Continuing Part-time Undergraduate Students

Source: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/wss/funding/fundingyourstudies/continuingstudents/ Parent: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/wss/funding/fundingyourstudies/

Topics Covered In this Page:

• Tuition Fees and Financial Support
• Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan
• Maintenance Loan Entitlement
• Maintenance Loans and UK Government Means-Tested Benefits
• Applying for a Tuition Fee and/or Maintenance Loan
• Repayment of a Tuition Fee Loan and/or Maintenance Loan
• Disabled Students Allowance (DSA)
• Warwick Part-Time Fee Waiver (PTFW)
• Managing, Making and, Saving Money

Tuition Fees and Financial Support

The cost of your tuition fees and the financial support you could be eligible for will depend on your year of entry. The tables below demonstrate the differences depending on the entry year.

Please see the Additional Course costs webpage to find out more about the costs you may incur undertaking your course that are not covered by any Tuition Fee Loan you may be eligible for.

Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan

You may be eligible for student loans from the UK Government (Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan). Eligibility for student loans will depend on certain criteria, such as your nationality and residency status, your previous study and the number of modules you are studying. You can view the full criteria at Student Finance for Undergraduates - Eligibility.

• Maintenance Loans were introduced for 2018 entry students onwards. If your year of entry is prior to this, you will not be able to apply for a Maintenance Loan.
• You are not required to take out the Tuition Fee Loan if you do not wish to, you can make payments for your tuition fees directly to the University. For details, visit the University's Student Finance Team's Types of Fee, Tuition Fees and Making Payments webpages.

If you are unsure whether you qualify for these student loans, you can Contact Student Finance England directly to clarify.

Tuition Fee Loan

• A non-means tested Tuition Fee Loan is available from Student Finance England (SFE).
• Eligible students will be able to apply for and take out the full amount of Tuition Fee Loan required to pay their Tuition Fees in full regardless of their household income.
• The Tuition Fee Loan is paid directly to the University to cover the cost of your fees in termly instalments.
• As it is a loan, you will need to repay it.
• You need to apply for this for every year of study.

Maintenance Loan

• Eligible students can apply to SFE for a Maintenance Loan towards their living and course costs (2018 entry onwards students only).
• The Maintenance Loan is means-tested so the amount you receive is partially based on your household income and whether you choose to live in your own home or your parental home.
• As a part-time student, the amount of maintenance loan available to you will be pro-rated to your course intensity.
• The Maintenance Loan is paid in equal termly instalments.
• As it is a loan, you will need to repay it.
• You need to apply for this for every year of study.

Maintenance Loan Entitlement

For the 2025-26 academic year, household income will be taken from the 2023-24 tax year and will depend on the people you live with: your parent(s)/carer(s), your parent/carer and their partner or your partner.

• In certain circumstances your assessment might be based on your own income, for example, if you are aged over 25 at the start of your course.
• You don't have to provide details of your earnings from part-time work but if you have income from another source, such as investments or income from property, you will need to declare it.
• For more information on taxable income check out the GOV.UK webpage, Income Tax: Introduction.

If there has been a drop in your household income of 15% or more since the previous tax year, you should notify Student Finance England once you have applied for a maintenance loan, as you may be entitled to an increased entitlement. For more information see the following webpage, Support your Child or Partner's Student Finance Application - If your income has gone down.

To calculate how much maintenance loan you could be eligible for you can use theStudent Finance England Calculator. Please note, the calculator will ask you the number of CATS you are taking and the number of CATS a full-time equivalent student would take which is 120 CATS.

The table below demonstrates the annual Maintenance Loan figures for students studying in 2025-26. 75% intensity of study is equivalent to 90 CATs, 50% is equivalent to 60 CATS and 25% is equivalent to 30 CATS.

• The annual entitlement of Maintenance Loan is paid directly to students in equal termly instalments.
• These figures apply to students who are aged under 60 on the first day of their course and who do not qualify for government benefits.

The maximum maintenance loan amount available to final-year students is reduced, to account for the fact that you will not be registered as a student over the summer period. This means that you may receive less maintenance loan in your final year compared to your previous years of study.

Maintenance Loan and UK Government Means-Tested Benefits

Please note, if you receive a part-time Maintenance Loan, this may have an impact on any means-tested UK Government benefits that you are entitled to. Examples of these include (list not exhaustive):

• Income Support
• Income-based Job Seekers’ Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Reduction
• Working Tax Credit
• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit

You are advised to contact your local Citizens Advice Centre for more information:

• Coventry Citizens Advice
• South Warwickshire - Leamington Citizens Advice
• South Warwickshire - Warwick Citizens Advice

Applying for a Tuition Fee Loan and/or Maintenance Loan

Applications for part-time student loans are made online, see the Student Finance England - How to Apply webpage for more information. Applications normally open to part-time students in June and you should apply as soon as the service opens to make sure that your funding is in place for the start of your course. The application takes about 30-45 minutes. If you are applying for both the Tuition Fee and Maintenance Loan, this is done in one application as per above.

Repayment of a Tuition Fee Loan and/or Maintenance Loan

• Repayments will begin in April after you have completed or left your course, or in April 4 years after the start of your course (whichever comes first).
• Your repayment threshold will depend on the Student Loan Plan you have:
• You can find out which Student Loan Plan you have at the following webpage, Repaying Your Student Loan - Which Repayment Plan You're On.
• Once you know which Student Loan Plan you have, you can view your repayment threshold at the following webpage, Repaying Your Student Loan - How Much You Repay.
• You will repay 9p for every £1 you earn over your threshold ( Plan 1, 2,4 and 5 loans - i.e., Undergraduate Loans).
• Repayments are deducted automatically through the tax system. If you are self-employed or working overseas when your repayments are due to start, you will need to arrange separate repayment arrangements with Student Finance England.
• If your income falls below your threshold, repayments will stop automatically and not re-start until you are earning over your threshold again. If you are self-employed or working overseas while making repayments and your income falls below your threshold, you will need to contact Student Finance England directly.
• There are no early repayment penalties and you can choose to make voluntary repayments to your loan at any time.
• Any outstanding loan (including interest) is written off after a period of time, depending on your Student Loan Plan:
• You can check when your loan will be written off at the following webpage, Repaying Your Student Loan - When Your Student Loan Gets Written Off or Cancelled.
• Interest is applied to your loan at the point of receiving your first payment. The amount of interest will depend on your Student Loan Plan:
• You can check how much interest is applied as part of your Student Loan Plan at the following webpage, Repaying Your Student Loan - How Much You Repay.

Disabled Students Allowance (DSA)

If you have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty, there is additional non-repayable support available.

• DSA is a non-repayable grant offered by SFE.
• DSA is intended to help with any disability-related costs you might have.
• Any support you receive will be based on your individual needs and the number of modules you are studying (i.e., your course intensity), not your household income.
• Part-Time students need to apply by submitting a DSA 1 form.
• Make sure you apply early for DSA as applications can take up to 14 weeks, as you will need to undertake a Study Needs Assessment.
• For more information on the support provided, the evidence required and how to apply, check out SFE's Disabled Students' Allowance webpage and/or the University's Disability Team's Applying for DSA webpage. Within the University's Disability webpage, you will also find a DSA Eligibility Checker tool which you can use to see whether you may be eligible for DSA.

Warwick Part-Time Fee Waiver (PTFW)

In 2025-26, a fee waiver of 50% of your tuition fees will be available to eligible part-time degree students.

To be eligible, you must have taken out a Tuition Fee Loan and be in receipt (or have a spouse or partner who is in receipt) of one or more of the UK Government Means-tested Benefits or Tax Credits listed below at the start of the 2025 academic year:

• Income Support
• Income-based Job Seekers’ Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Reduction
• Working Tax Credit
• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit

Applications for the Warwick PTFW are open now. You can find out more, including a link to the application form, on our dedicated Part-time Fee Waiver webpage

Managing, Making and, Saving Money

If you want to learn more about managing, making, and saving money, check out our Money Matters sub-section.