Funding for Pre-Registration MSc Occupational Therapy and Pre-Registration MSc Physiotherapy
For entry 2026, there are two funding options available to new students who plan to study Pre-Reg MSc Occupational Therapy or Pre-Reg MSc Physiotherapy.
Subject to the terms and conditions of the funding bodies the two funding options are to be funded by:
- NHS Wales Bursary Scheme OR
- Opt out of the NHS Wales Bursary Scheme and be solely funded by your relevant student finance body
Please note, funding is also affected by where you were ordinarily resident before you started your course.
NHS Wales Bursary Scheme
The NHS Wales Bursary Scheme is available via the NHS Wales Student Awards Service. To receive this funding you will need to make a commitment to work in Wales for the NHS for 18 months after qualification.
Subject to making the commitment, the following funding is available (figures given are for the 2026/27 academic year):
- the NHS Wales will pay your tuition fees
- NHS Wales provide a non-means-tested grant of £1,000 per year
- NHS Wales provide a means-tested bursary of up to £2,643 per year if living away from your parental home. If you live in the parental home then the maximum bursary amount will be reduced. Extra weeks of bursary support may be available where the course length is longer than the standard number of weeks for a course, subject to means-testing
You would apply for this funding via the NHS Student Awards Service. Please visit their website for terms and conditions.
In addition to the funding above, if you were:
- ordinarily resident in England before the start of your course then you can also apply to Student Finance England for a non-means-tested fixed-rate maintenance loan of £2,828 per year (2026/27 figure)
- ordinarily resident in Wales before the start of your course then there is no fixed rate maintenance loan available from Student Finance Wales
Opt out of the NHS Wales Bursary Scheme
If you do not want to make the commitment to work in Wales for 18 months after qualification, you will need to register your decision to opt out of the NHS Wales Bursary Scheme with the NHS Student Awards Service.
Opting out of NHS Wales Bursary Scheme provides step-by-step guidance.
The alternative funding available to you will depend on where you were ordinarily resident before you started your course.
Ordinarily resident in Wales before the start of the course
If you opt out of the NHS Wales Bursary Scheme then you can apply to Student Finance Wales for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan. For academic year 2026/27 the maximum amount of loan available for the duration of the course is £19,635. As the Pre-reg MSc courses are normally 2 years long, this funding would be split over 2 years. It is not possible to have this loan and be funded via the NHS Wales Bursary Scheme. It has to be one or the other.
Please note if you already hold a Master’s degree or higher qualification then this will affect your access to a Postgraduate Master’s Loan.
Ordinarily resident in England before the start of the course
If you opt out of the NHS Wales Bursary Scheme then you can apply to Student Finance England for undergraduate funding. This includes (figures are for the 2026/27 academic year):
- Tuition Fee Loan (non-means tested) up to £9,790 per year
- Maintenance Loan (means tested) between £5,048 and £10,830 per year, if living away from your parental home. If you live in the parental home then the maximum loan amount will be reduced. Extra weeks of loan support may be available where the course length is longer that the standard number of weeks for a course, subject to means-testing by Student Finance England.
You can find more details here about opting out of the NHS Wales Bursary Scheme.
Contact Us
If you have any questions please get in touch with the Student Funding and Advice team:
