NHS Bursaries

NHS Student Bursary: a quick guide [England]

By Rebecca Hughes (Editorial assistant, Which? University) - 05 March 2013

Applying to a degree course in a health profession such as nursing or physiotherapy? Good news – you might not have to pay a penny in tuition fees and you may receive extra financial support from the NHS.

Here’s a quick overview on which courses are funded by the NHS, what the NHS Student Bursary scheme includes and what you could receive. This applies to students studying in England - look out for NHS funding guides for students studying elsewhere in the UK coming soon.

Make sure you check out our advice on what other types of extra funding are available to help you at uni - plus, find out what your tuition fees actually cover.

What is the NHS Student Bursary scheme?

Students on certain health professional courses - we've listed these out below - may be eligible for the NHS Student Bursary scheme. This is designed to help cover day-to-day living costs while you're studying. In some cases, it also covers the cost of your tuition fees for the course and doesn’t need to be paid back.

The support you may be entitled to will depend on a number of factors including where you live, your income and that of your parents, or your spouse or partner and the duration of your course.

What you can receive

The main entitlement for students consists of:

• A non-income assessed grant worth up to £1,000 per year.
• A means-tested NHS bursary of up to £4,395 per year (up to £5,460 if you’re studying in London), paid to you monthly.
• The full amount of your tuition fees paid for by the NHS.

You're also able to apply for a maintenance loan via Student Finance England (SFE) for a reduced rate of up to £2,324 per year (rising up to £3,263 if you're studying in London). The reduced rate loan is not means-tested so the amount you receive just depends on where you live when you're studying (London, outside London or with your parents) and whether you're in the final year of your course (when you get less).

If you plan to study at an English university but currently live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, you'll need to apply for your maintenance loan via Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS), Student Finance Wales or Student Finance NI.

If you're a part-time student but meet the eligibility criteria (based on the number of weeks per year you're studying), you can apply for a reduced bursary and grant.

NHS funded courses

To be eligible for NHS financial support, you must be accepted on to a full or part-time NHS funded course which leads to professional registration as a:

• Chiropodist (including podiatrist), dietician, occupational therapist, orthoptist, physiotherapist, prosthetist, orthotist, radiographer, radiotherapist, or a speech and language therapist.
• Dental hygienist or dental therapist.
• Nurse, midwife or operating department practitioner.

What about medicine and dentistry courses?

If you’re going to study medicine or dentistry, you may be entitled to NHS funding during the latter years of the course - from year five of a five or six-year undergraduate medical or dental degree, and from year two of an accelerated four-year graduate medical or dental course.

Undergraduate courses

When you enter your fifth year on an undergraduate course, you will have your tuition fees paid for by the NHS and you can apply for the financial support offered through the NHS Bursary Scheme.

For the first four years of the course, you can apply for student finance in the same way as other students in higher education.

Accelerated four-year graduate courses

For students on the accelerated graduate degree, during year one you will need to self-fund the first £3,465 of your tuition fees. You can apply to SFE for a loan to cover the remaining fees and for a maintenance loan to cover your other day-to-day costs.

From years two to four, the NHS bursary will cover the first £3,465 of tuition fees. You can apply to SFE (or SAAS, Student Finance NI or Wales, depending on where you currently live) for a loan to cover the remaining fees. During years two to four you can also apply for maintenance support offered through the NHS Student Bursary Scheme.

How to apply

Once you've been offered a place on an NHS-funded courses, NHS Student Bursaries (or the relevant awarding body) will write to tell you how to apply. It is important you meet their deadlines so that your payments are not delayed.

It was a relatively easy process - the university will confirm to NHS Bursaries when you have accepted the course offer and then they contact you to fill out a form - there is no need to complete paperwork or call NHS Bursaries before then. First Year Nursing Student | London South Bank University

For full details on eligibility, make sure you check out this handy guide from NHS Student Bursaries.


You can find and compare degree courses on offer across the health professions - from nursing and midwifery to radiography - right here on Which? University.

 

Source: Which University?