Funding for students with disabilities
This page outlines the extra financial support you may be able to receive if you have a disability or long-term health condition.
Student Finance
If you’re a full-time undergraduate with a disability, you may be entitled to a higher amount of Maintenance Loan. This is called ‘Special Support’. The amount you can receive depends on your household income and which national Student Finance service you apply to. You may get Special Support if any of the following apply while you’re on your course:
- You have a disability and qualify for the Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Disability Premium or Severe Disability Premium
- You qualify for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Armed Forces Independence Payment
- You’re deaf and qualify for Disabled Students’ Allowance
- You have been treated as incapable of work for a continuous period of at least 28 weeks
- You have a disability and qualify for income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- You’re waiting to go back to a course, having taken agreed time out from your course due to illness – and you are now well enough to start studying again
If you meet the eligibility requirements for Special Support, don't hesitate to contact your national Student Finance service with proof of your benefit entitlement, disability, or illness. If you would like help doing this, please contact the Student Money Team. Please note that Special Support is not available to postgraduate students.
Disabled Students' Allowance
If you incur additional course-related costs as a consequence of a disability, mental health difficulty (such as depression or anxiety), or specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia), you can apply for the Disabled Students’ Allowance. This is a needs-based allowance and is available for specialist equipment, non-medical personal helpers and/or additional travel costs, subject to a needs assessment.
The Disabled Students’ Allowance is not treated as income and will not affect your entitlement to benefits and is available to undergraduates and postgraduates.
Benefits
If you receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independent Payment (PIP), you may also be entitled to claim state benefits during your studies. Most new applicants can apply for Universal Credit. If you apply for Universal Credit based on disability, you need to have been assessed as having ‘limited capability for work’ before commencing your full-time course. Without this assessment, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) may refuse your application. If you're a part-time student, you should still be able to claim if you have not had a work capability assessment.
If you receive a ‘legacy benefit’ such as Employment and Support Allowance, you will remain eligible once you’ve commenced your course – so long as you’re either a part-time student or a full-time student in receipt of DLA or PIP.
Most benefits are means-tested. This means that some of your student loan will count as income during term-time. This will affect the amount of benefit income you will receive. Your Tuition Fee Loan, Disabled Students’ Allowance, and some grants are not classed as income. Your benefit entitlement does not affect your student finance entitlement.
For further information on benefits for disabled students, please see this guide from Disability Rights UK .
Further help and support
If you need a helping hand figuring out your finances during your studies, our Student Money Team is here to help. We can advise on general benefit and funding entitlement as well as help you with budgeting and money management.