Placement funding for full-time undergraduates
Find out how to fund your undergraduate placement year.
This information aims to answer frequently asked questions concerning tuition fees and funding support for full-time home undergraduate students who will be on a work placement in the UK or overseas as part of their sandwich degree course during the 2024/25 academic year. The figures listed are for students who apply for their funding through Student Finance England. If you apply through a different national Student Finance service, please contact us.
Fees and funding for placement years
How much will my tuition fee be during my placement year?
If you started your course after 1 September 2018 and are undertaking a year-long placement as part of a sandwich course, you will be charged £1385 for that year. If you started your course before 1 September 2018, please contact us.
Will I be eligible for support with my tuition fees?
If your work placement is an integral part of your sandwich degree course and you are eligible for student finance, you can apply for a tuition fee loan to cover your fees for your placement year(s). If you are paying your tuition fees directly to the University yourself, you can set up a payment arrangement online at:
Am I still entitled to financial support towards living costs during my placement year?
If your placement is an integral part of your sandwich course and you were eligible for a Maintenance Loan last year, you’ll be entitled to apply for one again during your placement year. The amount of Maintenance Loan you are entitled to will depend on the length of your placement, and the length of time, if any, you are in full-time study over the academic year. Any income you earn as part of your placement year will not impact your entitlement to a loan during the placement year or thereafter.
If you are on a full year or sandwich course paid or unpaid placement where you will attend university for fewer than ten weeks over the academic year, you will be entitled to a lower ‘reduced rate’ Maintenance Loan amount. This will not be subject to an income assessment.
The Reduced Rate Maintenance Loan is as follows:
| Non-final year | final year | |
|---|---|---|
| Living away from home | £3,098 | £2,415 |
| Living in parents' home | £2,324 | £1,765 |
What if I am studying for more than 10 weeks during my placement year?
If you will be in full-time attendance at the University for more than ten weeks during the academic year, you will be entitled to apply for a full Maintenance Loan as usual. The rates are available online. This Maintenance Loan is subject to a household income assessment.
Unpaid service
If your work placement is unpaid and within a government organisation, it may be classed as ‘unpaid service’. This means that you will be entitled to a full maintenance package (the same as if you are studying at the University full-time) which will be means-tested. Unpaid service includes working:
- In a local authority or voluntary organisation in the UK, working within health, welfare, or the care of children or young people; or
- In a hospital / public health laboratory or primary care trust in the UK; or
- In a prison, probation, or aftercare service in the UK; or
- Undertaking research in an educational institution in the UK; or
- In a strategic health authority, local health board, special health board, or health and social services board.
The rates for the full unpaid service Maintenance Loan are available online
NTU Bursary
The NTU Bursary is not normally paid during placement years, however, you may be eligible during your placement year if:
- You received the NTU Bursary in an academic year before the commencement of your placement year; and
- your placement is:
- unpaid; or
- paid at or below the national minimum wage; or
- is classed as unpaid service
Please see our Bursaries and Scholarships page for full details of the NTU Bursary, including terms and conditions.
Overseas work placements
If you choose to do your placement abroad do also consider any additional costs that may be involved, such as flights, temporary accommodation on arrival, bank charges (either for an account you set up abroad or using your UK account overseas), and the cost of living in the country where you will be working. If your overseas placement is an integral part of your sandwich course and you were eligible for a Maintenance Loan last year, you will be entitled to apply for one again during your placement year.
Non-Turing Scheme overseas work placements
If you attend university for fewer than 10 weeks during your placement year, you will only be entitled to a reduced Maintenance Loan amount. This will not be subject to an income assessment. The amount of maintenance you can receive for undertaking a work placement overseas is the same as the UK reduced-rate Maintenance Loan.
If you will be in full-time attendance at the university for more than 10 weeks during the academic year, you will be entitled to apply for a full Maintenance Loan as usual. The rates for this are available online.
Turing Scheme overseas work placements
Students may be able to apply for an overseas rate of Maintenance Loan and, depending on the year of entry, the maintenance grant. In addition, you may be eligible to apply for a Travel Grant. These are all subject to a household income assessment. Please contact us for further details about the rates of maintenance available and the latest information on Turing Scheme funding. Further information about the Turing scheme can also be found online.
NTU Travel Scholarships
Nottingham Trent University offers a Green European Travel Scholarship. To find out more, please visit our study abroad pages.
Frequently asked questions
How do I apply to renew my funding?
You can re-apply for your funding online. To ensure that you receive your funding on time, you must apply by the given deadline – which is usually the end of June. You can request to receive the first instalment of your Maintenance Loan up to 25 working days earlier than usual, in recognition of the fact that a placement year often starts earlier than an academic year. You can arrange an earlier payment by contacting Student Finance England.
Do I still need to complete online enrolment for my placement year?
You should enrol online at www.ntu.ac.uk/enrolment in the usual way. If you are not fully enrolled, your maintenance loan will not be released to you, you will not be eligible for council tax exemption and you will not be able to access NTU online services.
Will I be required to pay Income Tax?
Like any other employee, you are liable to pay income tax on your earnings. You can earn a certain amount of income on which no tax has to be paid and this is called your personal allowance. The allowance for the 24/25 tax years and 25/26 is £12,570. If your earnings exceed this personal allowance, and you will be required to pay income tax. It is worth noting, however, that an academic year spans two tax years (a tax year starts on 6 April and finishes on the following 5 April), and while on your placement you will be entitled to a personal allowance for both 2024/25 and 2025/26 tax years.
Further information and advice is available from: www.gov.uk/student-jobs-paying-tax
You must retain your payslips and any P60 or P45 documents that you are given whilst on your placement in case you need to verify any information with the Inland Revenue.
Am I entitled to welfare state benefits?
Even though you are on a placement you will be treated as a full-time student for benefit purposes. Most students have no entitlement to benefits. If you are a full-time student and do currently receive benefits, we recommend you seek advice early from the Student Money Team as your entitlement to benefits may change whilst you are on placement.
What if I can't find a placement?
If you are experiencing difficulties in finding a placement you should, in the first instance, contact the relevant staff member within your academic school. They will be able to provide you with details of any dates by which you will need to have either secured a placement or decided if you wish to return to the final year / take a leave of absence for one year. They will also be able to provide you with further advice as to how this may affect your academic status.
If you are no longer undertaking a placement year as part of your studies, your entitlement to student financial support will be affected. As a result, you must contact your national Student Finance service to ensure that they are aware of the change in your circumstances.
Support with budgeting and money management
Get ‘money ready’ for your placement year. We can help with practical advice, hints and tips. We offer group workshops or one-to-one money advice/budgeting sessions. We can also make sure that you’re getting all the funding you’re entitled to. Find out more on our managing your money pages:
Further advice is available from our Student Money Team, which is based within Student Support Services.