funding your studies

What is the tuition fee loan?

Tuition fee loans are available for most students to cover the cost of your tuition fees. The Student Loans Company will pay this directly to the university. The amount of your tuition fee loan is not affected by your household income. However, if you have studied previously at a university, your eligibility may be affected. One of our Student Money Advisers should be able to provide you with more information on this.

Part-time and online students

You may be able to get a tuition fee loan if your part-time course has a course intensity of 25% or more.

‘Course intensity’ measures how much of your course you complete each year compared to an equivalent full-time course. This is calculated based on the number of credits you study each year. For example: If a full-time student was expected to study 120 credits per year and a part-time student was expected to study 30 credits per year then the ‘course intensity’ would be 25% as 30 is one quarter of 120*.

Most courses are designed so that part-time students are expected to study at least 25% of the course that full-time students would study each year. However, if you have any questions, please speak to our Admissions team on admissionsenquiries@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

*Please note that not all courses which are eligible for funding consist of 120 per level so the number of credits a part-time student is required to study may be greater than 30 to reach the 25% intensity threshold.

Tuition fee loan

The loan is paid directly to your university or college and you will have to pay it back:

• Full-time students can currently borrow up to £9,790 each academic year
• Part-time students can currently borrow up to £7,145 each academic year

Full-time students

In addition to the tuition fee loan, you can apply for a maintenance loan to help pay for your living costs (food, travel, accommodation etc). It is paid directly to you each year in three instalments, one in each term. How much you can borrow depends on the year of your course, where you live, your household income, your age and whether you can claim welfare benefits.

Maintenance loans are reassessed annually so you need to reapply each year and provide updated household income details, which will determine how much money you will receive. If you are under under 25, your Maintenance Loan will normally be assessed on your parents’ income and adjusted to any changes in that income year-on-year. In some cases, however, a student may be classed as independent, so their parents’ income will not be considered. Alternatively, if you are 25 or over and have a partner, or if you are married, your partner’s income will be considered instead. UCAS provides some useful information on the different independent statuses and their eligibility criteria.

The maximum amount of loan you can receive to study at Leeds Beckett in 2026/27 is £10,830, if you live away from home, and £9,118 if you live at home. See table for breakdown of loan amounts.

Part-time students

If you are starting a part-time course in 2026, you may also be eligible for a Maintenance Loan. How much you will receive will depend on where you live while you are studying, your household income and your course intensity.

For example, if you are studying at 50% intensity (usually 60 credit points) then you can take out 50% of the maximum loan (£5,415 in 2026/27 if you are living away from your parents’ home). Part of the loan is income-assessed based on parents’ or partner’s income.

Disabled students

Disabled students who are taking a full-time course that normally requires attendance by distance learning, or who are taking a full-time distance learning course, because they are unable to attend the course for a reason relating to their disability, are also eligible to apply for the Maintenance Loan, Grants for Dependants and Disabled Students’ Allowances.

Other disabled students who do not fit into the categories above can still apply for Disabled Students’ Allowances in addition to the Tuition Fee Loan.

You will only start to make repayments on your student loan once you are earning a salary over £25,000. You will repay nine per cent (9%) of any earnings over £25,000 per year and any loan remaining after 40 years is written off. See our loan repayments table* for some examples of loan repayment rates.

*Loan repayment information is representative. Repayment rates may be subject to changes beyond our control.

Some people may be eligible for additional funding available from Leeds Beckett and/or the government. Check our scholarships and bursaries page to find out more about what is available and who is eligible.

Healthcare Degrees

Now fully funded through the Student Loans Company, you can receive a maintenance loan and a tuition fee loan. You can also apply to the NHS Learning Support Fund.

If you already have a degree, you can still get the tuition fee loan and maintenance loan to study a pre-registration healthcare course (undergraduate or postgraduate), or a PGCE. Students with a degree can get a maintenance loan only for an undergraduate Social Work or Architecture degree.

If you are studying Social Work, your funding may potentially change as you progress through your course. In year one, you can apply for the standard Maintenance Loan and Tuition Fee Loan. In your second and third years, you can also apply for a Social Work bursary from the NHS.

Find out more about NHS funded courses.

Parents' Learning Allowance 

This is to help with course-related costs if a student has dependent children. In 2026/27 they can get up to £2,024 a year depending on their income. 

Childcare Grant 

This will help with childcare costs for dependent children aged under 15 at the beginning of the academic year – or under 17 if they have special educational needs – in registered or approved childcare. The grant is based on 85% of actual childcare costs, with a maximum grant of £199.62 per week for one child only, or £342.24 per week for two or more children in 2026/27. 

Adult Dependants' Grant