Fees and applying for student finance
All students on a Placement Year are subject to reduced tuition fees. This fee covers the support you will receive before, during and after your placement, assessment of the placement and your continued access to university Support Services and NUS membership.
Students taking a year out from the University to complete a work placement in 2025/26 academic year will be charged the following tuition fees
Please note: This information is based on 2024-25 figures though could be subject to change.
Placement/Year of course
- For a work placement year in the United Kingdom for students going on placement from year 2023/24 onwards, the Home Fee is £1,850 and the International Fee is 20% of the relevant international fee.
- For a work placement year outside the UK for students going on placement from 2023/24 onwards, the Home Fee is £1,350 and the International Fee is 20% of the relevant international fee.
Further details regarding fees for placement year students can be found here: Exceptional Fees 2025/26
Tuition fee loans - student finance
UK Home students can apply through Student Finance for a tuition fee loan to cover the cost of placement year tuition fees, as they would for other years. However, it is important that you tell Student Finance that you will be abroad/on a placement year.
Before you submit your funding application you need to indicate what you will be doing during each term. If you have already submitted your application and then decide to go abroad or take a placement year you will need to log into your online account and complete a change of circumstances form to update your information.
When submitting your change of circumstances, you will need to select the new course you will transfer to for your placement year. Always use the drop-down options for this and find the correct title of your course rather than use the course code. This will be something like BA (Hons) (your subject) with Placement Year.
If you cannot find your course on the Student Finance course menu, please email slc-enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk for advice.
When completing your Student Finance application for a tuition fee loan, if you require the maximum loan to cover your tuition fee, please tick the appropriate box but also tick to allow the University to change the amount.
You may find that the fee which appears for your Placement Year is more than you expected but ticking the box will enable the University to amend the fee and fee loan from £9,250 or £9,000 to the correct fee as advised above, once it has been confirmed that you have started your work placement.
Please contact Funding and Financial Support if you require any further information or if you need to discuss your individual situation.
EU students may also be eligible to apply for Tuition Fee loans but must meet certain criteria so should check with Student Finance or with the University’s Funding and Financial Support team.
[1] EU students starting in the academic year 2019-20 and 2020-21 will pay the same fees and have the same eligibility for loans and grants as UK home students for the duration of their course. EU students starting in 2021/22 or later will not be eligible for the home/UK fee rate or financial support from Student Finance England.
Maintenance loans to support you during a placement year
UK Home students undertaking a placement year may be eligible for a reduced rate Maintenance Loan during a paid or unpaid work placement year.[2] This reduced rate Maintenance Loan is not income assessed (means tested) and the exact amount will vary depending on where you will live during the placement, for example, living in London, outside of London, in your parents’ home.
You will not however be entitled to any supplementary grants, that is, Parent’s Learning Allowance, Adults Dependants Grant, Childcare Grant, unless you are undertaking specific types of unpaid placements (such as working in the NHS), in which case you may also be entitled to a full maintenance loan.
Maintenance loans will not be released until you have completed the University’s online registration process for the academic year.
Please note: This information is based on 2024-25 figures though could be subject to change.
Reduced rate loan for placement years
- Living with parents: £2,324
- Living away from parents and not in London: £3,098
- Living away from parents and in London: £4,350
Full information can be found on the Student Funding page for Placements.
There are no UK government loans available to EU students for living costs while undertaking an undergraduate degree in the UK. However, if you have lived in the UK for at least five years before the 1st September of the year you commence your course, you may be eligible to apply to Student Finance for the maintenance loan as well as the tuition fee loan. [3]
[2]Students on an Erasmus + work placement scheme abroad may be eligible for a non-income assessed maintenance loan or, if eligible on the basis of household income, the full maintenance loan. The SLC loan rates for Erasmus placements in 2021/22 have not been confirmed at time of writing and may be impacted by Brexit.
[3] EU students starting in the academic year 2019-20 and 2020-21 will pay the same fees and have the same eligibility for loans and grants as UK home students for the duration of their course. EU students starting in 2021/22 or later will not be eligible for the home/UK fee rate or financial support from Student Finance England.
University of Nottingham Core Bursary
If you usually receive the University of Nottingham Core Bursary, then you may still be eligible for it during your placement year, as long as you are a registered student and have a household income calculated by Student Finance as being below the relevant threshold. The Student Loans Company should be able to perform a means-tested assessment for bursary purposes.
For advice on your individual funding situation, you are strongly advised to contact the Funding and Financial Support team.
Contacts for further information