The NHS has you covered. If you are thinking of studying for a health-related undergraduate or postgraduate degree, take a look at what financial support is available.
Student payments available
Eligible undergraduate and postgraduate nursing, midwifery and many of the allied health profession students can access additional financial support. And the good news is, you don't have to pay it back.
NHS Learning Support Fund
This financial support is through the NHS Learning Support Fund (NHS LSF) which offers eligible students additional support while studying for their degree. The package includes:
training grant of £5,000 per year
parental support payment of £2,000 per student per year to help with childcare costs
specialist subject payment of £1,000 per year for students on degrees that struggle to recruit, including mental health and learning disability nursing
help towards additional travel and accommodation costs to clinical placements over your normal daily travel costs
an exceptional hardship fund of up to £3,000 per student per academic year
From the 2025 to 2026 academic year, eligible new and current students on undergraduate pharmacy or pre-registration healthcare science courses can access the travel and accommodation part of the NHS LSF. You apply for the fund in the usual way and if you meet the general eligibility criteria, you'll be able to access travel and dual accommodation expenses (TDAE). You can read more detail on The Government website.
Student loans
In addition to these payments, you can also take out a student loan from the Student Loans Company, even if this is your second degree. Please note that if you are studying paramedicine as a second degree, you are not currently eligible to access loans from the Student Loans Company but you may be able to receive the NHS Learning Support Fund. Applications will be considered on a case by case basis - you can read more on the College of Paramedics website.
Get your questions answered with our FAQs
Degree-level students in the following areas benefit from the training grants:
dietetics
dental hygiene or dental therapy (level 5 and 6 courses)
occupational therapy
operating department practitioner (level 5 and level 6 courses)
The specialisms struggling to recruit and where eligible students receive an additional £1,000 (specialist subject payment) are:
mental health nursing
learning disability nursing
radiography (diagnostic and therapeutic)
prosthetics and orthotics
orthoptics
podiatry
From the 2025 to 2026 academic year, eligible new and current students on undergraduate pharmacy or pre-registration healthcare science courses are able to access the travel and accommodation part of the NHS Learning Support Fund.
Eligibility criteria include that you must be:
eligible for tuition fees and maintenance support from the Student Loans Company (this includes certain residency criteria)
studying at a university in England
studying one of the courses identified earlier in this section.
Applications for the funding are made through a digital portal run by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) who manage the NHS Learning Support Fund.
Students eligible for specialist subject payments will not need to apply separately for this. When applying for the training grant, if the qualifying course is selected, the additional payments will be automatically included.
Yes, the payments are available to eligible graduates looking to do a further undergraduate or postgraduate degree in nursing, midwifery and many of the allied health professions. New postgraduate pre-registration nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students can also access loans from the Student Loans Company*.
*Please note that those students studying paramedicine as a second degree have their eligibility assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Yes, healthcare students can still get student loans through the Student Loans Company. Find out more from the Government website.
Currently, student loans are generally paid back over a 40 year period and repayment is contingent on earnings. Graduates do not begin to pay back their loans until the April after they graduate, and then only if they are earning over £25,000 per year. If their income drops below this figure for any reason (part-time working, career break) their repayments cease.
The loan repayments are paid at a rate of 9% of any earnings over £25,000.
Under the student loan system, students are able to apply for non-repayable grants to cover additional childcare, adult dependents, parents' learning costs and some costs towards travel to placements. Students with a disability can also apply for additional grant funding to help pay the extra essential costs they may have whilst studying on a higher education course as a direct result of their disability, through the Disabled Students' Allowance.
Some organisations and individual universities offer scholarships and bursaries (for example if you are a local student, from an under-represented group, want to study certain subjects or have particular academic potential).
If you find yourself in particular hardship, your university may be able to provide extra financial support. Talk to your student welfare officer in the first instance.
If you are a carer, have a disability, are a parent or have adult dependents, you may be entitled to additional state financial support.
Financial support for students in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland may differ from the information listed above. We recommend contacting the relevant bodies in these countries:
In England, gaining admission to the standard five-year courses means you are entitled to receive student loans from Student Finance England for maintenance and tuition fees in the first four years.
From year five onwards, tuition fees will be paid by the NHS Student Bursary Scheme and you will be eligible to apply for a means-tested NHS bursary to cover maintenance costs and a reduced maintenance loan from Student Finance England.
Students will also have access to a non-means tested grant of £1,000 as part of their NHS Bursary award.
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