Tuition Fees

Tuition fees have been introduced in all four countries of the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) but not all students will have to pay these and, in any case, you can take out a fees loan to cover them. Let's look at each country in turn.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the maximum tuition fee in 2011 for full-time undergraduates will be £3,375 a year. In theory, this fee can be varied by the individual universities, even for particular courses within the same university, but in practice every university has opted for the maximum in the current year.

Scotland introduced a fixed tuition fee in 2008, which now stands at £1,820 (£2,895 for medicine) but this only affects students coming to the Scottish universities from the other UK countries. They can, however, defer payment by applying for a tuition fee loan administered by their local authority or devolved government. Students ordinarily resident in Scotland and staying there to study have these fees paid for them by the SAAS but this is not done automatically - you will still have to apply. Many before you also had to contribute to a Graduate Endowment but that has now been abolished.

UK tuition fees levels by country

But it is worth reiterating: where you incur these fees you can also take out a fees loan to cover them and this will be paid straight to the university. You can then defer worrying about tuition fees until after you have graduated and are earning sufficient money to start paying the loan back.

Read our country by country summary of the possible financial support available.

Next page: Student Loans