Tuition fee loan

Jump to:

Overview

We charge tuition fees for every year that your course lasts. The Home rate of tuition for students starting an undergraduate course at Imperial in 2023–24 is £9,250 per year.

If you are a Home student, you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan from the UK government.

This will cover the entire cost of tuition for every year of study, which means you do not have to pay any money towards your fees while you are studying.

Loan stats

No fees up-front

The loan covers the entire cost of tuition for every year of study.

Paid direct to your university

The loan is paid direct to your university each year.

Goes up if your fee goes up

The loan covers your entire fee so if the fee goes up, the loan will match it, if you apply for the right amount.

The loan is not means-tested so, unlike the Maintenance Loan for living costs, it doesn't matter what your household income is.

It is important to know the tuition fee that you will be charged so that you can apply for the right loan amount from your funding authority e.g. Student Finance England for students living in England.

Back to top of page

Check if you're eligible

Whether you can get a Tuition Fee Loan depends on your:

  • university or college
  • course
  • previous study
  • nationality or residency status

Explore the full list of who qualifies on Gov.uk.

Back to top of page

How it is paid

The money is paid to Imperial in three installments over the course of each academic year:

  • At the start of Term 1: 25% of the tuition fee
  • At the start of Term 2: 25% of the tuition fee
  • At the start of Term 3: 50% of the tuition fee

Back to top of page

How to apply

You need to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan each year via your regional funding body – a different process will apply depending on where you're from:

Back to top of page

EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals

EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals starting courses on or after 1 August 2021 must have settled or pre-settled status in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme to be able to apply for funding through the Student Loans Company.

Visit the EU Settlement Scheme information guide for more information.

Visit the Student finance for undergraduates: EU students - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for more information on how your Settlement status affects your support.

This does not apply to students who are Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland, who are automatically treated as settled in the UK and do not need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to benefit from the right to UK student finance.

Back to top of page

Repaying your loan

You have to repay your Tuition Fee Loan, but only once you:

  • have left university
  • are in employment
  • are earning over a certain amount

When you start repaying your loan and how much you pay depends on which repayment plan you’re on i.e. which regional funding body you applied to.

Find out more about repaying your loans.

Back to top of page