Finance

Online course fees can vary greatly, depending on the number of modules you take and how resource-intensive the course is. For details see our online course list. But overall you should find them more affordable than full time, on-campus courses.

Pay by installment

If you’re not lucky enough to have an employer who has agreed to pay for your course, we will automatically split the costs of each year into 4 payments, so you can spread out the cost. That means you will only need to pay 25% of that year’s fees when you enrol.

For example, if you started a typical undergraduate Top Up degree (eg BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance) in September and chose to study 4 modules over the year, it will take you 2 years to complete. Your payments each year would therefore work out as follows:

PercentageMonthUKInternational
25%September£300£405
25%November£300£405
25%January£300£405
25%March£300£405

Different fees for UK and non UK students

Because of the way university courses are funded in the UK, we offer lower tuition fees to students who live in the UK. UK students must have settled status in the UK, and will normally have been resident in the UK for the 3 years before the start date of your course. Contact us if you are unsure whether you are a UK or non UK student.

Important Information

  • Online Distance Learning programmes are classed as part time study and therefore you are unable to claim a full time loan.
  • Students Award Agency Scotland (SAAS) do not fund part time courses outside of Scotland. If you are a Scottish resident applying for one of our online courses, you are therefore unable to claim for funding.
  • Student Finance Wales (SFW) - our online courses are registered with the Welsh Assembly to allow students who are resident in Wales to apply for funding when applying for one of our courses.
  • It is the student's responsibility to ensure that funding is in place to cover their fees and to liaise with the funding agency.
  • Students are responsible for any discrepency between tuition fees and the amount of funding received.
  • The arrangements for part time funding for courses running in 2012/2013 will be changing from September 2012 to a repayable loan system. Students who are receiving grants for their current studies up to then will still be able to claim a part time grant until they complete their current programme of study.

There may be exam fees

If your course includes exams (many don’t), you can either take them at our UK campuses in Derby or Buxton, or at a place closer to you. If you choose a location that’s nearer to you, you will need to pay an additional fee of £100 per exam, to cover the organisational and administrative costs.

For non UK students - your exam fees are already included in the cost of your course. However, you will need to organise your exams at an approved local institute but we will contact you prior to your examination to make the necessary arrangements.

Ways to pay

You can pay by debit or credit card* when you enrol through our secure server. Or you can talk to our finance staff to arrange bank transfers and if your employer is paying, they will send an invoice out.
* American Express and Diners card are not accepted.

Is your employer paying?

That’s great news. Please ask your employer to write to us confirming this, using our sponsor letter template (Word, 24.5k) as a guide. The address of where to send this letter is included.

IMPORTANT: Your employer will need to write a new sponsor letter at the beginning of each academic year (that’s always in September.)

Apply Now

Applications for Online courses are made through the main University of Derby website.

By clicking on "Apply now" below you will be redirected to the University of Derby website to continue your application process.

There may be exam fees

If your course includes exams (many don’t), you can either take them at our UK campuses in Derby or Buxton, or at a place closer to you. If you choose a location that’s nearer to you, you will need to pay an additional fee of £100 per exam, to cover the organisational and administrative costs.

For non UK students - your exam fees are already included in the cost of your course. However, you will need to organise your exams at an approved local institute but we will contact you prior to your examination to make the necessary arrangements.

Is your employer paying?

That’s great news. Please ask your employer to write to us confirming this, using our sponsor letter template (Word, 24.5k) as a guide. The address of where to send this letter is included.

IMPORTANT: Your employer will need to write a new sponsor letter at the beginning of each academic year (that’s always in September.)

Ways to pay

You can pay by debit or credit card* when you enrol through our secure server. Or you can talk to our finance staff to arrange bank transfers and if your employer is paying, they will send an invoice out.
* American Express and Diners card are not accepted.

Other sources of financial help

Most students taking an online course study part time and so the financial help available is the same as for those taking any part time course.

This help depends on the level you're studying at:

General financial help and information can be found at Direct Gov, visit their website: