Student funding

Undergraduate part-time

Kent’s part-time students may be eligible for funding from either their Student Finance England or the University. The financial support is designed to help you with your tuition fees or with other studying costs, such as books and travel.

Tuition fees

The tuition fees vary according to your programme of study and the number of credits (if appropriate) you are completing each year. Follow the links below for further information;

Certificates, diplomas and degrees

  • Full-time courses studied part-time
    Students taking full-time courses on a part-time basis of 50% of the course, pay fees pro rata. Kent’s tuition fees for 2011/12 are available on the student finance pages.
  • Part-time courses
    Courses designed specifically to be taken part-time are priced individually and those prices are available on the student finance pages.

Other part-time options

Financial support

To qualify for any of the available sources of funding, you need to be a home fee-paying student. Please note that if you already have a degree you may not be eligible for funding. Before making an application for funding, you need to be accepted and registered on to a specific programme of part-time study.

Your household income

Most of the funding available is dependent on your household income after certain deductions are made. As a rough guide, take the total gross income of your household, deduct £2,000 if you have a partner. Then deduct £2,000 for your eldest dependent child and £1,000 for every other dependent child in the household.

The amount you are left with will, in most cases, be the household income that your funding is assessed on. However, please bear in mind that other deductions may be possible.

Student Finance England (SFE)

Your SFE may be able to contribute towards the cost of your fees and study costs. To be eligible for funding, the following must apply:

  • Your programme must last for at least one academic year
  • Your programme must lead to a Higher Education qualification
  • Your programme must not take more than twice as long as the equivalent full-time course

For 2010/2011, part-time students are entitled to two types of grant: a grant of up to £1,230 to cover fees (UK and EU students) and a grant of £265 towards course costs such as travel, books and other costs (UK students only).

The amount you can claim depends on the level at which you are studying; see the table below.

% of full-time course Course fees grant Course costs grant Max grant
50-59% £820 £265 £1,085
60-74% £985 £265 £1,250
75% £1,230 £265 £1,495

In 2010/2011, part-time students whose household income is £16,845 or less qualify for the full grant, and partial support is available to students earning between £16,846 and £25,419.

University of Kent

The University of Kent may also be able to contribute towards the cost of your studies. The following questions will help you to decide whether you are eligible for University funding.

  • Students taking less than 60 credits a year – for example, a single Certificate level module – are not entitled to funding from the SFE. However, if your household income after deductions is less than £20,100*, you may apply for funding for your tuition fees.
  • If you are eligible to receive a SFE fees grant, but this does not cover the full cost of your tuition fees, the University of Kent may waive the remaining fees. Further support for the difference may be available from the Additional Fee Support Scheme.
  • Another possible source of financial support towards your living costs is the Access to Learning Fund. If you are studying at least 60 credits a year and can demonstrate that you are in financial difficulties.
*2010/11 figures

Further information

University of Kent

E: financialaid@kent.ac.uk W: www.kent.ac.uk/courses/funding/ T: 01227 823488/824876

Student Finance England

For an application form, help and advice, call 0800 300 5090. The pack will also be available from the DirectGov website.

Publishing Office - © University of Kent

The University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ, T: +44 (0)1227 764000

Last Updated: 26/05/2011