STUDENT FINANCE ENGLAND (SFE)2017/18

Funding for Students on a WORK PLACEMENT YEAR in the UK

who commenced their course after August 2012 and before August 2016

Funding for students undertaking a work placement as part of their course will be assessed depending on which category their placement falls into.There is a huge difference in the amount of funding available for students on a paid or unpaid placements and those on a special case placement. All students can apply for a loan to cover the tuition fee.

PAID work placement:

  • All placementsreduced funding only – no income assessment

UNPAID work placement:

  • Non special casereduced funding only– no income assessment
  • Special casefull funding – eligible for means-tested loan/grant

Categories of Special Case work placement:

•a) unpaid service in a hospital, NHS trust, or with a clinical commissioning group;

•b) unpaid service with a local authority relating to the care of children and young persons, health or welfare or with a charity carrying out activities of a like nature in the UK;

•c) unpaid service in the prison or probation service;

•d) unpaid research in a UK or overseas institution;

•e) unpaid service with a Special Health Authority or Health and Social Services Board;

•f) unpaid service with either House of Parliament.

SFE Maintenance Loan – Reduced Funding

for a paid work placement or unpaid not special case work placement

Maximum rate of reduced loan for student living:

Parental home / £1,915
Parental home in London / £1,915
London / £3,585
Elsewhere / £2,553

SFE Maintenance Loan and Grant– Full Funding

for a special case work placement

Students can apply for the Maintenance Loan (non-income assessed or income assessed), as well as the Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant, if they apply for finance which includes their household income.It is very important to complete your loan application with all the details of your work placement(s) and indicate the type of placement you will be undertaking.

SFE –Maintenance Loan Rate

This table shows the maximum Maintenance Loan available. The actual amount a student will receive depends on their household income. Students living in London at the parental home will receive the ‘Parental Home’ rate. Students must be in receipt of means-tested funding to be eligible for ‘Extra Weeks’ payments.

Where residing for majority of term / Non-income Assessed / Income Assessed / Total Possible / Extra Weeks
Parental Home / £3,124 / £1,682 / £4,806 / £59
London / £5,481 / £2,951 / £8,432 / £116
Elsewhere / £3,930 / £2,113 / £6,043 / £90

Extra weeks: Additional support for extra weeks of attendance above 30 weeks and 3 days is inthe form of a long courses loan, with a fixed amount being available per extra week, or part of a week, up to 45 weeks of study. Students studying for 45 weeks or more in any 52 week period are treated as if they are studying for the full 52 weeks and their extra weeks’ loan is calculated accordingly. Students must provide placement dates to SFE, taking account of public holidays and vacations in order to be assessed for extra weeks.

SFE – Maintenance Grant Rate

  • The maximum amount of Maintenance Grant available is £3,482.
  • Students will qualify for the maximum where their household income is £25,000 or less.
  • Students who are eligible for the grant will have their maintenance loan reduced by £0.50 for every £1.00 of grant received (i.e. part of the loan is converted into grant).
  • Where household income exceeds £42,641, no grant is payable.

If you choose to be means tested, SFE will automatically check if you are eligible for any Maintenance Grant.

Tuition Fee

Students on any type of work placement can apply for the reduced tuition fee loan of £1,350.

Receiving Your Loan

Students who are on placement at the start of an academic year still need to register online with the University of Leeds, and must return their Student Finance Declaration form to SFE. If you do not register you will not be covered by the University’s Insurance Policy.For guidance on completing your loan application, please see

Any student who starts their work placement more than 4 weeks prior to the start of the normal academic year can apply to receive the first instalment of their loan to coincide with the start of their placement. Students must write to The Discretionary Team, Student Finance England, PO Box 210, Darlington, DL1 9HJwith an explanation(and supporting documents) of why they will experience financial hardship if they do not receive their loan at the start of their placement.

Placements in London

You can apply for a Student Oyster Card and Council Tax Exemption.When you apply online for an Oyster Card, the Student Services Centre will confirm your registration as part of this process. To apply for Council Tax Exemptionyou will need a Confirmation of Registration letter from the Student Services Centre.Make sure that you change your ‘term time’ address on the University Portal to your London address before requesting this.

The Oyster Card application is at:

The Council Tax Exemption link is:

Further information can be found on the Study Abroad and Work Placement webpages at

For information on funding for Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Northern Ireland, and the Student Awards Agency Scotland, please contact

The information and figures provided are for guidance only. The actual amount and terms of the student loan will be determined by SFE based on the loan application submitted by the student. The figures quoted here have been obtained from The Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills, Loan, Grant and Tuition Fee Rates for Academic Year 2017/18 published on the Student Loans Company website [accessed 14/12/2016]

Updated 21/03/2017