So you’ve decided to study nursing at university or college.
But how are you going to pay for your nursing degree? Can nursing students get student loans? And do student nurses get a bursary?
We’re here to answer these questions and more.
Can student nurses get student loans?
Let’s first answer the question: can student nurses get student loans?
And the answer to this is: yes. Just like other students, nursing students from the UK can apply for a student loan from their home country’s student finance organisation, either:
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Student Finance Wales
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Student Awards Agency Scotland
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Student Finance Northern Ireland
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Student Finance England
As long as you meet their eligibility criteria, you’ll be able to get student funding to help cover the costs of your tuition fees and living costs.
However, there are limits on who can apply, no matter what subject you’re studying. You’ll usually have to have been living in the UK for three years to be eligible, meaning international students usually can’t apply for UK student loans.
What is a student nurse bursary?
As a student nurse, you might also be able to get additional funding to help with the costs of studying a nursing degree - funding only available to students studying nursing or other healthcare-related subjects.
This’ll come in the form of a bursary or grant. Whichever name is used, they both refer to free money that’s available to nursing students.
Since nursing is an extremely important job in society, these nursing bursaries are like a ‘thank you’ for studying such an important degree. They’re also used to encourage more students to study nursing degrees and become nurses.
This is free money that you won’t have to pay back - making your nursing studies more affordable and removing some of the financial burden of studying.
How much is a student nurse bursary?
How much you can get depends on:
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Your personal circumstances
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The country you’re from
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The country you choose to study in
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The specific nursing course you study
There are also add-ons that certain nursing students might get, such as support for parents studying nursing.
Make sure you check the eligibility criteria for any bursary so you don’t waste time applying for something you’ve got no chance of receiving.
When talking about nursing bursaries below, we’ve outlined guideline amounts for what you might be able to get.
Can student nurses in England get a bursary?
You might’ve heard about the NHS Bursary. Unfortunately, this isn’t available for nursing students: it’s only available to Medicine and Dentistry students.
Instead, nursing students in England can apply for the NHS Learning Support Fund.
NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF)
Healthcare students from any of the UK countries who decide to study in England could get the NHS Learning Support Fund to help fund their studies.
This includes undergraduate and postgraduate students of many different healthcare subjects, including any form of nursing:
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Adult nursing
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Child nursing
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Mental health nursing
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Learning disability nursing
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Joint nursing
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Social work
You can see the full list of eligible subjects here.
If you’re eligible, you can get this for every year of your degree, as long as you reapply each year.
What can you get as part of the Learning Support Fund?
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Training grant: worth £5,000 per year, this can go towards your living costs or tuition fees
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Parental support: nursing students who have at least one child under the age of 15 (or 17 if the child has special educational needs) who depends on them financially could get up to £2,000 per year
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Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses: if you have additional travel and accommodation costs while on placement, you can get this money paid back to you
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Specialist subject payment: certain degrees find it hard to recruit nurses, such as mental health and learning disability nursing. To encourage you into these specialist subjects, you could get £1,000 per year if you choose to study one of them
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Exceptional Support Fund: up to £3,000 per year if you’re faced with a tough financial situation
Who’s eligible for the NHS Learning Support Fund?
You’ll be eligible if:
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You study a nursing course in England
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You live in one of the four UK countries
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You’re eligible for student loans from your country’s student finance organisation
Learn more about the Learning Support Fund and how to apply.
Can student nurses in Scotland get a bursary?
Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary (PNMSB)
This student nursing bursary might be available to you if you’re studying nursing in Scotland and you’re from Scotland.
It’s a non-means-tested bursary, meaning that, if you’re eligible, you’ll get the full amount, regardless of your household income or other personal circumstances.
This bursary will get you £10,000 each year for the first three years of your course. If your course runs into a fourth year, you’ll also get £7,500 for that year.
You’ll also get an Initial Expenses Allowance to help cover any costs when you first arrive at university or college, valued at £60.
If you’re a Scottish student and you decide to study a nursing degree in another UK country, you won’t be able to get this student nurse bursary.
Tuition fees for Scottish students
If you’re Scottish and you decide to study in Scotland, you won’t pay any tuition fees, regardless of which subject you decide to study. This is a great incentive to study your nursing degree in Scotland if you’re Scottish.
If you’re Scottish and decide to study nursing in another UK country, however, you’ll be charged tuition fees. You can still get a tuition fee loan from SAAS to pay for these fees.
Other grants for Scottish nursing students
As a Scottish nursing student, there are some other sources of additional funding you might have access to, whether you decide to study in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK:
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Dependants’ Grant: if you care for someone because of illness, disability or frailty who is financially dependent on you, or have a partner with a low income or a child who’s financially dependent on you
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Lone Parents’ Grant: for single parents bringing up their children on their own
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Lone Parents’ Childcare Grant: to help pay for childcare
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Disabled Students’ Allowance: supporting students with disabilities or additional learning needs who are faced with extra costs related to their studies
Can student nurses in Northern Ireland get a bursary?
If you’re from Northern Ireland and decide to study nursing in Northern Ireland, you can apply for a non-means-tested bursary to help cover your living costs.
The Department of Health will also cover your tuition fees for your degree.
However, you won’t be able to get a maintenance loan if you decide to apply for this assistance.
As well as nursing students, this additional funding is also available for midwifery students, as well as students coming to Northern Ireland from EU countries to study nursing or midwifery.
Learn more about what's available for Northern Irish nursing students.
Can student nurses in Wales get a bursary?
NHS Wales Bursary
This nursing bursary is available to students who choose to study nursing in Wales.
It’s available for students from anywhere in the UK, not just students from Wales, as long as you choose to study in Wales.
If eligible, you’ll be able to get this for every year of your course.
You could get:
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Non-means-tested grant of £1,000
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Your tuition fees completely paid for
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Means-tested bursary up to £4,491
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Other additional funding for those meeting specific criteria (e.g. Childcare Allowance, Dependants’ Allowance)
You’ll still be able to get a maintenance loan if you receive the NHS Wales Bursary.
A key requirement of the NHS Wales Bursary is that you commit to working a job directly related to your course in Wales for at least two years after you graduate.
That’s for nursing students studying a course lasting three or more years. If your course only lasts two years, then you’ll have to commit to 18 months, rather than two years.
Learn more about the NHS Wales Bursary.
What other funding can student nurses get?
Other scholarships, bursaries and grants
Make sure to look at funding that’s available to students beyond nursing too, to see what you might be eligible for.
Lots of additional funding is open to all students at a university, or might even be offered nationally or internationally. See what’s out there to make the most of this free money - it’ll help to reduce some of the financial pressure that comes from studying at university or college.
Here are some tips for applying for scholarships.
Hardship funds
If you’re struggling with money while at university or college, make use of your university or college’s hardship funds.
This is money that they’ll set aside for students who are hit with unexpected costs that they couldn’t have planned for. That could include your laptop breaking down, family emergencies or any number of other situations.
They’re there as a last resort - but use them if you need to.
As a student nurse, there’s lots of additional funding available to help you fund your studies.
Make the most of everything that’s out there, both funding specifically for nurses as well as funding available to all students, to reduce your money worries while you study.
Our Funding Hub is a great place to start your search.
