Student Finance in Northern Ireland 2023

From Student Loans to living costs, there's a lot to think about when it comes to money at uni. But don't worry – this guide has all you need to know about Student Finance in Northern Ireland.

Credit: GM Stock Studio, Nahlik - Shutterstock

Whatever stage you're at – whether you're getting ready to start uni or you've been there, done that and got the degree – it's super important to get familiar with the facts around Student Finance.

As Student Finance packages differ for students from each part of the UK, it can initially feel slightly confusing to work out what you're entitled to. But, to clear up the confusion, this guide will talk you through everything you need to know about funding your studies as a Northern Irish student.

Read on to find out about tuition fees and Student Loans, along with some extra ways to cover the costs of university.

Student Finance Northern Ireland: A brief overview

Before we look into Northern Irish Student Finance in more detail, here are the main things to bear in mind:

1. The maximum tuition fee universities in Northern Ireland can charge is £9,250 a year, but if you're a Northern Ireland resident studying in the country, you can expect to pay much less than that (up to £4,710).
2. Most undergraduate students won't have to pay fees upfront, thanks to the Student Loan.
3. You won't need to worry about repaying the loan until you've left your course and are earning enough to surpass the threshold.
4. You can get a Maintenance Loan to help with living costs.
5. There's also a ton of extra help in the form of non-repayable grants and special support, which cover a whole range of circumstances and emergencies.
6. Your debt will be cancelled after 25 years, regardless of how much or how little you've repaid.

Student Finance in Northern Ireland

Credit: Yevgen Kravchenko, kamui29, Bell Photography 423 – Shutterstock

Below, we'll share everything you need to know about Student Finance in NI.

Funding for university varies across the countries of the United Kingdom. Check out our guides to Student Finance for English students, Scottish students and Welsh students for detailed information on each country.

Eligibility for Student Finance

To be eligible for funding from Student Finance Northern Ireland, you will generally need to be 'ordinarily resident' in Northern Ireland on the first day of your course (meaning you live there and haven't just moved to study), and meet one of the following criteria:

• You have lived in the UK and Islands for at least three years before the first day of your course and have settled or pre-settled status (meaning you can live and work in the UK).
• Or you have eligible residence exception status. This includes, but is not limited to, refugees, people under humanitarian protection, children of Swiss nationals and children of Turkish workers.

You can see the full eligibility criteria on the Student Finance Northern Ireland website.

How much are tuition fees at Northern Irish universities?

For 2023/24 entry, students from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland can be charged up to £4,710 per year in tuition fees at universities in Northern Ireland. For students from the rest of the UK, tuition fees are up to £9,250 per year.

If you're an international student (including those from the EU, as of the 2021/22 academic year) you'll have to pay much more – around £14,000 a year or above. It's also unlikely you'll be eligible for UK Student Finance (but always check nationality and residence requirements), so you'll probably need to find funding yourself.

Check out our guide to scholarships for international students for help with this.

Tuition fees in the rest of the UK

If you're from Northern Ireland and want to study elsewhere in the UK, it's worth noting that you won't be entitled to the same lowered tuition fee rate.

Head to Wales and you'll be charged up to £9,000 per year, and as much as £9,250 per year in England and Scotland.

You can still apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover the cost of your course. It will just be a bigger loan than if you'd chosen to study in Northern Ireland instead.

Tuition Fee Loans

The Student Loan comes in two components: Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans (more on this later).

The Tuition Fee Loan is paid directly to your university and covers your course fees. It isn't means-tested, so the amount you're entitled to has nothing to do with your household income.

However, the total available Tuition Fee Loan does depend on where you're studying, as fees vary across the UK.

Maximum Tuition Fee Loan amounts for Northern Irish students 2023/24

Above are the maximum Tuition Fee Loans you can apply for as a Northern Irish student, depending on where you go to university.

If you're looking to study at a public university or college (one that's funded by the government – most of them are!), your Tuition Fee Loan will cover your fees in full.

However, if you're studying at a private university or college, bear in mind that there's no upper limit on fees for these types of institutions. In fact, tuition fees at private unis can be higher than the cap at public ones, so the maximum loan might not cover the cost of tuition in full.

As for living costs at university, financial support in Northern Ireland comes in a few different forms...

Maintenance Loans

This is the part of the Student Loan that's paid directly to you, and how much you get is affected by your household income (yours or your parents'). The amount you can apply for is also affected by where you choose to study, and where you're living.

Here's a quick guide to how much Maintenance Loan you can apply for each year:

Please note that in your final year, you'll receive slightly less than in other years. This money comes out of the third instalment, which is usually meant to tide you over until the new academic year. However, as you'll cease to be a student over the summer, you're given a lower final instalment than usual.

Maintenance Grants and Special Support Grants

The Maintenance Grant doesn't have to be paid back. However, it is means-tested, so you'll need to share details about your household income to get your full entitlement.

Receiving the Maintenance Grant reduces how much Maintenance Loan you're entitled to, but it doesn't mean you're entitled to less money. It just means that out of the total amount you receive, there's a smaller proportion that you have to pay back.

How much annual Maintenance Grant you could receive as a Northern Irish student

The Special Support Grant (SSG) is for students entitled to means-tested benefits or allowances (such as if you're a single parent or have a disability). Take a look at the eligibility criteria.

The payout is the same as the Maintenance Grant (and it's still non-repayable), but it doesn't count as income. In other words, it won't affect how big a Maintenance Loan you're entitled to or your entitlement to any state benefits (unlike the Maintenance Grant, which does).

Note that you can only apply for either the Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant, not both. If you're eligible for the SSG, it's definitely worth applying for that as it doesn't detract from any other funds you're entitled to. But if you're not, the Maintenance Grant is still a pretty sweet deal.

The following tables are a rough guide to the annual amount of loan and grant you should expect to get, depending on where you're living:

Northern Irish students living with their parents

Northern Irish students living away from home and outside of London

Northern Irish students living away from home and in London

How to budget for student living costs

When working out your day-to-day budget for university, you'll need to factor in paying for rent, bills, travel, food and other general living costs. Our guide to student living costs will give you a good idea of how much students spend on average.

You might also find yourself facing other outgoings on your course. These could include printing costs, equipment, resources or field trips – not to mention student textbooks.

Budget in advance so you're not caught short when you get there. Try it out with our student budgeting guide.

Extra financial support for students in Northern Ireland

There's extra, non-repayable funding from Student Finance for students with special circumstances. You'll need to apply for these along with your fees or maintenance support.

Here are the additional forms of financial support available for Northern Irish students:

• Adult Dependants' Grant – If an adult is financially dependent on you, you could receive up to £2,695 per year.
• Childcare Grant – If you've got kids in approved or registered childcare, this grant could help you pay for it. You could get up to £148.75 per week (£255 per week for two or more kids), as long as you're not already getting state aid for the same thing.
• Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) – If you've got a disability, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty that affects your ability to study, you could be eligible for DSA. There's no set amount that you can apply for, as it's determined by your specific circumstances. For more info, check our guide to applying for DSA.
• Parents' Learning Allowance – This pays up to £1,538 per year (depending on your circumstances) if you're financially responsible for children in your household.
• Travel expenses – If you're studying a medical or dental course and have clinical placements you need to travel to, or if a reasonable chunk of your course is taught abroad, you could be eligible for travel expenses support. As it's a grant, it's non-repayable. However, you'll have to stump up the first £309 yourself.

Other funding options for Northern Irish students

Support Funds

Support Funds (often called 'hardship funds' or 'Access to Learning Funds' in the rest of the UK), are there to help students from lower incomes get to, and stay at, university. There may also be cash for students who find themselves in financial difficulties due to emergencies or unexpected costs.

Payouts can be in the form of grants, which you don't have to pay back, or loans, which you do. What you get, and on what terms, is down to the university, so chat with the welfare team at your uni for more advice.

Bursaries, grants and scholarships

There's plenty of funding available from private, industry and university funding sources – if you know where to look. We've got all the info you need to get started in our guide to student bursaries.

Repaying Northern Irish Student Loans

You won't start repaying your Student Loan until after you've graduated – but that doesn't mean the amount stays static until you do.

What is the interest rate on Northern Irish Student Loans?

Student Loans in Northern Ireland operate under the Plan 1 system which currently has an interest rate of 6.25%.

Your Student Loan generates interest as soon as you get it – including while you're studying, and right up until you pay it all off (or it gets wiped).

However, as soon as 25 years have passed from the day you were first eligible to start repaying your loan, your remaining debt will be cancelled, regardless of how much or how little you've paid back!

When do you start repaying your Student Loan?

You'll start repaying your loan the April after you graduate and when you're earning more than £22,015/year (or £1,834 a month).

Once you start earning this amount, your loan repayments will be automatically deducted from your salary each month – which makes the whole process much easier. If you're self-employed, your repayments will be calculated when you file your tax return each year.

You'll only ever pay 9% of what you earn over the threshold, so the payments are usually pretty manageable.

If your circumstances change and you're no longer earning over £22,015 a year, your repayments will stop until you're earning enough again.

Also, the threshold tends to rise in April each year in line with inflation. From 6th April 2023 to 5th April 2024, it's £22,015/year, and this could increase in April 2024.

Monthly repayments of your Student Loan

Above are some examples of what your monthly repayments could look like.

You can choose to pay extra towards your loan, or pay it off in full – but this might mean you end up losing money in the long run. This is because there's a good chance you may not clear your full loan amount through automatic repayments before it's cancelled after 25 years.

If you have a lump sum of money that you could use to clear some of your Student Loan debt, you could consider putting it towards a deposit on a house instead. It doesn't matter whether you repay your Student Loan now, later or never, and you can't get your money back if you repay early.

In other words, put your money where it's most needed! Check out our guide to Student Loan repayments for more info.

If your Student Loan is late, our guide will talk you through your options.