Student finance for teacher training

Funding is available to help you train to teach if you choose a course that has tuition fees. You may be eligible for a student loan to cover the cost of your tuition fees or to help with your living costs.

You can still apply for a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan if you already have a student loan, and regardless of whether you get a teaching bursary or scholarship. And you will only have to make loan repayments once you’re earning.

You do not need to wait until you have a confirmed offer for a teacher training course to apply for student funding.

If you choose a teacher training course that has a salary you’re not eligible for any student finance.

Non-UK citizens: student finance

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You’re unlikely to get help funding your training unless you have permission to live permanently in the UK, for example under the EU Settlement Scheme, or are training to teach languages or physics. You’ll also need to meet some other eligibility requirements.

Find out about funding for non-UK citizens.

Tuition fee loan

You can apply for a tuition fee loan to cover the cost of your postgraduate teacher training course. If you’re eligible for a tuition fee loan, the amount you borrow is paid directly to your course provider.

The maximum tuition fee loan for postgraduate teacher training for a UK applicant is:

• £9,250 per year for a full-time course
• £6,935 per year for a part-time course

The maximum amount you can borrow depends on how much your course costs.

Tuition fees loans are not means tested. So you do not need to provide evidence of your income or anyone else’s to be eligible to receive one.

Maintenance loan

You may also be eligible for a maintenance loan to help cover your living costs.

The maximum amount you may be eligible to borrow is:

• £8,610, if you live at home with your parents
• £10,227, if you live away from your parents, out of London
• £13,348, if you live away from your parents, in London
• £4,327, if you’re 60 years or over on the first day of the academic year of your course

Use the student finance calculator on GOV.UK to get an estimate of how much funding you might get.

Student finance calculator

Check your eligibility for a bursary or scholarship

You may also be eligible for a tax-free bursary or scholarship, depending on the subject you’re training to teach.

You do not have to pay a bursary or scholarship back. You can get a bursary or scholarship as well as any tuition fee loan and maintenance loan.

Find out if you’re eligible for a bursary or scholarship.

If you’re from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Crown Dependencies

You’ll need to contact your country’s student finance body to find out about your eligibility for funding if you live in Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.

Find out about:

• student finance in Wales
• student finance in Scotland
• student finance in Northern Ireland

Or, you’ll need to contact the education authority if you live in Jersey, Guernsey, or the Isle of Man.

Find out about:

• funding in Jersey
• funding in Guernsey
• funding in the Isle of Man

Get free one-to-one support

An adviser with years of teaching experience can answer all your questions around funding your training. Chat by phone, text or email, as little or as often as you need.

Find out more about advisers