Financing your Medical Degree
This guide has been written as a one-stop-shop for you to understand how financing your studies at medical school works. This guide has been written to cover information about undergraduate entry to medical school (stay tuned for Graduate Entry info!) While we have done our best to be as comprehensive as possible, please remember that there may be exceptional circumstances influencing your financial situation at university.
Student finance & student loans
Unlike other university degrees, funding your study at medical school can be complex. For the first 4 years of your degree, funding is the same as for other degrees, but after this, it changes.
Since medicine degrees are often 5 years of study, but sometimes 6 years (for example, if you intercalate), there will be different arrangements about money for your final year or two years.
There are two main costs:
- Tuition fees: these are paid to the university for your teaching.
- Living costs: all other costs, including rent, bills, groceries, travel expenses, etc.
You can take out loans from the government to help you pay for this (in the first four years), and you will need to pay these back (although this isn’t as daunting as it might seem!).
For the final year or two years, this situation changes. It can be daunting to see a drop in funding during this period but we’ve written this guide to explain how it works, and how you can find the funding to help cover your living costs.
We’ve included information about student finance for students from different areas of the UK below.
For students living in England when they apply
* This is based on funding for the 2022/3 academic year and may change in the future, so it’s important to check out Student Finance England which will have the most up to date information.
Years 1-4:
- SFE will provide a tuition fee loan and (means-tested) maintenance (living costs) loan. You will need to pay this money back, which you will do once you start earning over the threshold (£25k a year).
- You may be eligible for a long-course loan if your course is longer than 33 weeks and 5 days (check out your uni’s advice), which will provide you with a bit extra money.
Year 5 onwards:
- Tuition fees: You can apply to the NHS Business Authority, who will pay your tuition fee for you. You do not need to pay this back.
- Living costs: You can apply for a means tested maintenance loan from Student Finance England. You can also apply for a £1000 grant, and a means-tested bursary from the NHS Business Authority to help cover living costs. The amount you will receive depends on your household income, and whether you are living in London or living with your parents.
- For academic year 2022/23, we worked out that total maximum funding for living costs across the different years of medical school for a 40-week academic year would look like this:
Behind the numbers
Using the middle column as an example, a medical student living outside of London out of their parental home in years 1-4 would receive a maximum £9706 of means tested maintenance loan, plus £104 per week for 10 weeks from Student Finance England. This is because the academic year is longer than 30-week 3-days, and therefore the student would qualify for a long course loan for the rest of the weeks of the academic year.
The same student in year 5 would receive £2534 in means-tested maintenance loan from student finance England, a £1000 grant from NHS Bursary, a £2643 means-tested bursary from NHS Bursary, plus £84 per week for 10 weeks due to the academic running beyond 30 weeks.
The same student in their final year of studies would receive £1975 in means-tested maintenance loan from student finance England, a £1000 grant from NHS Bursary, a £2643 means-tested bursary from NHS Bursary, plus £84 per week for 10 weeks due to the academic running beyond 30 weeks.
For students living in Wales when they apply
* This is based on funding for the 2022/3 academic year and may change in the future, so it’s important to check out Student Finance Wales which will have the most up to date information.
Years 1-4:
- SFW will provide a tuition fee loan. You will need to pay this money back, which you will do once you start earning over the threshold (just over £27k a year).
- Living costs: You can apply to SFW for funding. The amount you receive will depend whether you live in London or living with parents. All students are entitled to the same amount of funding, but the amount which is a repayable loan, and the amount which is a non-repayable grant, depends on your household income.
- You may be eligible for a long-course loan if your course is longer than 33 weeks and 5 days (check out your uni’s advice), which will provide you with a bit extra money.
Year 5 onwards:
- Tuition fees: You can apply to the NHS Business Authority who will pay the tuition fee directly to your university. This is a bursary, and you will not need to pay this back.
- Living costs: You can apply for funding from Student Finance Wales, and the amount you will receive depends on whether you are living in London or living with your parents. However, all students are entitled to the same amount of funding, though the proportion that is a loan and the proportion that is a grant is means-tested. Overall, however, it is less than you are entitled to in years 1-4.
- You can also apply for a £1000 grant, and a means-tested bursary from the NHS Business Authority to help cover living costs. The amount you will receive depends on your household income, and whether you are living in London or living with your parents.
For academic year 2022/23, we worked out that total maximum funding across the different years of medical school for a 40-week academic year would look like this:
Behind the numbers
Using the middle column as an example, a medical student living outside of London, and out of the parental home in years 1-4 would receive a maximum £10710 of means tested maintenance funding, plus £138 per week for 10 weeks from Student Finance Wales. This is because the academic year is longer than 30-week 3-days, and therefore the student would qualify for a long course loan for the rest of the weeks of the academic year.
The same student in year 5 would receive £4855 in means-tested maintenance funding from Student Finance Wales, a £1000 grant from NHS Bursary, a £2643 means-tested bursary from NHS Bursary, plus £84 per week for 10 weeks due to the academic running beyond 30 weeks.
The same student in final year would receive £4855 in means-tested maintenance funding from Student Finance Wales, a £1000 grant from NHS Bursary, a £2643 means-tested bursary from NHS Bursary, plus £84 per week for 10 weeks due to the academic running beyond 30 weeks.
Remember that the funding received from Student Finance Wales is a mixture of grant and loan, so you will pay back some, but not all of the money.
For students living in Scotland when they apply
* This is based on funding for the 2022/3 academic year and may change in the future, so it’s important to check out Student Awards Agency Scotland, which will have the most up to date information.
Years 1-4:
- Tuition fees: Student Awards Agency Scotland will provide a tuition fee loan. You will need to pay this money back, which you will do once you start earning over the threshold (just over £27k a year).
- Living costs: You can apply for funding from Student Awards Agency Scotland. The amount you receive depends on your household income. This will be a mixture of a bursary and a loan, of which the amount depends on household income.
Year 5 onwards:
- Tuition fees: Student Awards Agency Scotland will pay the tuition fee directly to the university. You do not need to pay this back, it is a bursary.
- Living costs: You can apply for funding from Student Awards Agency Scotland. This funding is the exact same as what you will receive in Years 1-4: it will depend on your household income, and be a mixture of bursary and a loan.
For academic year 2022/23, the total funding across the different years of medical school for a 40-week academic year would be the same, and dependent on household income only.
| Household Income | Bursary £ | Loan £ | Total £ |
| £0 to £20,900 | 2000 | 6,100 | 8,100 |
| £21,000 to £23,999 | 1,125 | 6,100 | 7,225 |
| £24,000 to £39,999 | 500 | 6,100 | 6,600 |
| £34,000 and above | 0 | 5,100 | 5,100 |
For students living in Northern Ireland when they apply
* This is based on funding for the 2022/3 academic year and may change in the future, so it’s important to check out Student Finance Northern Ireland, which will have the most up to date information.
Years 1-4:
- Tuition fees: Student Finance NI will provide a tuition fee loan. You will need to pay this money back, which you will do once you start earning over the threshold.
- Living costs: You can apply for funding from Student Finance Northern Ireland, and the amount you will receive depends on whether you are living in London or living with your parents, and your household income. This is a mixture of bursary and loan dependent on household income.
Year 5 onwards:
- Tuition fees: You can apply to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety who will pay the tuition fee directly to the university. This is a bursary, and you will not need to pay this back.
- Living costs: You can apply for funding from Student Finance Northern Ireland, and the amount you will receive depends on whether you are living in London or living with your parents, and your household income.
This is a mixture of bursary and loan dependent on household income. Overall, however, it is less than you are entitled to in years 1-4.
You can also apply for a means-tested bursary from the Northern Ireland Department of Health to help cover living costs. The amount you will receive depends on your household income, and whether you are living in London or living with your parents.
For academic year 2022/23, we worked out that total funding across the different years of medical school for a 40-week academic year would look like this:
Behind the numbers:
Using the middle column as an example, a medical student living outside of London out of the parental home in years 1-4 would receive a maximum £4840 of maintenance loan, a maximum £3475 of maintenance grant, plus £84 per week for 10 weeks from Student Finance Northern Ireland. This is because the academic year is longer than 30-week 3-days, and therefore the student would qualify for a long course loan for the rest of the weeks of the academic year.
The same student in year 5 would receive £2370 in non-means tested maintenance funding from Student Finance Northern Ireland, and a £2355 bursary from Department of Health Northern Ireland.
The same student in final year would receive £1850 in non-means tested maintenance funding from Student Finance Northern Ireland, and a £2355 bursary from Department of Health Northern Ireland.
Repaying your student loan
Your student loans are not like typical debt because they do not affect your credit score. You will only start repaying your student loans once you are earning above a certain amount every year (which might depend on where you live), and it is deducted from your pay at the same time as your income tax and national insurance, so it’s not like a typical debt you need to repay every month in a specific way.
Your loan will accrue interest, which depends on the ‘Plan’ of loan you have, but this isn’t something to worry about.
You only repay an amount which is equal to 9% of your earnings above the income threshold. For example, if your income threshold is £2305 a month, and you are earning £2500 a month, then you will repay 9% of £195 every month, which is £17.55 a month.
The threshold will depend what Plan you are on: Student Loan Repayment Thresholds
For care-experienced and estranged students
Student Finance England does provide extra support for care experienced and estranged students. However, there is specific criteria set by Student Finance England which you must fall into to be considered for this.
If you are a care experienced student, you will be defined as an independent student, and have access to the maximum amount of maintenance loan. You will only need to demonstrate your care leaver status once throughout your course. This usually requires a letter from your local authority or case/ social worker, but more detailed instructions can be found directly from Student Finance England’s website.
If you are an estranged student, you will be defined as an independent student, and have access to the maximum amount of maintenance loan. You will have to fill out an estrangement form or provide another form of evidence which is then assessed on an individual basis. There are common examples of what may be considered estranged listed by Student Finance England on their website.
Following your fourth year of study, you will start to receive funding from NHS Bursary, alongside a reduced amount of maintenance loan from Student Finance England. In some cases, NHS bursary may accept your status as an independent student from Student Finance England, otherwise you may need to prove you fit into their own criteria. NHS Bursary will then not require any parental income information, and assess only your own individual circumstance.
Alongside these major funding bodies, many universities have bursaries and other support services specifically for care experienced and estranged students. You may also be able to access charitable organisations.
Useful information:
Care Experienced Students: Guidance from Student Finance England
Estranged Students, Guidance from Student Finance England
Care Experienced and Estranged Students, Guidance from NHS Bursary (Page 15-16)
Charitable organisations
Bursaries and Scholarships
For some students, the money provided from student loans and grants might not be enough to cover your living costs for a variety of reasons. However, there are many bursaries and scholarships available to all medical students which you can apply to for extra funding.
- 🔗 Disabled Students Allowance
- 🔗 Adult Dependants’ Grant
- 🔗 Childcare Grant
- 🔗 Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust (For those Aged 24 and Over)
- 🔗 Professional Aid Guild (For those in Clinical Years)
- 🔗 The Royal Medical Benevolent Fund (A Great Source of Charitable Trusts)
- 🔗 Medical Women’s Federation
- 🔗 The Foulkes Foundation Fellowship (For recently qualified PHD students)
- 🔗 The Leathersellers’ Company Charitable Fund
- 🔗 The Snowden Trust (For those with a physical disability)
- 🔗 The Barbers’ Company McNee Awards (for mature students studying medicine as a 2nd degree, at London schools)
Emergency Funding
Sometimes, students need emergency funding to help see them through hard times. If this is you, there are some funds and charities that might be able to help. Make sure to ask your University too – sometimes they have pots of money for these circumstances.
- 🔗 BMA Charities offer one-off grants to medical students who are in immediate financial need
- 🔗 NHS Bursary Hardship Grant can provide between £100 and up to £,3000 for students who are in receipt of a full NHS Bursary who are unable to manage shortfalls in income
- 🔗 Royal Medical Benevolent Fund provides a directory of University hardship funding
- 🔗 Gilchrist Educational Trust offers grants to students who would be prevented from graduating by financial difficulties
University-specific finance guides: Coming soon…
This guide was written in collaboration with Trisha Suji, on behalf of Doctors’ Association UK, and Morgan Blake, a final year medical student at the University of Southampton.
