Undergraduate

Fees and Funding 2012/13

The University of Portsmouth has announced the 2012 tuition cost for home (UK) and EU full-time undergraduate students who study on campus in Portsmouth will be £8,500.

There will continue to be loans available to cover tuition costs and for living costs. Fees for Postgraduate and Part-time courses have not yet been announced.

Different arrangements for living costs support may apply if you currently live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Visit Direct.gov.uk for more information on the support available to you if you chose to study in England.

Information is provided below, but should you wish to talk to a member of the Student Finance Centre please call our dedicated Fees and Bursary helpline on 023 9284 3052.

  • Tuition costs and graduate contributions

    The University of Portsmouth tuition cost for full-time home (UK) and EU students starting in 2012 will be £8,500. Different rates apply to part-time students, and these are yet to be announced. Tuition fee costs will be subject to an inflationary rise in subsequent years.

    Gap Year students who have applied in 2011, but defer entry to 2012 will be charged the £8,500 fee.

    Students who started at the University of Portsmouth in 2011, or earlier, will not be affected by these changes.

  • Tuition Costs Loan

    All eligible full-time undergraduate students can apply for a loan to cover tuition costs. If you are considering studying part time, you will also be able to defer paying fees by making contributions after you graduate. The loan will be available for all eligible full and part-time students, irrespective of household income.

    The money you borrow will be paid directly to the University on your behalf. There is no upfront payment required: students study first and contribute later. You make contributions after you graduate at a rate of nine per cent of annual earnings above £21,000, also rising with inflation.

    You can choose to pay part of your tuition costs while you study and apply for a reduced loan to cover the remainder. Or, you can pay for your tuition costs upfront before you register (a discount applies) or via instalments whilst you study. If you accept an offer of a place at Portsmouth, exact details will be sent to you.

    More information, and proposed interest rates, are available at www.bis.gov.uk/studentfinance.

  • University of Portsmouth Bursaries

    All English students attending the University of Portsmouth in 2012 whose assessed family incomes are below £25,000 will receive a bursary of £1,000 for each year of their course and a fee discount of £2,000 in their first year only.

    There will also be bursaries available each year to students with family incomes up to £42,600.

    Assessed family incomeWhenBursary
    up to £32000 All years £1000
    £32000 to £42600 All years £500

    We will continue to offer an additional annual bursary of £1,500 for full-time UK students who are/have been looked after by any local authority or foster carer or who are currently living in sheltered accommodation or a Foyer Federation. Conditions apply, see our Bursaries page for more information.

    For more information about the University of Portsmouth Bursary call our dedicated Fees and Bursary helpline on 023 9284 3052.

  • National Scholarships Programme

    The University of Portsmouth Bursaries detailed above meet and exceed our obligations under the National Scholarship Scheme. Please see the Bursary section above for more information.

  • Help with living costs

    The Government will continue to make grants available to full-time English students from families with lower assessed income. These living cost grants are non-repayable.

    Full-time students from England will also be able to take out loans to help meet living costs. Repayments of these loans will be collected in the same way as any tuition fee loan you have taken, see above.

    For more information about loans and grants visit Student Finance England Funding 2012/13.  You can also obtain more detail, and downloand information sheets, from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills website.

  • Paying your loans back later

    You do not have to start repaying the Tuition Costs Loan and Maintenance Loan until the April after you finish university and only when you are earning over the minimum income threshold of £21,000 per year (from 2016). The threshold will increase with inflation each year. Repayments are set at nine per cent of your gross income above this threshold and are usually collected by your employer via the tax system. The Government will write off any remaining student loan balance (except for arrears) 30 years from the April after you finish your course. You can use the Student Finance Calculator at the Money Saving Expert website to get an estimate of what you may be likely to pay back in total (please note that this is an external link and we are not responsbible for the content).

    Repayment due by graduate earnings (from 2016)
    Annual earningsMonthly payment
    0 0
    £21,000 0
    £25,000 £30
    £30,000 £68
    £40,000 £143
    £50,000 £218
    £60,000 £293

  • EU students

    Tuition fees for full-time undergraduate EU students will be £8,500 in 2012. Fees will be subject to an inflationary rise in subsequent years. EU students will be able to apply for a loan to cover tuition costs. For information about interest rates and repayments see the Tuition Costs Loan section above. EU students may be eligible for a fee discount in their frst year only. Please contact Student Finance Centre for details.                                                                                     

  • Student Finance Myth Buster (Frequently Asked Questions)

    • Debt and Costs

      I'm already in debt from my first year at university. The additional charge for tuition means I won't be able to complete my degree...

      The increase in the cost of tuition does not apply to existing students. It only applies to students entering higher education for the first time in September 2012 or later.

      I'm an existing student - do the changes affect my repayments?

      The current £15,000 earnings threshold remains but it will be uprated annually in line with inflation from April 2012.

      I'm a graduate - do the changes affect my repayments?

      If you are currently repaying a loan your repayment threshold will rise in line with inflation from April 2012. If you're not sure if this affects you then go to www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk.

      The changes to higher education funding mean I can no longer afford to go to university...

      It's important to remember that the cost of tuition does not have to be paid up front. You only start to repay your tuition loan when you are earning more than £21,000. Support – in the form of loans or grants - is also available to help cover living costs. This means that under the new arrangements, most full-time students should have the same amount of financial support available as current students. Students from lower income families will get more non-repayable maintenance grant support to help towards living costs than they do now.

      I'm worried that I'm going to be saddled with a lifetime of debt as a result of the changes...

      A graduate earning £25,000 per year would repay their loan at a rate of £6.92 per week. If earnings fall, then the repayments will fall as well. Graduates won't have to pay back anything until they are earning more than £21,000 a year. The £21,000 earning threshold will be uprated annually in line with earnings from April 2016. Any outstanding payments will be written off after 30 years. If you are in lower paid work or unpaid work (which may include time bringing up a family) you won't be asked to make a contribution.

      There's no point getting saddled with debt, there are no graduate jobs in the first place!

      The current jobs market is a tough one. Having a degree improves a person's chance of getting a job and they will earn more than non-graduates in years to come. Research shows that graduates are more likely to be in a job than those with lower qualifications. On average, a university graduate earns £100,000 more during his or her lifetime – net of tax – than someone who leaves school at 18.

      Paying back higher fees means I'll never get a footing on the property ladder...

      The Council for Mortgage Lenders advises that a student loan is very unlikely to affect your ability to get a mortgage. Mortgage lenders usually take account of your monthly net income. Under the new scheme, graduates will have a higher monthly income because the increase in the repayment threshold means that they will be making lower monthly repayments on their student loans.

      I start university in September 2011 and I'm confused about what I will have to pay...

      Students starting courses in 2011 will pay the current charge for tuition (£3,375 per year) and will continue to pay at this lower rate until they complete their studies. The new charges and repayment arrangements only apply to new students from September 2012.

    • Quality of Education

      We're paying more, but we're getting nothing in return...

      All universities and colleges, whatever they decide to charge, will be expected to publish transparent information about their courses, including details such as contact hours and the employment outcomes of graduates. This will help to identify the impact of poor quality provision. This will help to drive up quality.

      I'm worried the course/university I want is going to be axed because only the most popular choices will survive...

      Students will decide which courses are offered because universities will need to respond to demand – where there are courses that attract students they will run. There is already a very diverse choice of courses and there is no reason why this will not continue.

    • Part-time Students

      I'm considering doing a part-time degree, but a friend doing a full-time course has told me it isn't worthwhile. Is that true?

      Eligible part time students who start their degree from September 2012 will have access to loans for tuition costs and will not have to pay upfront, so long as they as it's their first degree and they are studying for at least 25% of their time. More part-time students will get support under the new system.

    • Support for poorer students

      You're encouraging a class-based education system, with universities out of reach for students from poorer communities...

      Many students from poorer households will be better off under the new system, with additional support available through grants and loans. The National Scholarship Programme also aims to encourage more bright students from poorer communities go to university.