Student Loans

Loans

You can apply to your Local Authority for a student loan to cover your tuition fees (as long as you do not already have an honours degree). You can apply for a loan regardless of your household income. Loans are also available to help with your living costs.

For more information on student loans and how to apply, see the student finance section of the Directgov website.

Information is also available from Student Finance Direct

Repaying loans

You do not have to begin repaying a student loan until you have completed the course and earn an annual salary of £15,000 or more. Loan repayments are subject to interest, linked to the national inflation rate, so the amount you repay will be equal in value to the amount you borrow.

Bursaries for EU applicants

Staffordshire University offers bursaries of £500 per year to all full-time EU applicants to undergraduate courses. These are deducted from your tuition fee.

EU students applying for a full-time undergraduate course from our EU partner institutions, will benefit from an additional £500 Partner Bursary. The University will deduct the bursary from fees at enrolment.

Student Loans (EU)

EU students studying full-time in the UK are entitled to apply for a student loan to cover annual tuition fees. Further details can be found at: Students from other EU countries section of the UK Government's website

You can borrow up to, but not more than, the amount you have to pay.

Repaying loans (EU students)

After you complete your course, you will be required to start repaying any outstanding loan when your annual salary reaches a certain threshold’ level. This varies from country to country.

If, after 25 years, your salary does not reach the threshold level–the Student Loans Company will cancel the debt.

The Student Loans Company will not issue loans for postgraduate courses.

The main source of income for postgraduate students is a loan. Unlike undergraduates however, postgraduates are not eligible for loans from the Student Loans Company. The most popular options are a career development loan or a professional studies loan.

Professional and Career Development Loans are bank loans that can be used to help pay for work related learning.  You can borrow between £300 and £10,000 to help support the cost of up to two years of learning (or three years if it includes one years relevant unpaid practical work).  The Young Peoples Learning Agency will pay the interest on the loan while you are learning and for one month afterwards.  The loan can be used to pay course fees or other costs such as travel and living expenses.  You can also use the loan to supplement other forms of support such as grants or bursaries.

Because the Professional and Career Development Loan is a commercial loan product, they should only be considered as an option once all other student funding options have been investigated.  For further information please visit the Direct Gov website or contact Careers Advice on 0800 100 900.

Many leading banks operate a PSL scheme for postgraduates training for a professional qualification in a specific area, such as law or medicine. Postgraduates studying for a diploma, MSc or PhD are eligible. Contact the banks direct to discuss your particular requirements.

Students on many MBA (Masters in Business Administration) programmes are eligible for the Association of MBAs Loan Scheme, designed to help students paying their own fees or part-fees.

Further details and an application form can be obtained by calling the Association of MBAs on 020 7246 2686 or NatWest information line on 0800 015 1166.

You may also negotiate a loan with your own bank. Applicants may need to provide evidence that the course is likely to provide long-term career prospects.