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PGCE funding

The tuition fees and bursary information listed on this page are for Home and EU PGCE Students.

Overseas PGCE students should refer to the fees information towards the bottom of this page.

To be eligible for home or EU fee status you must have lived in the UK or EU for three years prior to the start of the course and must meet the normal residency requirements.

EU students who have lived in the UK for three years prior to the beginning of the programme may also be eligible for home fee status.

Home and EU students are able to make an application for a tuition fee loan at the gov.uk website.


Paying your fees

Student fees can now be paid using our secure online payment system


Full-time PGCE students

The information below is relevant to English students or students who meet the England residency requirements. Students from WalesNorthern Ireland or Scotland should contact their own awarding body for information on the loans and grants available. 


Tuition fee loans

Home and EU students who meet the residency requirements above are eligible to apply for a loan to cover the cost of the fees. The online application process for home students is now open. EU students must complete an application form and return it.

The MoneySavingExpert website has a useful online Student Finance Calculator to help you work out how much you'll pay during your studies, and after you've graduated. 


Loans for living costs

Maintenance loans of up to £11,002, will be available to full-time home students studying at St Mary’s University. The amount you are entitled to will depend on your household income and whether you are living at your parental home or away from home.

You can use the online calculator to give you an idea of the amounts for which you are eligible. 

You can apply for loans for living costs in the same place that you apply for the tuition fee loans.


Loan repayments

Graduates will not make any loan repayments until they are earning at least £21,000. The repayment will be 9% of income over £21,000 and all outstanding repayments will be written off after 30 years. As an example, a graduate who is earning £30,000 per year will repay 9% on the £9,000 over the threshold, i.e. £810 over the year or £67.50 per month.

For graduates earning less than £21,000, there will be no real rate of interest applied to their loan, although any loans will still be liable for interest at the rate of inflation based on the Retail Price Index (RPI). For graduates earning between £21,000 and around £41,000, a real rate of interest will start to be charged, on a sliding scale, reaching a maximum of the RPI plus 3%. Above £41,000, graduates will repay the full rate of RPI plus 3%.


Government training bursary

Home students applying to study a PGCE may be eligible for a  Government training bursary

The bursary amount will based on the highest previous qualification that you have attained to date.


Non-repayable dependants' grants

There are a number of grants available to students who have dependent children or a dependent adult, including:

  • Childcare Grant (full-time students only)
  • Parents’ Learning Allowance (full-time students only)
  • Adult Dependants’ Grant (full-time students only)

In order to assess eligibility students may be means tested. The  Gov.uk Student Finance webpages provide further information about these grants and other funding options that may be available to students with dependants.


Alumni discount

A tuition fee discount of between 10-20% is available for our alumni planning to study for an MA, MSc or PGCE.

The discount is available to all our former undergraduate, postgraduate and PGCE students who are looking to progress on to the next stage of their studies.

The Alumni discount does not apply to postgraduate research degrees (EdD, MPhil, PhD).

Please check individual course pages for details.