costs when you:

• still have at least 拢1,587.50 left from your Tuition Fee Loan amount
• attend your course in person

You may be able to apply for Maintenance Loans after you鈥檝e used all your Tuition Fee Loan amount if you study certain degrees which last longer than 4 years.

You normally cannot get a Maintenance Loan for distance learning courses. If you cannot attend your course in person, you can only apply for a Maintenance Loan if you have a disability or long-term illness.

How much you can get

How much you get in Maintenance Loans depends on:

• where you live while you study, such as with your parents, in London or abroad
• the number of credits you study
• how many weeks you study each year
• your household income

You can get up to a maximum of 拢15,415 for your course year when you鈥檙e studying up to 30 weeks.聽

Your course year is a 12-month period that starts the first day of the month your course begins. If your full course takes longer than 12 months, each following course year starts on the same day and month as the first course year.

If you study over 30 weeks a year, you may be able to get additional support depending on your household income.

If you鈥檙e studying less than 120 credits a year, your Maintenance Loan is paid proportionally to the number of credits you study.

If you move house during your course, how much you can get may change.

You may get a lower amount in Maintenance Loans depending on your course, for example, if:

• you鈥檙e studying a subject which means you get other funding, such as a bursary
• your course includes a placement year

Your Maintenance Loans may not cover all of your living costs, so you may have to find other ways to pay for them. This could include, for example, part-time work, local authority assistance, bursaries, scholarships or family contributions.

Studying multiple courses in the same year

You can get multiple Maintenance Loans if you study more than one course in the same year. If your courses overlap, you will not receive the full loan amounts for all your courses during that period. Instead, you鈥檒l receive an adjusted amount of support.

You may also be able to apply for extra financial help, for example:聽

• a grant or allowance if you鈥檙e on a low income, are disabled or have children
• NHS funding or a bursary if you鈥檙e studying certain courses such as nursing or social work

You may also be able to apply for extra money from your university or college, such as a bursary, scholarship or hardship fund.

You do not usually need to pay back this extra funding.

Grants and allowances

You may be able to get:

• Disabled Students鈥� Allowance if you have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty
• a Childcare Grant or Parents鈥� Learning Allowance if you have dependent children
• an Adult Dependants鈥� Grant if an adult depends on you financially
• a travel grant 鈥痠f you鈥檙e studying abroad or on a medical or dentistry placement and normally live in England

The amount you get usually depends on your household income except if you鈥檙e applying for Disabled Students鈥� Allowance.

How many credits you need to study

All courses which qualify for funding will be worth a certain number of credits. For example, a year of studying a bachelor鈥檚 degree full time is usually worth 120 credits.

You need to be studying at least 120 credits in each course year to get:

• a Childcare Grant
• Parents鈥� Learning Allowance
• an Adult Dependants鈥� Grant
• a travel grant

You need to be studying at least 30 credits in each course year to get Disabled Students鈥� Allowance.

Your course year is a 12-month period that starts the first day of the month your course begins. If your full course takes longer than 12 months, each following course year starts on the same day and month as the first course year.

Course related funding

You can apply for:

• the if you鈥檙e studying pre-registration nursing, midwifery and allied health profession courses
• NHS bursaries if you鈥檙e studying certain medical or dentistry courses
• social work bursaries if you鈥檙e a social work student
• teacher training funding