Fees and finance for undergraduate courses

Going to university is a real investment in your future. You’ll have two main costs to consider – tuition fees and living costs.

Most students will be able to apply for loans to help pay for these. Depending on where you live and your circumstances, grants, bursaries and scholarships might also be available.

Here’s our detailed guide to what studying at Derby costs and the help that’s available to pay for it. It can be complex, so if you need help making sense of anything, get in touch with us.

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are the money you pay for your course. Find out what your fees might be:

If you start your course in September 2021 or January 2022, you will pay £9,250 per year. If you’re studying an accelerated degree course, you could get up to £11,100 per year. These fees are regulated by the UK government and may change each year in line with government policy.

You will pay for each module you plan to study in the coming year. Module costs vary depending on the course – check the fees and finance section of the course page. If you’re paying for yourself, you can spread the cost by making four equal payments each year.

Students from outside the UK who are studying on campus will pay international student fees. All undergraduate fees are £14,045 per year (other than BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy which is £14,700 per year) if you start your course in September 2021 or January 2022. You can find information on international tuition fees on our course pages. 

To support our students from the EU, we are offering a new EU Transition Bursary. This contributes £4,500 towards your full annual tuition fee, helping to make study with us more affordable for you. We are offering this bursary to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate taught students starting their course with us in September 2021 or January 2022.

You may also be eligible for our scholarships and discounts, which offer a reduction in fees during your first year of study. You can apply for some scholarships once you have an offer from us; others will be automatically awarded if you are eligible.

Discounts are not available for online studies, foundation and pre-sessional language programmes. Please see our terms and conditions.

Your fees depend on what course you are studying. Online course fees are usually less than on-campus course fees. Check the tuition fees for your online course.

What do tuition fees include?

Your tuition fees pay for your teaching, plus:

Not included:

We have produced a breakdown of how your fees are spent for full-time home/EU students.

Placement funding and fees

UK/EU students on a year in industry will pay tuition fees at a reduced rate of £1,000 in the academic year 2020/21 if they are undertaking credit bearing modules. There is no charge for non-credit bearing modules.

If you take a year in industry as part of your course, either in the UK or overseas, you may still be entitled to some statutory support while you are away from the University, providing that it is a recognised element of your course. For more information, please visit the Gov.uk website.

Living costs

You’ll need to budget for your living costs too. These will include:

Loans and grants

To pay for your tuition fees and living costs, you may be able to take out a student loan. Loans need to be paid back but not usually until you have graduated and are earning a good salary. Sometimes, grants are also available ­– it depends on the country you live in and other factors. These don’t need to be paid back.

Find out what funding is available to you:

If you are a UK national or have 'settled status' and normally live in England, you will be able to take out a loan to pay for all of your tuition fees. You’ll also be able to take out a loan to help pay for your living costs. If you study in Derby, the maximum you'll currently get for living costs for the 2020/2021 academic year is:

  • £9,488 if you live away from home
  • £7,987 if you live at home with your parents or guardians

You need to pay these loans back but not until you have graduated and your salary is over £25,000. Read more about loans for full-time students

As a part-time student, you can currently apply for a tuition fee loan of up to £6,935 per year if you are a UK national or have 'settled status' and normally live in England. You can apply for a tuition fee loan as long as you will complete at least 25% of the credits needed for a full-time course. This percentage is known as course intensity and, if you’re not sure what your course intensity is, check with your course leader (listed on the course page).

If you are studying on campus, you can also apply for a loan for living costs. The amount you get depends on your household income, where you live while studying and your course intensity. Find out more about loans for part-time study.

If you are a UK national or have 'settled status' and normally live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, you should be eligible for loans, and possibly grants, to fund your studies. Check these websites for the latest information:

If you’re starting a course on or after 1 August 2021, you must have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get student finance. Depending on how long you have been living in the UK, you may also be entitled to a loan for living costs. Find out more about loans for EU students

To support our students from the EU, we are offering a new EU Transition Bursary. This contributes £4,500 towards your full annual tuition fee, helping to make study with us more affordable for you. We are offering this bursary to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate taught students starting their course with us in September 2021 or January 2022.


You may also be eligible for our international scholarships and discounts, which offer a reduction in fees during your first year of study. You can apply for some scholarships once you have an offer from us; others will be automatically awarded if you are eligible.

We have a range of scholarships, bursaries and discounts available to international students, which offer a reduction in fees during your first year of study. You can apply for some scholarships once you have an offer from us; others will be automatically awarded if you are eligible.

If you live in the US, you may also be eligible for a US Federal Loan.

By studying an undergraduate or postgraduate pre-registration programme you are eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £9,250. The loan will support your studies and enable you to start a rewarding career in healthcare.

From September 2020 all new and continuing nursing and allied health students on pre-registration courses will also receive a grant of at least £5,000 per year that is not means-tested and will not have to be repaid.

An additional payment of up to £3,000 per academic year will be available to eligible students. Eligibility will include the following:

  • £1,000 towards childcare costs

  • £1,000 if studying in a region that is struggling to recruit

  • £1,000 if studying a shortage specialism

Among others, the shortage specialisms have been confirmed to include:

  • Mental health nursing

  • Learning disability nursing

  • Diagnostic radiography

In addition to this non-repayable grant, you are also able to access a maintenance loan of up to £9,203 per year to support your studies, giving you access to over £17,000 per year of funding.

Read the full press release on the Government website

Applying for funding

UK students planning to start in September can apply for funding from February. The deadline is in May each year - May 2021 for a September 2021 start, for example. Applying by the deadline guarantees that your funding will be available when you start your course.

You don't need a confirmed place on a course to apply for funding, but you will need to make sure that the details of your course and institution are correct on your funding application at the time you enrol. 

If you have missed the deadline or haven't applied to university yet, it's not too late. You can still apply for funding up to nine months after your course starts - but bear in mind that applying late may mean your funding isn't in place for September.

Find out more about applying at gov.uk.

Bursaries and scholarships

You may be eligible for one of our bursaries or scholarships, which provide a small contribution towards the costs of studying with us. These can range from £100 to £5,000 and you usually have to meet certain criteria to get these. Scholarships and bursaries are available for both UK, EU and international students.

Learn more about scholarships and bursaries

Self-funding students

Here’s what you need to know if you are paying your own tuition fees and not applying for a student loan.

Full-time UK and EU students

You won’t need to pay a deposit or make any payments until you have completed your enrolment.

Your payment is usually taken in five instalments on the 1st of each month. This varies, depending on when you start:

September 2020 start: payment dates are November, December, January, February and March

January 2021 start: payment dates are March, April, May, June and July

March 2021 start: payment dates are May, June, July, August and September

We usually require you to pay 20% of the full tuition cost in each of these instalments. If you prefer, you can pay all of your instalments in one go before the first instalment is due.

Part-time UK and EU students

If you are a part-time undergraduate student paying your own tuition fees and are not applying for a student loan, you will be required to pay 25% of any autumn/through modules fees before completing enrolment. 

A further 25% payment is required for any autumn/through modules on the 1st of each month in November 2020, January 2021 and March 2021. 

For any spring/through January modules* a 25% payment is expected on 4 February 2021, 1 March 2021, 1 May 2021 and 1 July 2021. 

For summer/through summer modules*, a 25% payment is expected on 20 May 2021, 1 June 2021, 1 August 2021 and 1 October 2021.

Through modules are those that continue throughout the academic year, rather than taking one semester to complete.

*Students starting in the spring and summer are required to pay 25% of module costs before completing enrolment.

Got a question?

Student Records and Awards

T: +44 (0)1332 593110
E: studentrecordsandawards@derby.ac.uk

Monday to Thursday 9am-5pm

Friday 9am-4.30pm

Student Money Advice and Rights Team (SMART)

E: smart@derby.ac.uk