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Previous study

You cannot usually get your tuition fees paid if you completed a full-time HE course (ie, degree, HNC, HND, postgraduate, graduate apprenticeship) on or after 2005/06 and received support from public funds.

You may be able to get one year’s additional funding if you need this – eg, to change courses or repeat a period of study. This is known as a ‘plus one’ year.

Contact SAAS to check your entitlement. Even if you are not entitled to help with your tuition fees, you can normally apply for a student loan and living costs grants (but not an independent, estranged or young students’ bursary).

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are paid directly to your college or university. Your income is not assessed and the amounts are not repayable. If your fees are higher than the amounts payable, you must pay the difference.

Tuition fees 2026/27

Student loans

Student loans are low-interest loans for students, only repayable when you have graduated and are earning over £33,795 a year. You repay the loan at a rate of 9 per cent of your income that exceeds £33,795. Student loans are partly based on your income. You must provide a national insurance number in order to get a loan. If you do not have one, you can apply to the DWP.1

Student loans for 2026/27 are outlined in the table below. Since 2024/25, students can get a special support loan of £2,400 in addition to the student loan for maintenance. The special support loan is for course costs such as study and travel costs.

Students have the option to spread their student loan payments over 12 months. Choose your preferred payment option, over term time or 12 months, when you apply to SAAS each year. You cannot choose to be paid over 12 months if you are on a one-year course or in the final year of your course.

You must usually be under 61 to be eligible for a student loan.

Dependent students may also be eligible for a young students’ bursary (see below) and independent students and students aged 25 or over for an independent students’ bursary (see here). If you meet the rules for the estranged students’ bursary, you may be eligible for this instead (see here).

Maximum student loan 2026/27 (including the £2,400 special support loan)

Care-experienced students’ bursary

Students who have previously been looked after by a local authority may be eligible for a care-experienced students’ bursary.1 This is a non-income-assessed grant of £9,000 in 2026/27, and it is paid instead of the student loan/bursary package.

Since 2024/25, students can get a special support loan of £2,400 in addition to the care-experienced students’ bursary. The special support loan is for course costs such as study and travel costs. It is repayable (see above).

Students have the option to spread care-experienced bursary payments over 12 months. Choose your preferred payment option, over term time or 12 months, when you apply to SAAS each year. You cannot choose to be paid over 12 months if you are on a one-year course or in the final year of your course.

Young students’ bursary

You may be eligible for a young students’ bursary if you are under 25 on the first day of the first academic year of your course (for an autumn start course this is 1 August) and from a family with an income of less than £34,000 a year. The amount of the bursary depends on your and your family’s income. In 2026/27, a maximum of £2,000 is paid if your and your family’s combined income is under £21,000 a year. It is paid on top of the maximum loan for maintenance and the special support loan.

Independent students’ bursary

The independent students’ bursary is paid in addition to the maximum loan for maintenance and the special support loan. Students classed as independent are eligible for £1,000 if their household income is below £21,000 a year.

Estranged students’ bursary

The estranged students’ bursary operates in the same way as the independent students’ bursary – it is an extra £1,000 in addition to the maximum loan for maintenance and the special support loan. It can be paid if you are under 25 at the start of your course and you no longer have contact with your parents. There normally needs to be a permanent breakdown in your relationship with your parents. Parental income is not assessed for this bursary. You must have evidence of estrangement from a professional who knows you.1

Lone parents’ grant

If you are a lone parent, you can get a lone parents’ grant, worth £1,305 in 2026/27, if you have at least one dependent child. Your unearned income is assessed (although benefit income is disregarded) and the grant is not repayable.

Summer accommodation grant

If you were in local authority care (sometimes referred to as being ‘looked after’ by a local authority), you may get a grant of £1,330 if you rent accommodation or £665 if you stay with friends or family (2026/27) to help with your accommodation costs during the long vacation.1 Your income is not assessed and the grant is not repayable. You normally get a one-off payment in advance.

Disabled students’ allowance

If you have a disability or learning difficulty, you can claim for extra expenses that arise because you are on the course. Your income is not assessed and the allowance is not repayable. You can also apply for travel costs if you cannot use public transport because of your disability.

Childcare fund

The discretionary childcare fund helps with the cost of registered or formal childcare. It is administered by colleges and universities. They decide who is eligible and how much you can get. However, if you are an eligible lone parent student, you can get a lone parents’ childcare grant from this fund to help with the cost of registered or formal childcare costs. The grant depends on the costs of childcare, with a maximum amount of £1,215 in 2026/27. Your income is not assessed and the grant is not repayable. It is administered by colleges and universities.

Higher education discretionary fund

Colleges and universities administer discretionary funds to help with living costs and decide how much the payments will be. You are expected to apply for a full student loan before asking for help. The funds are for students in financial difficulties. This can include help in the summer vacation for continuing students.

Education maintenance allowance

An education maintenance allowance is a means-tested weekly allowance for 16–19-year-olds, paid fortnightly in arrears during term time but not during breaks. You get an education maintenance allowance of £30 a week if your household income is £24,421 or less (£26,884 if your parents have another child under 16 or another child under 25 in education).

You can claim from the autumn term if your 16th birthday falls between 1 March 2026 and 30 September 2026. You can claim from the winter term if your 16th birthday falls between 1 October 2026 and 28 February 2027. If you had an allowance previously, you can claim again if you are continuing in further education for up to three years (four years if you are regarded as ‘vulnerable’). If you can get an education maintenance allowance, you cannot get a bursary maintenance allowance as well, unless you live away from your parents’ home (see here).

If you are 18 or 19, you should be assessed for a bursary maintenance allowance, and you are only considered for an education maintenance allowance if this is better for your household overall or you do not qualify for a bursary.

Bursary maintenance allowance

The bursary maintenance allowance is an income-assessed allowance and is discretionary. It is not repayable.

Maximum weekly maintenance allowance 2026/27

Students entitled to an education maintenance allowance and living away from home, or whose parental home is not within reasonable travelling distance of the college, may be able to get an allowance of £49.91 a week. Other students getting an education maintenance allowance are not eligible for a bursary maintenance allowance.

Students aged 18 to 24 who are self-supporting, or whose parental home is not within reasonable travelling distance of the college, may be able to get a weekly allowance of £125.55. Otherwise, they may be able to get £99.35.

The bursary is different if you have been in local authority care (see below).

A student who gets UC may be eligible for a weekly bursary (’universal credit student allowance’) of £28. Note that this lower rate means it has a minimal effect on UC, as student income of more than £110 per month reduces UC pound for pound – see here and the example for Paula.

You may be able to get a bursary to pay up to £140.13 a week rent for college accommodation or college-approved lodgings. Instead of the standard maintenance allowance, you get a personal allowance of £36.70 a week. If you get an education maintenance allowance, you can also get your college accommodation rent paid in this way but do not get the extra personal allowance in addition to this.

Care-experienced bursary maintenance allowance

A care-experienced bursary maintenance allowance is an award of bursary maintenance allowance paid to a student who has been in local authority care at some time in their life (looked after). Students who were looked after in informal care arrangements with social work or local authority involvement may also be eligible. It is £225 a week from age 16 onwards. Colleges are advised to make the optimal funding award, particularly for students who are eligible for benefits.

Dependants’ allowance

You can claim an allowance of £67.55 a week for a dependent adult for whom you have care or financial or legal responsibilities and whose weekly income is less than £67.55.

Additional support needs for learning allowance (ASNLA)

You may be able to get support towards study and travel expenses if you have extra expenses because of a disability. The amounts are at the discretion of the college. You can get the ASNLA in addition to an education maintenance allowance.

Study expenses allowance

The income-assessed study expenses allowance is for essential items such as textbooks and special clothing. You can get this allowance in addition to an education maintenance allowance.

Travel expenses allowance

You can claim expenses if you have to travel more than two miles (it may be further for some colleges) from your term-time address. You may be able to get travel to college, to a childcare provider, to a mandatory placement and up to eight single journeys between your permanent home and your term-time address. The allowance is income assessed. You can get this allowance in addition to an education maintenance allowance. Students under 22 can apply for free bus travel instead – see transport.gov.scot/concessionary-travel/young-persons-free-bus-travel-scheme.

Further education discretionary fund

The FE discretionary fund is intended to help students who are in financial difficulties. Your college decides whether you are eligible and, if so, how much you can get.

Childcare fund

This is extra funding that can help you with the costs of registered or formal childcare if you have children. If you are an eligible lone parent, you can get £1,215 in 2026/27, and the college may top this up to a higher amount if your childcare costs more. If you are a student parent with a partner, you can also receive help with childcare costs. Your college decides how much you can get. Your income is not assessed and the grant is not repayable.

Higher education courses

Part-time students with annual earnings of £25,000 or less can apply for a part-time fee grant from Student Awards Agency Scotland. Your course must be between levels 7 and 10 of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework and be between 30 and 119 credits a year (students doing distance learning of 120 credits may also be eligible).

Apply online at saas.gov.uk/part-time/undergraduate-funding.

You can also claim a disabled students’ allowance (see here) if your course takes no more than twice as long as an equivalent full-time course.1 There is a discretionary fund for part-time students to which you can apply if you are in hardship.

Further education courses

If you are a further education (FE) student studying part time, you can claim some of the same support as full-time students. You can claim:

• support from the childcare fund;
• support from the FE discretionary fund;
• additional support needs for learning allowance;
• study expenses allowance;
• travel expenses allowance.

Your college may be able to waive your fees if you get certain benefits or have a low income. The education maintenance allowance of £30 a week is available to part-time students as well as full-time students.1

Bursary

If you are a paramedic, nursing or midwifery diploma or degree student, you can get a non-means-tested paramedic, nursing and midwifery bursary of £10,000. In the first year, an extra £60 initial expenses allowance is paid. For nursing and midwifery students, in the fourth year the bursary is reduced to 75 per cent. Paramedic students get £10,000 for each of the three years of their course. The bursary includes £5 a day for travel expenses – see the PNMSB Placement Expenses application form.1

Grants for living costs

The following grants are available for your living costs:

• means-tested dependants’ allowance for a spouse, civil partner, partner, adult you have legal responsibility for who has a low income, or dependent child(ren). The allowance is £3,640 for an adult or first child and £557 for each subsequent child (including a first child if the £3,640 is paid for an adult);
• single parents’ allowance of £2,303 if you are single, widowed, divorced or separated and bringing up children on your own;
• childcare allowance of up to £2,466 if you pay for registered or formal childcare;
• disabled students’ allowance (see here);
• travel expenses and ‘reasonable accommodation costs’ for placements (in Scotland only).

Amounts are reduced proportionately in the final (shorter) year.

Step 1: capital

If your capital is over £16,000, you cannot get UC. Some kinds of capital are ignored. For details, see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook.

Step 2: work out your maximum amount

Your maximum amount is worked out by adding together the monthly amounts of the standard allowance and any other elements for which you are eligible.

Step 3: work out your monthly income

Chapter 12 explains how your loan, grant or other income is taken into account.

Step 4: deduct monthly income from maximum amount

If your income is less than your maximum amount, UC is the difference between the two. If your income is the same as or more than your maximum amount, you cannot get UC.

Your maximum amount

Work out your maximum amount by adding together your standard allowance and any additional elements that apply. For the amounts, see here. The rates are monthly and are from April 2026.

The benefit cap

Your UC is reduced if your total income from benefits is over the maximum level that you or your partner can receive. The monthly amount is:

• £1,835.00 if you are a lone parent or member of a couple;
• £1,229.42 if you are a single person.

The benefits that count towards the cap include child benefit and maternity allowance.

You are exempt from the cap if:

• you or your partner are working and earning at least £881 a month; or
• you or your partner are disabled. You or your partner must get certain disability benefits, including adult disability payment (ADP), new-style ESA with a support component, or UC with a limited capability for work-related activity element; or
• you are responsible for a child or young person who gets child disability payment or ADP; or
• you or your partner are a carer and get CSP or the carer element in UC; or
• you are a war widow(er).

There is protection for nine months before the cap applies if you are no longer working, or are earning less than £881 a month, but were working and earning at least £881 a month for each of the 12 months before this.

If you are affected by the cap, you should apply for a discretionary housing payment (DHP) from your local authority. The Scottish government has agreed to always award a DHP if UC is reduced because of the benefit cap (you must also have a UC housing cost element).

Passported benefits

Provided you meet any other conditions, getting UC entitles you to:

• a Best Start grant;
• Best Start foods;
• Scottish child payment;
• funeral support payment;
• free school lunches from your local authority, provided your earnings (or the earnings of you and your partner) are not more than £995 in the assessment period before your application.

If you get UC and have income below a certain level, you are eligible for:

• free dental treatment (see here);
• vouchers for glasses (see here).

You may also be eligible for a school clothing grant - see mygov.scot/clothing-grants.