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.

EU students starting university in the 2020/21 academic year will have guaranteed home fee status and financial support for the duration of their course in England. This means, if you are starting your course in September 2020 or January 2021, you will pay the same fees as UK students throughout your course. Find out more on gov.uk

From September 2020 all undergraduate and postgraduate pre-registration nursing, occupational therapy and radiography students will receive a grant of at least £5,000. Find out more about the Nursing and Allied Health grant.

What do tuition fees include?

Your tuition fees pay for your teaching, plus:

• All mandatory study trips
• Access to core textbooks through our library
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for students who will need to work with children or vulnerable people as part of their course
• Some courses include relevant ‘extras’ such as uniforms, specialist kit or equipment, books, and print credits. Check with your course leader (listed on each course page)

Not included:

• Some course fees don’t cover ‘extras’, eg optional study trips, additional kit or equipment and travel expenses for work placements. You can find out exactly what’s included or not included by going to your course page

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:

• Accommodation – current halls of residence prices range from £110-£145 per week. View a list of halls fees
• Food – around £40 per week
• Clothing, socialising and entertainment – around £40 per week

Applying for funding

UK students planning to start in September can apply for funding from February. The deadline is in May each year - May 2020 for a September 2020 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 1^st 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 1^st 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

We're available to answer your questions Monday to Thursday 9am-5pm, Friday 9am-4.30pm.

Student Money Advice and Rights Team

Our friendly Student Money Advice and Rights Team (SMART) are on hand to offer more advice: 

T: +44 (0)1332 592000 (Monday to Friday, 10am-11am and 1pm-2pm)
E: smart@derby.ac.uk