Worried about the costs of studying at university level?
Here you can read about the various kinds of financial support that may be available to you, as well as visit our most frequently asked questions in our FAQ section.
There are two main costs associated with studying for a university-level qualification – tuition fees and living costs. You can choose to pay your costs yourself or you can apply to see if you are eligible for a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan. Most students who apply for student loans do not need to pay anything upfront for their course. However, you need to repay your loans when you have left the course and start earning over £27,295 a year.
To find the current tuition fee for each of our courses, click the link below.
If you were to leave your programme of study before it is complete, you could still be responsible for some/all of the annual tuition fees. You can see a breakdown of this below.
| A 14 calendar date grace period will be allowed following the official course start date during which there will be no fee liability due. | 0% of annual tuition fees payable |
| Students who withdraw or intermit after the grace period of 14 days, but before the second day of the second term. | 25% of annual tuition fees payable |
| Students who withdraw or intermit on or after the second day of the second term, but before the second day of the third term. | 50% of annual tuition fees payable |
| Students who withdraw or intermit on or after the second day of the third term. | 100% of annual tuition fees payable |
Student Finance Wales
Student Finance Wales is the Welsh branch of the Student Loans Company, the main provider of student loans throughout the UK.
To complete a student loan application, you will need your UK passport number (or birth certificate if you do not have a valid passport), National Insurance Number and your bank details. The tuition fee loan is paid directly to NPTC Group of Colleges by the Student Loans Company. If you also receive a maintenance loan, it would be paid directly into your bank account.
Any loans you receive will have to be paid back, but you will not start paying anything until you start earning £27,295 a year.
Any grants you receive, will not have to be paid back.
Applying for Student Finance
Student Finance for Part-Time Students
Additional Help for Students with Children or Adult Dependents
Funding For Students with Disabilities and Other Needs
Tuition Fee Loan
You could be eligible for a tuition fee loan of up to £9950 a year, this loan is purely to pay for your course’s annual tuition fee and will be paid directly to NPTC Group of Colleges.
Maintenance Loan and Welsh Government Learning Grant (WGLG)
The Welsh Government Learning Grant and a Maintenance loan are paid to you to help with your living costs, such as rent, food and resources for your course like books, and is paid directly into your bank account. All students will be entitled to the same amount of money to help with living costs, but your household income will be used to determine how much of the money will come from the maintenance loan (Which you have to pay back) and how much will come for the Welsh Government Learning Grant (which you don’t have to pay back). All students in Wales can get at least £1000 from the WGLG. The more WGLG you are entitled to, the less your maintenance loan will be, so that you will get the same amount of money but won’t have as much to pay back.
To find out more or to learn how to apply, click the button below:
Help with Living Costs – Student Finance Wales
Student Finance Wales also offer the following Special Support Grants (which do not need to be paid back)
Parents Learning Allowance and Childcare Grant
Parents’ Learning Allowance (PLA) is extra help intended to cover some of the additional costs incurred by students who have children.
In the academic year 2023/24 the maximum amount you can get for PLA is £1,896 per year.
You can receive a Childcare Grant (CCG) towards the cost of your childcare if you have children in registered and approved childcare.
In the academic year 2023/24 you can receive up to 85% of your childcare costs up to a maximum of:
- £187 a week for one child; or
- £321 a week for two or more children.
To find out more or to learn how to apply, click the button below:
Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance – Student Finance Wales
Adults Dependants’ Grant (ADG)
The maximum amount of Adult Dependants’ Grant (ADG) available in 2023/24 is £3,322 per year. You can only apply for ADG if you have a partner or another adult who is financially dependent on you.
If the adult dependant isn’t your husband, wife, partner or civil partner and they have a net annual income of more than £3,923, you can’t get ADG.
To find out more or to learn how to apply, click the button below:
Adult Dependants’ Grant – Student Finance Wales
Disabled Students’ Allowance
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)* is available if you have a disability, long-term health condition, mental-health condition, Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or specific learning difficulty. DSA is a grant to help pay the essential extra costs you may have as a direct result of your disability. You must meet the definition of a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
Students can get up to £33,146 of support per year for 2023 to 2024.
What can your DSA pay for?
You can get help with the costs of:
- specialist equipment, for example, a computer if you need one because of your disability.
- non-medical helpers, for example, a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter or specialist note-taker.
- other disability-related study support, for example, having to print additional copies of documents for proofreading.
You might also be eligible for extra help to cover reasonable spending on extra travel costs incurred as a result of your condition.
To find out more or to learn how to apply, click the button below:
Disabled Students’ Allowance – Student Finance Wales
* There may be a cost involved to undertake a DSA assessment. For more information, contact studentsupport@nptcgroup.ac.uk
The purpose of the university level Student Bursary Scheme is to provide full-time students on university-level courses with financial aid towards the cost of studying for their qualification.*
Bursary applications are made each year to the College. Students who are applying on a two- or three-year course will need to reapply for the second/third year if applicable. Student bursaries are not available to repeating students.
The application window for the 2022-23 academic year is now closed and applications are no longer being accepted. Updates relating to the 2023-24 application cycle will be posted here and in the HE Student Community Team on Microsoft Teams.
| Course Eligibility |
Student Eligibility |
Value |
| All full-time university-level programmes | Fee-paying international Students | £1500 |
| All full-time university-level programmes | Looked After Children and care leavers. | £400 |
| Top-Up Degrees, or third year of undergraduate programmes | Students who progress straight onto a top-up degree or the third year of their degree course. | £300 |
| Level 4/1st year of all full-time university-level programmes | Students who have progressed straight from an NPTC Level 3 (A Level, BTEC/Access to HE) course onto a university-level course. | £300 |
| Full-time directly funded (Pearson) HNDs. | Students that live in a postcode that is included in Lower Super Output Areas in the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. | £500 |
*Terms and Conditions Apply.
Further details on eligibility can be found on the HE Student Community Team on Microsoft Teams.
The Higher Education Hardship Fund is a discretionary fund administered by HE Services to help university-level students, who are experiencing genuine and unavoidable financial difficulties. Students must apply for funding through Student Finance Wales before making a claim through the fund.
Students should contact heservices@nptcgroup.ac.uk for initial advice and for the application form.
Additional costs are the mandatory or optional expenses, additional to tuition fees, that need to be paid for by learners to fully participate in and complete their studies. You are required to provide sufficient stationery to support your teaching and learning.
Bring Your Own Device
You will need a Wi-Fi ready IT device to take notes in class, create and submit assignments, research online, join in with online lessons and communicate with your teachers and classmates.
The type of device depends on the software/apps you will be using for your chosen course. If in doubt, get advice from your course coordinator before purchasing a device.
- For most courses you will need a device to access the Internet, Moodle and Office 365, A Chromebook or a standard laptop/PC will be suitable for this. A tablet device such as an iPad will do at a pinch but won’t give you as many options when preparing assignments. Please note: We strongly advise against relying on a mobile phone. You will need to create files and/or read large documents, which is very difficult on a tiny screen.
- If you are taking courses in IT, Computing, Engineering, Media and Graphics, which need to run specialist software/apps, a Windows 10 laptop/PC is required. We recommend that you have one with at least an i5 (or equivalent) processor.
- As well as a PC, laptop or a Chromebook, you will also need a webcam, microphone and speakers (built-in ones are fine) or a headset that is compatible with your device.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Checks
Some of our programmes include work placements that usually involve giving the care of someone or a group of people to the student (such as teaching or childcare) in these situations, the course will require the student to obtain a DBS check, this is at an additional cost to the student.
A standard DBS check is suitable for certain roles, such as a security guard. The certificate will contain details of both spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings that are held on the Police National Computer, which are not subject to filtering.
An enhanced DBS check is suitable for people working with children or adults in certain circumstances such as those in receipt of healthcare or personal care. The certificate will contain the same details as a standard certificate and, if the role is eligible, an employer can request that one or both of the DBS barred lists are checked.
The certificate may also contain non-conviction information supplied by relevant police forces if it is deemed relevant and ought to be contained in the certificate.
You can find out more about DBS Checks at www.gov.uk
If you have any concerns, you can speak to the course leader for advice.
Placement Travel Costs
Some of our programmes include a work placement, the placement is organised by the student and any travel costs incurred while attending your placement are an additional cost to yourself.
