Extra money for those who need it

Find out if you might be eligible to apply for some extra money to help plug the gap in your finances.

You may be able to get some help if:

you've planned your budget and your funding isn't enough to cover your essential costs, or
something unexpected happens and leaves you struggling financially.

NTU Undergraduate Summer Vacation Hardship Fund for UK home undergraduates

The Summer Vacation Support Fund offers limited assistance to students who are unable to work and have no access to funds for immediate living costs during the University's summer vacation. You may be eligible if:

you're unable to take up paid employment due to illness or disability
you're a lone parent with dependent children and you are struggling financially. This is particularly relevant in periods when you have little or no entitlement to welfare benefits
you're a care leaver, a former foyer resident, estranged or bereaved, and under the age of 25
your availability to take up paid employment is limited because you have an extension to complete university work during the summer vacation. This must be following a successful Consideration of Personal Circumstances submission and includes:
- exams
- assignments.

We understand you might be available to work but unable to find a job. Unfortunately, we can't consider applications in these circumstances, unless you're considered vulnerable. You can get help with finding work from the University's JobShop.

Who can apply?

To be eligible to apply for this support, you must be:

a UK home undergraduate student, and
fully enrolled, and
due to continue your course in the 2026/27 academic year.

If you are a final year student*, due to complete your current course in summer 2026, you are not eligible to apply unless:

you've had a Consideration of Personal Circumstances (formerly called NEC) request upheld, and
you've been given an extension to complete work or exams during the summer vacation.

*You will be classed as a final year student if you will be completing a Foundation Degree this summer, even if you will be studying on a bachelor's degree course in 26/27. Please contact us for advice on benefits you may be able to claim over the summer if you are unable to find work.

If your academic year is 52 weeks long and your course continues over the summer vacation period

Some courses, such as nursing and veterinary nursing, continue throughout the summer. In these cases, the student funding you receive is intended to cover 52 weeks and you should not apply to the summer vacation support fund. However, if you have not already done so during the 25/26 academic year, you may be able to apply to the NTU Undergraduate Support Fund at any point during your academic year and the hardship assessment will cover the full 52-week period. If you are experiencing hardship, please email us for advice so we can determine your eligibility to apply and send you the relevant form.

If you are living with parents/carers over summer

We give priority to students who do NOT live with their parents or carers over the vacation. This could be because they:

are independent of their parents/carers, or
need to stay in Nottingham over the summer for their studies.

This fund is not available to postgraduate students.

How do I apply?

Email us outlining how you meet the eligibility criteria listed above.

If it looks like you may be eligible to apply, we’ll send you a short online application form to complete.

Please ensure you are logged on to your Nottingham Trent University account when completing this application. This will automatically provide us with your Student ID number, name and NTU email address. We are then able to verify your identity and will use your NTU email address for all correspondence relating to your application.

When can I apply?

The application form is now live and will remain open for applications throughout the summer vacation.

If you are eligible for an award, the amount you receive, and the timing of the payment, will depend on the date you submit your completed application and the number of weeks that you are in need of support.

How is it assessed?

When assessing eligibility, we will first check that you meet the criteria to apply and whether your circumstances mean that you are unable to work throughout the whole vacation, or just part of it.

We will also take into account your family circumstances, as well as any other income you are receiving during the summer vacation, such as welfare benefits or other funding.

The fund is limited and any award can only offer a small contribution towards your living costs.

Can I apply for any other help?

Most full-time students* are excluded from claiming means-tested benefits, and you carry on being treated as a student during the holidays.

However, there are some exceptions, including lone parents and those with certain disabilities/long-term health conditions.

Find out more about funding for students with disabilities and funding for student parents and carers.

You can also visit turn2us or contact the Student Money Team and speak to one of our advisers about this.

*You will not be classed as full-time student if you will be completing a Foundation Degree this summer, even if you will be studying on a bachelor’s degree course in 26/27.

Who do I contact if I have questions?

If you have queries about your eligibility or the application process, you can email supportfunds@ntu.ac.uk

Want to check the progress of your application?

Please wait at least 10 working days after you have submitted your application and all required evidence. This allows us to concentrate on assessing applications and getting awards out quickly.

NTU Undergraduate Support Fund for UK home students

The NTU Undergraduate Support Fund is an amount of money provided by the University. It offers financial assistance during the academic year and is available to eligible UK home undergraduate students who are:

in financial difficulty because their funding doesn't cover their essential living expenses, or
facing financial difficulties due to unforeseen circumstances.

Applications to the NTU Undergraduate Support Fund for the 2025/26 Academic year have now closed. You can apply to the Undergraduate Support Fund for 2026/27 at any point after the fund opens at the start of the new academic year.

If your course is continuing over the summer vacation period, please email us for advice if you are experiencing hardship, so we can determine your eligibility to apply and send you the relevant form.

Our Summer Vacation Support Fund is now open. This can offer limited support to students who are unable to work and have no money for living costs over the summer. You may be eligible if:

You're unable to take up paid employment due to illness or disability.
You're a lone parent with dependent children and you are struggling financially. (This is particularly relevant in periods when you have little or no entitlement to welfare benefits.)
You're a care leaver, a former foyer resident, estranged or bereaved, and under the age of 25.
Your availability to take up paid employment is limited because you have an extension to complete university work during the summer vacation. This must be following a successful Consideration of Personal Circumstances submission and includes:
- exams,
- assignments.

If you meet any of the above criteria please email us providing some further details regarding your situation.

NTU Postgraduate Support Fund for UK home students

You must make financial provision for your postgraduate studies. You need to be able to cover:

your fees,
you living costs.

Start thinking about this well before your course starts.

Our Student Money Team can support you with this financial planning. We provide workshops and 1:1 advice that can help you set out your budget for the year. This will show you, month by month, what money you will have coming in and what expenses you need to meet. You'll be able to see if there are any months where you may not be able to meet your costs. You can then look at your options to cover any gaps.

You may also find it useful to check out our:

information on student finance funding for postgraduate study,
resources aimed at helping you manage your money.

Sometimes the unexpected happens. You may be able to apply for support from the NTU Postgraduate Support Fund. This is an amount of money we provide to assist eligible UK home postgraduate students.

You can apply to this fund by completing the 2025/26 NTU Postgraduate Support Fund Application Form.

We urge you to upload all the required evidence with your application. Use the document upload options within the form. This will speed up the assessment of your application. It means we can pass it straight to the assessment team.

Where evidence is missing, we'll send an email to your NTU email address. We'll set out details of what you need to provide, and we'll include a link to a separate upload form for you to submit it. We'll only send this email once, and we'll ask you to provide the additional evidence within two weeks.

Once we've assessed your application, we'll send an email to your NTU email address. The email will notify you of the outcome of your application. If you're eligible for an award, it will give details of when and how you'll receive it.

We usually assess applications within 15 working days of receiving them. That's assuming we've received the fully completed form and all the evidence we need. At peak times, this can take longer.

If you have any queries, please email us.

International Postgraduate Students

If you are an international or EU student, you can only apply to the NTU Postgraduate Support Fund if you are studying on a course that is eligible for the Nottingham Law School Fund.

Other international postgraduate students experiencing unexpected and short-term financial hardship may be eligible for limited support from the NTU International Hardship Fund.

NTU International Hardship Fund

You may be eligible for a small amount of emergency funding to contribute towards living costs if you have a short-term interruption in funding and can show that this will be resolved within a few weeks.

You must be:

an international or EU student,
facing sudden unforeseen financial hardship,
fully enrolled on a full-time award-bearing course,
studying here in the UK.

We give priority to students in their final stages of study.

Please be aware there is a limit on the funding available and the fund is intended to offer a small amount for short-term difficulties. We aren't able to support cases of ongoing financial hardship.

The fund does not offer any support with tuition fees.

If you're an international student studying on a student visa, we may ask you to prove:

you made adequate provision for your tuition fee and living costs before coming to the UK,
your current financial hardship is due to an unexpected change in your circumstances, and
your financial situation will improve within a few weeks.

Once we've assessed your form, we'll send an email to your NTU email address. The email will notify you of the outcome of your application.

Email us for further information and a link to the application form.

NTU Nottingham Law School (NLS) Support Fund

You may be eligible for support from the Nottingham Law School Hardship Fund. You must be fully enrolled on one of these courses:

LLM Legal Practice Course (LPC) (full-time or part-time)
LLM Barristers Training Course (BTC)
Postgraduate Diploma Barristers Training Course (BTC)
Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) (full-time and distance learning)
Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Practice: SQE 1 Preparation Course — (September start, six months)
Postgraduate Certificate Advanced Legal Skills: SQU 2 Preparation Course
LLM Professional Legal Practice: SQE 1 (full-time)
LLM Professional Legal Practice: SQE 1 (distance learning)
LLM Advanced Professional Legal Practice: SQE 1 and 2 (full-time)
LLM Advanced Professional Legal Practice SQE 1 and 2 Preparation Course (distance learning)
LLM Law and Legal Practice: SQE 1 Preparation Course (full-time)
LLM Law and Legal Practice: BTC (full-time).

To apply, complete the 2025/26 NTU Postgraduate Support Fund / NLS application form. Access the form by logging into Microsoft Teams using your NTU ID.

Make sure you answer 'yes' to question 8. Give details of which of the above eligible courses you're enrolled on in 2025/26. This will help ensure we can assess your application correctly.

We usually assess applications within 15 working days of receiving them. That's assuming we've received the fully completed form and all the evidence we need. At peak times, this can take longer.

Email supportfunds@ntu.ac.uk for more information.

Further Education Bursary Funds

There are several funds you may be able to apply to if:

you're on a Further Education course at our Brackenhurst Campus, and
have a low household income.

If you have any queries, please email us.

Educational grants from trusts and charities

Many trusts and charities offer aid and assistance to students in financial difficulty. You should investigate every possible source of funding. You should also be aware of the relevant application deadlines and eligibility criteria.

Applying to trusts and charities can be a time-consuming process. It requires patience and perseverance. Also, it rarely offers an immediate source of assistance. We urge you to seek advice if your needs are more immediate, so please email us at studentmoneyteam@ntu.ac.uk.

Be sure you fulfil the trust or charity's basic criteria before you make your application. A successful application requires several things to come together well. Here are a few steps you can check to ensure your application is successful:

check you meet the criteria of the funder
fill out the application form correctly
be clear in your supporting statements
show that your circumstances match their required criteria
make it explicit if you're in one of their stated priority target groups
provide all the necessary supporting information and evidence.

NHS Exceptional Support Fund for healthcare students

You may be eligible to apply to the NHS Exceptional Support Fund if you are:

studying a healthcare course, and
receive funding from the NHS Learning Support Fund, and
are experiencing unforeseen financial hardship.

A grant of up to £3,000 per academic year could be available if you have:

a shortfall between your income and your day-to-day expenditure, and
exhausted all other available means of funding.

Eligible students applying for the NHS Exceptional Support Fund must have:

applied to the NTU Undergraduate Support Fund first, and
received the outcome of that application.

See the NHS Exceptional Support Fund page or our Funding NHS courses page for more information.