Student finance for UK students studying abroad

If you’ll be living and studying abroad as part of your UK course, you can still apply for student finance

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This article has been written by the experts at Student Finance England (SFE), who regularly review and update the information here.

Can you get a Maintenance Loan when studying abroad?

If you’ll be studying abroad for the majority of a term you’ll get the abroad rate of Maintenance Loan for that term. The amount you can get will depend on your household income. Normally, students studying abroad for a year of their course would be entitled to a higher amount of Maintenance Loan to help with the costs of living overseas. 

If you're studying in China, Japan or Russia for a whole year of your course, you can ask to get your Maintenance Loan payments in one instalment.

Information about the Travel Grant, Erasmus+, Taith and Turing Scheme

If you’re studying abroad, you could also get a Travel Grant to help with travel costs.

Under the Erasmus+, Taith or Turing scheme, you can study part of your degree in one of 32 countries across Europe. You can get a travel grant if you’re studying abroad with Erasmus+ or on an Erasmus+ work placement. You’ll usually get an Erasmus+ or Turing scheme grant from the European Commission, which helps towards your extra costs.

If you’re receiving funding from the Turing Scheme or Taith then you won’t be able to get an SFE Travel Grant to cover the same travel costs.

You can find out more at:

If you’re studying abroad for a full year you’ll be charged a lower tuition fee. You should speak to your university or college for more information.

Student finance for studying a full degree outside the UK

If you will be studying a full degree at a university outside the UK you won’t be able to get any support from Student Finance England. 

Funding for studying a degree abroad will be different depending on which country you’re planning to go to.

You should speak to the university or college you’re thinking of studying at to see if there is any funding you could get.