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University tuition fees and financial support in Wales
A guide to student finance and tuition fees for undergraduates from Wales in 2025/26.

CONTENTS
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Undergraduate student finance in Wales, 2025/26
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University tuition fees and tuition fee loans
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Funding your living costs at uni
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Grants and loans for students from Wales, 2025/26
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Extra funding for university
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Loans if studying abroad or on a placement year
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Student finance for a second degree
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How to apply for student finance in Wales
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Repaying your student loan
Undergraduate student finance in Wales, 2025/26
Undergraduates from Wales continue to receive the most generous student living cost support in the UK. All students receive the same total amount for where they live while studying; and part of it is a grant, which you don’t repay.
Wales offers more living-cost support than other UK nations. So, some students might worry about how much they will owe after finishing their degree. But remember, you only repay your student loan once your income is above a certain amount. Also, once you do begin to repay your loan, you could get up to £1,500 knocked off what you owe.
To be considered a Welsh student, you must normally live in Wales (i.e. you've not moved there just to study for a degree). You must also have lived in the UK for the three years before the start of your course. There are some exceptions. To find out more, see our information on student finance eligibility.
University tuition fees and tuition fee loans
From August 2025, universities in England and Wales can charge up to £9,535 a year for undergraduate tuition. Your tuition fee loan will rise in line with this increase. Tuition fees at universities in Northern Ireland and Scotland are also likely to be £9,535, as they match their fees to those charged in England.
In England you can also take an accelerated degree, which takes only two years to complete. For accelerated degrees, fees can be up to £11,440 from August 2025. However the maximum tuition fee loan from Student Finance Wales is £9,535, and you’ll be expected to pay the difference.
If you study at a private provider, your fees may be higher, but you can only get a loan of up to £6,355.
Funding your living costs at uni
If you’re away at university, your living costs will include your accommodation, food and drink, and your travel costs. You could also have extra course-related costs like lab coats or field trips.
To help meet these costs, full-time Welsh university students may be eligible for financial support of £10,480–£15,415 in 2025-26. The amount you get depends on where you live during term time.
Welsh student finance doesn't calculate any contribution from parents. What’s more, some of that money is in the form of a non-repayable grant. The amount of grant you get depends on your household income. Between the lower and upper household incomes shown below, the amount of grant decreases and the loan increases.
If you don’t give details of your household income, you will only qualify for basic support, which will be assessed as if your income were £59,200 or more. All eligible undergraduates can get the minimum £1,000 grant and maximum loan amount.
But with living costs remaining high, you will still need to budget to make sure your funds meet your estimated expenses.
Student Cost of Living Calculator
Use our Student Cost of Living Calculator to discover how much your monthly costs would be studying in different regions and universities around the UK.
WORK OUT YOUR BUDGET- GO TO
- Budgeting for university
Grants and loans for students from Wales, 2025/26
Household income | Financial support if living at home | Financial support if living in London | Financial support if living elsewhere |
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Up to £18,370 | £3,595 loan £6,885 grant £10,480 total |
£5,291 loan £10,124 grant £15,415 total |
£4,245 loan £8,100 grant £12,345 total |
£25,000 | £4,550 loan £5,930 grant £10,480 total |
£6,772 loan £8,643 grant £15,415 total |
£5,398 loan £6,947 grant £12,345 total |
£35,000 | £5,992 loan £4,488 grant £10,480 total |
£9,007 loan £6,408 grant £15,415 total |
£7,137 loan £5,208 grant £12,345 total |
£45,000 | £7,433 loan £3,047 grant £10,480 total |
£11,241 loan £4,174 grant £15,415 total |
£8,876 loan £3,469 grant £12,345 total |
£55,000 | £8,875 loan £1,605 grant £10,480 total |
£13,476 loan £1,939 grant £15,415 total |
£10,615 loan £1,730 grant £12,345 total |
£59,200 and above | £9,480 loan £1,000 grant £10,480 total |
£14,415 loan £1,000 grant £15,415 total |
£11,345 loan £1,000 grant £12,345 total |
Note: the actual amount you get will depend on your personal situation.
Sometimes you’ll only qualify for a ‘reduced rate’ maintenance loan, with no living cost grant. This might apply if you’re on a paid placement year. In this case, for 2025/26 your loan would be:
- £4,740 – if you’re living with your parents.
- £7,205 – if you’re living in London.
- £5,670 – if you’re living elsewhere.
In the past, the reduced rate loan also applied to students who got an NHS bursary. Since 2024, students from Wales can now get the full rate of maintenance loan during a bursary year. This applies if you are from Wales and studying:
- A full-time Medicine or Dentistry degree anywhere in the UK.
- A full-time Nursing, Midwifery or Allied Health Profession degree in Wales, and you receive NHS Wales bursary funding.
The above also applies to graduates taking Medicine or Dentistry as a second degree. For further details, see our page on NHS funded courses.
Long course loan in 2025/26
If your university course is longer than 30 weeks and three days in the year, you can get an extra amount of loan. You must get income-assessed student finance to be eligible. You won’t get this money if you’re on a paid sandwich course placement.
In Wales, the fixed rate of loan per week is:
- £96 – if you’re living with your parents.
- £184 – if you’re living away from your parents in London.
- £144 – if you’re living away from your parents elsewhere.
Student finance partial cancellation scheme
You may also be able to receive a partial cancellation of up to £1,500 on your maintenance loan debt. You will see the change to your balance once you begin repayments.
Extra funding for university
You may qualify for a Special Support payment if you get certain income-related benefits, for example if you’re a single parent. The Special Support payment gives extra financial support to those on the lowest incomes.
There's also extra funding available if you’re disabled or need support for childcare. We've got more on this in our page on student finance and funding.
You may be able to get a bursary, scholarship, or award from your university. If you do, it won't count towards your household income.
Loans if studying abroad or on a placement year
You might study abroad or take a placement as part of your university course. If you're away for a year, your usual university tuition fees are usually reduced – though by how much varies between the UK nations. Your tuition fee loan will also be reduced. If you're at a private university, where fees might be higher, you'll need to pay the difference yourself.
If you're studying abroad, your living cost support will depend on how long you're away, whether it's for a term or up to a year. Welsh students get the 'living elsewhere' rate for living cost support (see the table above). There's also a travel grant to help with expenses – you can learn more about this from our page on student finance and funding.
If you're on a placement as part of your university course, your financial support will depend on whether it’s paid or unpaid. Taking an ‘approved’ unpaid placement is unlikely to affect your usual student finance. Those on a paid sandwich course year get a 'reduced rate' maintenance loan.
Student finance for a second degree
Normally, you can only get undergraduate funding for your first university degree. But if you study the following subjects, you may be eligible for more undergraduate funding:
- Medicine
- Dentistry
- Veterinary science
- Architecture (if a MArch RIBA Part 2 course)
- Social work
- Teacher training courses like a PGCE
These are ‘equivalent or lower qualifications’ (ELQ) that are approved for funding. In the above cases, you could still be eligible for a living cost loan. Depending on the subject, you may need to pay some or all of the tuition fees yourself. It’s worth checking with the university and Student Finance Wales whether the subject you wish to study is covered by the ELQ rule.
You may notice that healthcare courses aren’t in the above list. While England has made healthcare courses eligible for student finance if taken as a second degree, Wales has not.
If you study part-time, there may be financial support for a wider range of subjects taken as a second degree. For part-time study, this includes STEM subjects and subjects studied in Welsh.
How to apply for student finance in Wales
The quickest way to apply is online to Student Finance Wales. You’ll need to reapply for each year of your university course.
Applications for student finance usually open in March. If you're starting a course in the autumn, it's best to get your application in by late spring to ensure your tuition fee and maintenance loan is ready in time. You can apply after this date, but your funding may be delayed. If you've not yet made your final choice of degree, you can always update the details after your application is in.
The Student Loans Company (SLC) will handle your loan payments on behalf of the government. Your tuition fee will be paid direct to your university. Both the grant and loan are paid into your bank account at the start of each term, once you’ve registered on your degree course.
Repaying your student loan
Your loan repayments begin the April after you leave university. You’ll also need to be earning over a certain amount.
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