Part-time Maintenance Loan

Whether a student can get a part-time Maintenance Loan depends on their:

• university or college
• course
• course intensity
• previous study
• age
• nationality and residency status

University or college

The course must be at an eligible university or college in the UK and either:

• a first degree, for example BA, BSc or BEd
• Graduate Certificate
• Graduate Diploma
• an Initial Teacher Training course (if it’s degree level or above)
• an integrated master’s degree
• a Foundation Degree in dental hygiene and dental therapy
• a DipHE in dental hygiene and dental therapy or operating department practice

They could also be eligible for funding if they’re studying a Level 4 or 5 qualification with HTQ approval e.g., Certificate, Diploma, HNC, HND or NVQ. To find out if their course is HTQ approved and qualifies for undergraduate student finance they should speak to their university or college.

If they’re studying a Level 4 or 5 undergraduate qualification that is not HTQ approved, they will only be eligible for tuition fee loan.

If they’re studying a Level 4 or 5 award, certificate, diploma or NVQ qualification that is not HTQ approved or does not qualify for undergraduate student finance, they could still be eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan.

Student's studying a degree apprenticeship course can't get funding from Student Finance England. Find out more about degree apprenticeships.

If students are not sure whether their course qualifies for student finance, they should check with their university or college.

Course intensity

Students must be studying at a course intensity of at least 25% to get a Maintenance Loan. They’ll also need to know the number of module credits they’ll be studying in the academic year when they apply.

Their course can last up to 16 years.

If they are not sure of their module credits or course intensity, they should check with their university or college.

Previous study

Students can usually only get student finance for their first higher-education course. If they’ve already studied a higher-education course, they might not get help for a second course.

However, they may get funding if they're studying one of the following courses:

• medicine and dentistry
• subjects allied to medicine
• biological and sport science
• psychology
• veterinary sciences
• agriculture, food and related sciences
• physical sciences
• general and others in sciences
• mathematical sciences
• engineering and technology
• computing
• geographical and environmental studies

Age

Students must be under 60 on the first day of the first academic year of their course to get a Maintenance Loan.

Nationality and residency status

Students can apply for full support if all the following apply:

• they’re a UK national or Irish citizen or have ‘settled status’ (no restrictions on how long they can stay)
• they normally live in England
• they’ve been living legally in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 continuous years before the first day of their course, apart from temporary absences such as going on holiday

They may be eligible for full support if they’re a UK national (or family member of a UK national) who both:

• were living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein on 31 December 2021, or returned to the UK by 31 December 2020 after living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
• have been living in the UK, the EU, Gibraltar, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein for the past 3 years

They may also be eligible if their residency status is one of the following:

• refugee (including family members)
• humanitarian protection (including family members)
• migrant worker or frontier worker from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein (including family members) with settled or pre-settled status
• child of a Swiss national and they and their parent have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• child of a Turkish worker who has permission to stay in the UK - they and their Turkish worker parent must have been living in the UK by 31 December 2020
• a stateless person (including family members)
• an unaccompanied child granted ‘Section 67 leave’ under the Dubs Amendment
• a child who is under the protection of someone granted ‘Section 67 leave’, who is also allowed to stay in the UK for the same period of time as the person responsible for them (known as ‘leave in line’)
• granted ‘Calais leave’ to remain a child of someone granted ‘Calais leave’ to remain, who is also allowed to stay in the UK for the same period of time as their parent (known as ‘leave in line’)
• they’ve been given settled status (‘indefinite leave to remain’) because they’ve been the victim of domestic violence
• they’ve been given settled status (‘indefinite leave to remain’) as a bereaved partner
• they or their family member have been granted leave under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) or the Afghan Citizen's Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)
• they or their family member have been granted leave to enter or remain in the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme, the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme or the Ukraine Extension Scheme

They could also be eligible if they’re not a UK national and are either:

• under 18 and have lived in the UK for at least 7 years
• 18 or over and have lived in the UK for at least 20 years (or at least half of their life)

They must have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 continuous years before the first day of their course.

The first day of the first academic year of their course is:

• 1 September, if their course starts between 1 August and 31 December
• 1 January, if their course starts between 1 January and 31 March
• 1 April, if their course starts between 1 April and 30 June
• 1 July, if their course starts between 1 July and 31 July

Distance learning

Students studying a distance learning course cannot get a part-time Maintenance Loan, unless they are unable to attend their course in person because they have a disability.

Students who are overseas may also be eligible for a Maintenance Loan if they’re:

• a serving member of the UK armed forces
• the spouse or civil partner of a serving member
• a child, step-child or adoptive child living with a member of the UK Armed Forces serving overseas
• a dependent parent living with a serving member