Tuition fee and maintenance loans
Funding is available to help you train to teach. You can apply for a:
- tuition fee loan of up to £9,250 to cover your teacher training, so you do not need to pay course fees upfront
- maintenance loan of up to £12,382 to help with living costs
You can still apply for a tuition fee and a maintenance loan if you already have a student loan, and regardless of whether you get a teaching bursary or scholarship.
You will only have to make loan repayments once you’re earning. Your repayments will not increase if you already have a student loan and take an additional loan for teacher training.
Use the student finance calculator on GOV.UK to find out how much funding you can get.
Bursaries and scholarships
You may be eligible for a teaching bursary or scholarship when training to teach.
These are tax-free amounts of money you receive to train in certain subjects. You do not need to pay them back.
You’ll need a first, 2:1, 2:2 degree or a PhD or master’s degree to be eligible for a bursary, as well as meeting the bursary scheme’s individual terms and conditions.
Find out more about your eligibility for teaching bursaries
.
For a scholarship, each professional scholarship body sets its own criteria. These bodies include:
- the Royal Society of Chemistry (chemistry)
-
BCS The Chartered Institute for IT (computing)
- the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (maths)
- the Institute of Physics (physics)
Check which subjects have bursaries and scholarships
Teaching bursaries and scholarships are only available for the subjects listed below. You cannot receive both a teaching bursary and a scholarship.
| Subject | Bursary | Scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Biology | £10,000 | |
| Chemistry | £24,000 | £26,000 |
| Computing | £24,000 | £26,000 |
| Design and technology | £15,000 | |
| Geography | £15,000 | |
|
Languages (including ancient languages) |
£15,000 | |
| Maths | £24,000 | £26,000 |
| Physics | £24,000 | £26,000 |
Non-graduate bursaries
If you’re a final year undergraduate student
You may be eligible for a training bursary of £9,000 if you’re on a secondary maths or physics course leading to ‘qualified teacher status’ (QTS).
You may also be eligible if you’re studying an opt-in QTS course in secondary undergraduate computing, languages, mathematics or physics.
If you’re a former military personnel
You may be eligible for a Troops to Teachers tax-free bursary of £40,000 if you’re:
- training to teach secondary biology, physics, chemistry, computing, maths or languages
- doing an undergraduate degree leading to QTS in England
If you're unsure about whether you qualify for a bursary or scholarship you can chat to us, or call us on 0800 389 2500.
Open Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 5:30pm.
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Email: getintoteaching.getintoteaching@education.gov.uk
If you’re a parent or carer
If you have children or other caring responsibilities you may be able to get extra financial support through the following grants and schemes:
If you’re disabled
You may be able to get support if you’re a student and you’re disabled, have a learning difficulty or health problem.
If you do paid training you may also be eligible for support.
Learn more about training to teach if you’re disabled.
If you come from outside England
If you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland you’ll need to contact your country’s student finance body to learn more about your eligibility for funding.
Contact the education authority if you live in the Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) or on the Isle of Man.
If you’re not a UK citizen, you are unlikely to get help funding your training unless you have permission to live permanently in the UK, for example under the EU Settlement Scheme. You will also need to meet some other eligibility requirements.