Government loans and support

On this page:

• Tuition Fee Loans
• Maintenance Loans
• Paying back your loans
• Additional funding
• Students with a year abroad or a year in industry
• Additional information
• Contact us about fees and funding

Tuition Fee Loans

Eligible home fee-paying students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan from the UK government to cover the cost of their fees. For students from England, the agency is Student Finance England.

The student finance available is called your Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE). You can apply for Tuition Fee Loans up to a total amount of £39,160. This can be for a full course or split over multiple courses but, at the University of Sheffield, we only offer full programmes. This amount represents 480 credits or around four years of full-time study based on the maximum fee limit for 2026-27 (we would expect this total amount to change over time in line with tuition fee rates for full-time study).

Depending on your course, you may be able to get an extra Tuition Fee Loan, eg if your course is longer than four years.

The Tuition Fee Loan is not based on household income. 

Eligibility

You’re normally only eligible for student finance when you study between 30 and 180 credits a year. A year of studying a bachelor’s degree full time is usually worth 120 credits. 

You may be eligible even if you’ve studied before. This includes if you need help funding a qualification at the same or a lower level.

• The total Tuition Fee Loan amount you can usually get is £39,160. Any government funding you’ve 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’s equivalent value.
• If you’ve already used up the Tuition Fee Loan total amount of £39,160, you usually cannot apply for more student finance and if your Tuition Fee Loans do not cover all of your course tuition fees, you may have to pay any course tuition fees not covered by loans yourself. However, you may be able to get more student finance through LLE funding if you’re studying an eligible priority subject such as medicine, nursing or social work.

The type of help you can get depends on your nationality and residency status. You can check what student finance you can apply for depending on your nationality and residency.

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

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

Refer to information on exceptions to our standard fee for more information about costs for these periods of study.

The government website has a full list of eligibility criteria for student finance.

How to apply

You will need to reapply for a Tuition Fee Loan each year. The University will review tuition fees each year and they may increase for each year of your study in line with inflation (RPIX), as specified by parliament. However, if there is an increase, the Tuition Fee Loan available will automatically increase to reflect any changes.

For courses starting in September 2027, you’ll be able to apply from spring 2027. You do not need a confirmed offer to apply.

For more information about how to apply for your loan, refer to the government website.

Each year you take out the loan, the government pays the money directly to the University once you have registered with us.

Maintenance Loans

Eligibility

Eligible home fee-paying students can apply for a Maintenance Loan from the UK government to contribute towards their living costs. For students from England, the agency is Student Finance England. 

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

• Still have at least £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’ve used all your Tuition Fee Loan amount if you study certain degrees which last longer than four 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.

Students aged 60 or over on the first day of their course may receive reduced maintenance support.

The government website has a full list of eligibility criteria for student finance.

The amount of Maintenance Loan that you receive will also depend on your household income.

• For most students under the age of 25, this generally means your parents’ income.
• If you’re 25 or over on the first day of your course or are under the age of 25 but do not financially depend on your parents (eg you are a care leaver or an estranged student), then your household income will not include your parents’ income, though it may include your partner’s income.

For more information about household income, refer to the government website.

The amount you receive also depends on where you are going to university (whether this is in London or not) and whether you will be living at home or away from home.

Maintenance Loan figures for 2027-28 have not yet been confirmed. The maximum amount available for the academic year 2026-27 for full-time students studying at a university outside of London and away from home is £10,830 per year. If you’re studying less than 120 credits a year, your Maintenance Loan is paid proportionally to the number of credits you study.

You may get a lower amount of Maintenance Loan depending on your studies, eg:

• You’re studying a subject which means you get other funding, such as an NHS bursary
• You take a placement year

You can use the government’s student finance calculator to estimate what you could receive.

If you choose not to provide your household income, you can still apply for the minimum Maintenance Loan.

How to apply

You will need to reapply for a Maintenance Loan each year.

For courses starting in September 2027, you’ll be able to apply from spring 2027. You do not need a confirmed offer to apply.

For more information about how to apply for your loan, refer to the government website.

Each year you take out the loan, the government pays the money directly to you in three instalments. The first instalment is paid after you register with us and we confirm your registration to Student Finance England - usually on or close to the course start date; this can take three to five working days.

Gov.uk - Getting your first student finance payment

You will receive slightly less in your final year of study because the Student Loans Company stops paying you after the last day of term.

Gov.uk - Student finance for undergraduates - Continuing full-time students

Paying back your loans

Repayment of loans under the LLE follows the Plan 5 student loan repayment system.

When do I pay back my loans?

Loan repayments will usually commence from the April after course completion at the earliest and only when your income is over the repayment threshold set by the government.

For more information, refer to the government website.

Gov.uk - Repaying your student loan - When you start repaying

How do I pay back my loans?

Your Tuition Fee and Maintenance Loans are added together so you make one monthly payment. 

Your repayments will be taken out of your salary at the same time as tax and National Insurance if you’re an employee. Your payslips will show how much has been deducted. If you're self-employed, you'll pay through HM Revenue and Customs.

For more information, refer to the government website.

Gov.uk - Repaying your student loan - How to repay

How much will I pay?

How much you repay depends on your income. You’ll repay a percentage of your income over the repayment threshold set by the government. For students from England starting their studies on or after 1 August 2023, the current repayment threshold is £25,000.

Your monthly payments will be calculated as 9% of income above the repayment threshold. 

Your repayments are based on what you earn, not what you owe. If your wages drop, this is reflected in your repayments. For example, using the current repayment threshold for students from England who start their studies from August 2023 onwards, if you earn £30,000, you will repay 9% of the £5,000 you earn above the £25,000 threshold (£450.00 per year or £37.50 per month). Further details on repayments can be found on the government website. 

Gov.uk - Repaying your student loan

You can choose to make extra repayments towards your student loan. For more information, refer to the government website.

Gov.uk - Repaying your student loan - Make extra repayments

For students from England starting their studies on or after 1 August 2023, loans are written off 40 years after the April you were first due to repay. 

What about interest?

You’re charged interest from the day your first student finance payment is made to you or to your university until your loan has been repaid in full or cancelled. Interest is added to your balance each month. 

The interest rate on loans for students from England starting their studies on or after 1 August 2023 is based on the Retail Price Index (RPI). During some periods, an interest cap may be applied to ensure you’re not being charged a higher interest rate than the average found in the commercial market. For more information, refer to the government website.

Gov.uk - How interest is calculated - Plan 5

Additional funding

If you are a student parent, carer, have adult dependants, or have a disability, then you may qualify for extra funding.

Support for student parents

Full-time home fee-paying students with children in registered or approved childcare may be eligible to apply for a Childcare Grant to help with these costs. 

You may also be eligible for a Parent's Learning Allowance to help with course-related costs. 

Both the grant and the allowance are based on your household income, are paid on top of your other student finance, and you do not have to pay the money back. You need to be studying at least 120 credits in each course year to be eligible.

Apply as part of your main student finance application.

Support for students with adult dependants

Full-time home fee-paying students with an adult who depends on you financially may be eligible to apply for the Adult Dependants’ Grant.   

The grant is based on your household income, is paid on top of other student finance, and doesn’t have to be paid back. You need to be studying at least 120 credits in each course year to be eligible.

Apply as part of your main student finance application.

Support for students with a disability

If you have a disability or specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, you can apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).

This can be on its own or in addition to any student finance you get, though you must at least be eligible to receive student finance.

The type of support and how much you get depends on your individual needs - not your household income. 

Full-time and part-time students can apply as part of their main student finance application. You need to be studying at least 30 credits in each course year to be eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowance. Find out more information on the government website.

Gov.uk - Disabled Students’ Allowance - How to apply

More information about the support available for disabled students at the University of Sheffield can be found on the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDSS) web pages.

Disability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDSS)

Students with a year abroad or a year in industry

If you are travelling abroad as part of your studies with us, you can find out more information on the Global Opportunities web pages about the support available.

Global Opportunities - Funding your year abroad

Students who are undertaking a placement year/year in industry can find out more information about funding on our web pages.

Funding on a placement year

Additional information

Refer to our fees and funding hub for more information about other types of funding. If you’re studying an eligible course, you could receive funding from the NHS.

Refer to our money matters hub for guidance on living costs and how to manage your money.

If you need to discuss your financial situation with someone, you can contact the Student Advice Centre in the Students' Union (both prospective students with an offer and current students).

They have also provided some useful money management information online.

If you are a prospective student and have any other general enquiries, find out more about how you can contact us.