At the University of Cumbria we offer financial support for all our students. The financial support you will receive will depend on the course you are studying.
The tuition fees for a full-time undergraduate course in 2009/10 will be: Course (e.g. full time undergraduate or HND) Fees
Full time undergraduate £3,225
Full time PGCE £3,225
You can borrow a tuition fee loan from the Government, which means that you don’t have to find the money to pay the tuition fees while you are studying.
The Higher Education Maintenance Grant has been increased to a maximum £2,906. Families with a household income of less than £25,000 will receive the full grant and those with a household income of less than £50,000 will receive some of the grant.
Once you have graduated and are earning above £15,000 you will start to repay your student loan. But if you started your course in 2009, you can ask for a 5 year repayment break to allow you take out a mortgage or start a family.
Below is a quick guide to the extra financial support that may be available to you in 2009.
You can also apply to your funding organisation for a maintenance loan, to pay for costs such as accommodation and food, and a maintenance grant. For students domiciled in England, this is the new Student Finance England service. For further information about who to apply to for your funding, see the Direct Gov website.
For most students on full-time undergraduate courses (non-NHS funded) you may be eligible for the following:
A CUMBRIA bursary
A CUMBRIA scholarship
Four-year undergraduate teaching bursary (where this applies)
Higher education maintenance grant
Living cost loan
Tuition fee loan.
For students on NHS-funded full-time courses:
Fees paid are by the strategic health authority
Diploma nurses – a bursary not based on financial circumstances
Degrees – a bursary and access to student loans (based on financial circumstances)
Extra allowances are available for older students and students with dependants.
The level of bursary offered by the University will also be subject to the annual inflationary increase announced by the government so as to ensure that support offered to eligible students will not be reduced in real terms by inflation.
There is also a range of support for people studying part-time.
Funding for Part-time Courses
Financial support may be available for part-time courses, depending upon where you live. For students domiciled in England you can apply to your funding organisation for financial support each year. The application forms will be available from the beginning of July and you can obtain one either from your funding organisation or by downloading one from the Student Support website.
Students domiciled in other parts of the UK should contact Student Finance Direct and select “Contact” for details of their funding organisation.
The amount of help towards your tuition fees is based upon your household income, the number of hours you are studying and how long it will take you to complete your course. Check with Admissions or the Student Development and Advisory Service for the percentage equivalent of a full-time course so that you can work out from the following table how much support you will receive towards your tuition fees (NB many courses are 50% equivalent):
Amount of fee grant
Course equivalent to 50% to 59% of a full-time course – £805
Course equivalent to 60% to 74% of a full-time course – £970
Course equivalent to 75% or more of a full-time course – £1,210
You can also apply for a grant of up to £260 towards your course costs, again this is based upon your household income.
Funding for Postgraduate Courses
To study a postgraduate course, either full-time or part-time, you will need to source your own funding for fees and living costs. Some funding may come from sponsorship, scholarships, educational trusts and charities or other sources. We would advise you to start early when researching funding opportunities.