You will receive free tuition, regardless of where you are studying in the UK. We will pay your tuition fees straight to your university or college. Your application for us to pay your tuition fees is only valid for one academic session, so you must make sure you apply every year. We may not pay your tuition fees if you have done a course of higher education before or if you have to repeat a year of your course. Please see our previous assistance section for more details. However, we can make an exception if you have to repeat a year because of medical or compassionate reasons.
Scottish Government Health Directorate bursary
The amount of Scottish Government Health Directorate bursary you can get will depend on the level of your income and, if this applies, your parents' or husband's, wife's, civil partner's or partner's income. We will assess what contribution we will deduct from your support. We will first apply any contribution to your support to any health directorate bursary due to you. We will apply any outstanding contribution to the income-assessed supplementary grants you apply for.
The basic rates of income-assessed bursary, for a course that lasts for 30 weeks are as follows:
- £1,865 for students living with their parents
- £2,455 for students living in a hall of residence or lodgings
- £3,020 for students who undertake their course in London
You can get extra payments for each week you have to study on the course over 30 weeks and three days. The amounts are as follows.
- £48 if you are living in your parents' home.
- £81 if you are living in a hall of residence or lodgings.
If your course is longer than the standard 30 weeks, the additional bursary amounts apply to the income-assessed bursary only. This means that if you are not eligible for the bursary or have applied for the non income-assessed loan only, you will not be entitled to any extra weekly payments.
Loan support
The non income-assessed loan available to you is:
- £1,740 if you are living in your parents' home;
- £2,265 if you are living in a hall of residence or lodgings; or
- £2,800 if you are living away from home and studying in London .
The loan covers 52 weeks from the first day of the academic year of your course, except in a final year of study for which there are special rates.
Living-cost package available
The Scottish Government Health Directorate bursary and the available loan both make up part of the total living-cost package, as shown below.
| Students living in a hall of residence or in lodgings | Students living in the parents' home | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total healthcare package £ |
Income-assessed Healthcare bursary £ |
Non income-assessed loan £ |
Total healthcare package £ |
Income-assessed Healthcare bursary £ |
Non income-assessed loan £ |
|
| Full year | 4,720 | 2,455 | 2,265 | 3,605 | 1,865 | 1,740 |
| Final year | 4,110 | 2,455 | 1,655 | 3,140 | 1,865 | 1,275 |
| Students living in a hall of residence or in lodgings and studying in London | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Total Healthcare package |
Income-assessed Healthcare bursary £ |
Non income-assessed loan £ |
|
| Full year | 5,820 | 3,020 | 2,800 |
| Final year | 5,065 | 3,020 | 2,045 |
We will pay the 'full year' loan if you are in any year except the final year of a course which lasts more than one year. We will pay the 'final year' loan if you are in the last year of your course.
Practical placement expenses
Help with your travel expenses in relation to your periods of practical placement is only available if you are taking a course leading to professional registration in one of the Allied Health Professions. If you are a medicine or dentistry student, although you receive the AHP support package in year five of your course, you are not entitled to help with your placement costs in this or any other year of your course.
Placement expenses are income-assessed, the amount we will pay depends on your, your parents' or husband's, wife's, civil partner's or partner's income.
You can claim for help with your travel expenses in relation to your periods of practical placement. We will not pay for normal daily travel expenses between your home and your institution. You should fill in form AB24 or you can pick one up from your institution. You must get your college or university to approve your expenses before you send the form to us and you must make your claim within 6 months of your placement dates.
You can claim up to £10.08 each day for placements during term-time and £8.57 each day for placements during the summer.
Supplementary grants
There are other supplementary grants available to certain categories of students such as lone parents, those with dependants and those leaving care to enter higher education. Extra help is also available to those who have a disability, learning difficulty or mental health problem .
Other sources of funding
There may also be other sources of funding you are entitled to from your college or university, the Department of Work and Pensions and other organisations .
Examples of the support you can get
The table below gives you an idea of the support you might get, depending on your circumstances. The example given is for students living in a hall of residence or in lodgings on a course that lasts for 30 weeks.
|
Income after deductions £ |
Parents' assessed contribution | Husband's, wife's, civil partner's or partner's contribution | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contribution £ |
Healthcare bursary £ |
Non income-assessed loan |
Contribution £ |
Healthcare bursary £ |
Non income-assessed loan £ |
|
| 15,000 | 0 |
2,455 |
2,265 |
0 |
2,455 |
2,265 |
| 20,000 | 0 |
2,455 |
2,265 |
0 |
2,455 |
2,265 |
| 25,000 | 126 |
2,329 |
2,265 |
529 |
1,926 |
2,265 |
| 30,000 | 681 |
1,774 |
2,265 | 1,084 |
1,371 |
2,265 |
| 35,000 | 1,237 |
1,218 |
2,265 |
1,640 |
815 |
2,265 |
| 40,000 | 1,792 |
663 |
2,265 |
2,196 |
259 |
2,265 |
To find out more about the contribution your parents, or your husband, wife, civil partner or partner will have to make please see our contribution section.