The Access to Learning Fund
Once on a course, financial support may be available through the Access to Learning Fund, paid at the discretion of the college or university. Priority will normally be given to certain groups, such as students who have left local authority care, lone parents or students from low-income families. The Funds are intended to help those who are experiencing a financial crisis or whose financial problems could prevent them from completing their course. This support may be offered to you in the form of a grant that doesn't need to be paid back, sometimes however you may be offered a loan that you will have to repay. Similar funds are available to students in other parts of the UK (see below).
Professional healthcare courses
For 2010/11 entry. Income-assessed NHS bursaries are available for full- or part-time pre-registration courses in chiropody/podiatry, dental hygiene, dental therapy, dietetics, occupational therapy, orthoptics, physiotherapy, prosthetics and orthotics, radiography, radiotherapy, speech and language therapy, nursing and midwifery (degree courses only), and audiology.
Students who have an NHS-funded place on one of the courses listed above also have their course fees paid by the NHS and, depending on their circumstances, may be eligible to receive additional allowances, e.g. for dependants, childcare etc. Students on these courses are also entitled to apply for a reduced-rate Maintenance Loan.
The NHS also funds places on diploma courses for operating department practitioners and nursing. In these cases, the NHS pays the course fees and students receive an NHS bursary, which is not income assessed. Students on these courses are not eligible for student loans.
For the first four years of a medical or dental course, the usual financial arrangements for undergraduates apply. From year five, students are eligible to apply for income-assessed NHS bursaries, help with tuition fees and reduced-rate maintenance loans.
Students not on NHS-funded places are subject to the same financial arrangements as other undergraduates.
Funding is administered by different authorities in different parts of the UK; for further information, consult the relevant authority for the country in which you intend to study. Similar arrangements apply across the UK, but there are variations, e.g. in Wales, students on operating department
For 2010/11 entry. Income-assessed NHS bursaries are available for full- or part-time pre-registration courses in chiropody/podiatry, dental hygiene, dental therapy, dietetics, occupational therapy, orthoptics, physiotherapy, prosthetics and orthotics, radiography, radiotherapy, speech and language therapy, nursing and midwifery (degree courses only), and audiology. Students who have an NHS-funded place on one of the courses listed above also have their course fees paid by the NHS and, depending on their circumstances, may be eligible to receive additional allowances, e.g. for dependants, childcare etc. Students on these courses are also entitled to apply for a reduced-rate Maintenance Loan. The NHS also funds places on diploma courses for operating department practitioners and nursing. In these cases, the NHS pays the course fees and students receive an NHS bursary, which is not income assessed. Students on these courses are not eligible for student loans. For the first four years of a medical or dental course, the usual financial arrangements for undergraduates apply. From year five, students are eligible to apply for income-assessed NHS bursaries, help with tuition fees and reduced-rate maintenance loans. Students not on NHS-funded places are subject to the same financial arrangements as other undergraduates. Funding is administered by different authorities in different parts of the UK; for further information, consult the relevant authority for the country in which you intend to study. Similar arrangements apply across the UK, but there are variations, e.g. in Wales, students on operating department