Funding for healthcare students

If you’re starting an undergraduate pre-registration nursing, midwifery or allied health professions course you can apply for a loan from Student Finance  to help with your tuition fees and living costs. There are also a range of means-tested loans, including a specific long-course loan designed to support students on healthcare courses that run over 45 weeks or more.

To talk to somebody about your own personal circumstances contact the Money & Guidance Advisors or the Student Advice Centre (Tel. 01782 294629 or pop to their reception above the Ember Lounge) to arrange to speak with an Adviser.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) provides additional funding for nursing, midwifery and some allied health professional students through the Learning Support Fund. Eligible students may be able to access the following:

• Support for excess travel and dual accommodation expenses incurred by attending practice placements.
• A non-repayable grant of £1,000 per year if they have child dependants.
• Exceptional support of up to £3,000 per year in the case of severe hardship.

For further information including when and how to apply, visit the NHS Business Services Authority website.

The Department of Health announced in December that from September 2020 new and continuing students studying pre-registration nursing, midwifery and allied health degrees will have access to a training grant of £5,000 a year to help with living and associated study costs.

Some students may be eligible to receive additional payments worth up to £3,000 per academic year, including:

• £1,000 towards childcare costs
• £1,000 if studying in a region that is struggling to recruit
• £1,000 if a new student studying a shortage specialism, including mental health

You won't have to repay the training grant and you'll still be able to access tuition fee and maintenance loans from the Student Loans Company. You will also still be able to apply for the existing support provided by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA)  

Applications open from the 1st July. For further information (including full eligibility criteria) and to apply online visit NHS Learning Support Fund 

Yes, you can apply to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) for a small bursary to help cover the cost of travelling to placement.

Further information, including how to apply can be found on the NHSBSA website.

If you’re starting an undergraduate Paramedic Science course you can apply for a loan from Student Finance to help with your tuition fees and living costs.

Unlike most other health pre-registration courses, if you’ve already received a loan from Student Finance for a previous degree, you’ll not be eligible for a second loan to study Paramedic Science.

If you're studying Paramedic Science you'll also have access to additional NHS funding through a training grant of £5,000 a year to help with living and associated study costs.

In addition some students may be eligible to receive additional payments worth up to £3,000 per academic year, including:

• £1,000 towards childcare costs
• £1,000 if studying in a region that is struggling to recruit
• £1,000 if a new student studying a shortage specialism, including mental health

You won't have to repay the training grant you'll still be able to access tuition fee and maintenance loans from the Student Loans Company. You will also still be able to apply for the existing support provided by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA)  

Applications open from the 1st July. For further information (including full eligibility criteria) and to apply online visit NHS Learning Support Fund 

Yes. There are grants for childcare, adult dependents and parents' learning allowance. These are grants not loans, so you don’t need to repay them.

For further information and to check your eligibility contact the Money & Guidance Advisors or the Student Advice Centre (Tel. 01782 294629 or pop to their reception above the Ember Lounge) to arrange to speak with an Adviser.

You do not have to pay anything upfront and do not start repaying the loan until you’re earning over the repayment threshold (currently £26,575 per annum).

You won't pay anything back until the April after you graduate at the earliest and repayments will be made gradually out of your pay. You don't need to worry about missing a payment as it’s taken automatically.

You'll repay 9% of your annual income over £26,575 or more per year. If your income falls below £26,575 a year, for any reason, repayments would stop until your income rises above the threshold again.

For further details including how much you'll repay and how interest on the loan is calculated visit Student Loan Repayment.

The amount you’ll repay each month is based on how much you earn, not the size of your loan, and you’ll pay the same amount each month. Get an estimate on what your loan repayments would look like by using the Student Loan Repayment Calculator.

The money will be deducted automatically from your wages (just like tax and national insurance). You’ll stop making repayments if your salary drops below the repayment threshold (even if only for a short time) and any unpaid balance will be written off after 30 years.

In most cases, no. You’ll only pay back the second loan once you’ve repaid the first loan. Please check your personal eligibility for funding with Student Finance.

You’ll only make repayments on your loans for 30 years. Any unpaid loan amount, including any remaining from your second loan, will be written off after 30 years.

Students on some healthcare courses will spend a great deal of time on clinical and community placements. In some cases, this could mean you need to travel further than usual or even stay away from home. You may be able to claim some of these costs back. This support is part of the Learning Support Fund administered through the NHS Business Services Authority.

How to claim your expenses back

Read more on student funding for nursing and healthcare courses on the Funding Clinic and Department of Health websites.