Undergraduate student finance

Undergraduate students with UK and EU residency taking a degree or some full-time certificate programmes are eligible for a non-means-tested tuition fee loan from Student Finance or SAAS to cover the cost of their tuition fees. You repay this loan once you have left university and are earning over £25,000 per year.  

On the Student Finance system degree programmes are listed in groups by duration, instead of by subject.

Applying online

On the Student Finance system degree programmes are listed in generic groups, instead of by subject.

When completing your loan application please enter ‘degree’ in the course detail box and click the search icon. You can then select the relevant length generic degree title. You will see 7 options, as listed below, and you should select the relevant one - please refer to the examples to assist with making your selection.

Paper application

If you are an EU resident and applying using a paper form do not enter the UCAS code on the course details page. Instead enter the generic degree title in the course name box, for example ‘3 Year Humanities and Social Science Degree’.  

Examples

• Student 1 is taking BA Politics and History and should choose '3 year Humanities and Social Science Degree'
• Student 2 is taking BA Arabic and should choose '4 year Humanities and Social Science Degree including year abroad in Year 3'.
• Student 3 is taking BA Chinese and Development Studies should choose '4 year Humanities and Social Science Degree including year abroad in Year 3' as the language year abroad will be in Year 3.
• Student 4 is a direct entry transfer from another university to SOAS Year 2 BSc Economics and should choose '3 year Humanities and Social Science Degree Direct Entry to Year 2'.
• Student 5 is a continuing student entering their Language Year Abroad year and should select 'study abroad' from the options under the question 'where will you spend the most time next academic year?'
• Student 6 is a continuing student, who began their studies at SOAS on a Foundation year level and should always choose the applicable version of the course with the Foundation Year (4 or 5 year version), even when progressing to their Year 1/2/3/4.
• Student 7 is entering the Foundation Year of their degree programme, so should choose 'Humanities and Social Science Degree with Foundation Year'.

All language degrees at SOAS have a language year abroad in Year 3. To check the structure of your degree, please see information on undergraduate degrees.

For full-time certificates

When entering course details in your funding application please enter 'certificate' and click the search icon. 

Please then select the certificate you are going to study at SOAS:

• Arabic (full-time)
• Modern Hebrew (full-time)
• Persian (full-time)
• Politics and International Studies (full-time)
• South Asian Studies (full-time)
• Turkish (full-time)
• Turkish Studies (full-time)

See the Student Finance website for information and links to apply to Student Finance and for further information and guidance.

Please note: tuition fee funding is normally for the duration of your programme plus one gift year if for any reason you have to take an additional year of study.  If you have previously studied at undergraduate level, in the UK or elsewhere, for more than one year this may reduce your eligibility for funding.

Refund policy for undergraduates funded by Student Finance.

Maintenance loans are also available from Student Finance for students resident in the UK.  Please see the Student Finance website for further information.

SOAS undergraduate financial support

UK undergraduates ordinarily resident in England who are starting their degree in September 2016 may be eligible for support (Undergraduate financial support at SOAS).

Step 1 - Tuition Fee Loan application

Apply for your Tuition Fee Loan – you need to apply for a loan for each year that you study.
(Student Finance promise to process applications received from new students by end of May and from continuing students by the end of June in time for the next academic year)

Step 2 - Declaration form

Sign the Declaration Form and return to Student Finance – this is the final step in agreeing your loan for the academic year.

Step 3 - Confirm your details

Complete ‘Confirm my details’ on online registration - you will be sent an e-mail from SOAS about how to do this before Welcome Week. You should enter the amount of your tuition fees covered by Student Finance in the "Student Finance Direct" box.

Step 4 - Record matching 

We will then be able to link up your Student Finance loan record with your SOAS enrolment record - this may take up to 3-5 working days:
New Students – you need to have enrolled in person and shown your ID before we can confirm your enrolment to Student Finance to release your funding.

Continuing Students - we will be able to confirm enrolment once your loan and enrolment records are complete.

If you do not have final confirmation of your tuition fee loan from Student Finance, as you have only just applied for example or have any other difficulties with your loan application, then please still come and see us, bringing all relevant paperwork or screenshots, so that we can assist you.

We will take a copy of your evidence that you have applied to Student Finance and also ask you to complete an enrolment declaration as we wait for Student Finance to complete their processing.

Step 5 - Enrolment confirmation

Once you have fully enrolled and completed the above steps, we will then be able to include you in the daily returns of completed records to Student Finance which begin from the first day of the autumn term. This confirms your registration and enrolment onto your degree with Student Finance.  Please be aware that it can take 3-5 working days for the completed enrolment record and loan records to match up and for Student Finance to make the payment.

Step 6 - Payment by Student Finance

Student Finance will make the first maintenance payment 3-5 working days after receiving confirmation of enrolment.