Wales

Tuition fee loan

Subject to terms and conditions, students who live in Wales and are studying towards their first degree will not have to pay their tuition fees upfront. Instead they could be eligible for a repayable tuition fee loan of up to £9,000 per year to meet the cost of their tuition fees (fees in Wales are capped at £9,000 rather than £9,250 in the rest of the UK). This funding would be paid directly to your University after you have enrolled.

You will only start to repay this loan when you have finished your studies and are earning more than £27,295 per year (subject to terms and conditions).

Funding for living costs

All eligible students who are ordinarily resident in Wales before starting their course at Cardiff University will have access to a maximum of £11,720 per year maintenance funding (if living away from their parental home) to help them meet their living costs.

The first £1,000 of this maintenance funding will be available as a non-repayable, non-means tested maintenance grant. This means, irrespective of household income details, all eligible students will receive a grant of £1,000.

The remaining £10,720 will be available as either a maintenance grant, a maintenance loan or a combination of both, depending on the means test that will be carried out on household income details.

This means all eligible students, living away from their parental home, will have access to up to a total of £11,720 maintenance funding. This funding  is expected to help students meet the cost of their accommodation, food, travel and general living expenses.

The following table demonstrates examples of funding available from SFW depending on household income and where a student is living while they study:

Maintenance support for a full-time undergraduate living away from home in 2023/24

Household income	Maintenance grant	Maintenance loan	Total maintenance support
£18,370	£8,100	£3,620	£11,720
£25,000	£6,947	£4,773	£11,720
£35,000	£5,208	£6,512	£11,720
£45,000	£3,469	£8,251	£11,720
£59,200 (+)	£1,000	£10,720	£11,720

If you will be living within the parental home while you study the total maintenance funding available is £9,950. The first £1,000 will still be available as a grant, irrespective of household income, and the remaining £8,950 will be available as either a maintenance grant, a maintenance loan or a combination of both, depending on the means test that will be carried out on household income details.

Maintenance funding is paid directly to students, normally in three instalments; one at the start of each term. The first instalment is normally released to you within 3-5 working days after you have completed enrolment and collected your ID card. Therefore it is important to arrive at University with funding for at least two weeks available to you.

Please note that if you change any details about your course or place of study, please inform Student Finance Wales before you come to university otherwise payment of your funding could be delayed.

Additional funding from Student Finance Wales

Depending on your personal circumstances there may be additional funding available to you. For example, if you have a disability, or if you have children or an adult dependent. Please visit Student Finance Wales for more information.

Additional funding from Cardiff University

In addition to the above funding you may qualify for a Cardiff University Bursary.

Cost of living in Cardiff

Cardiff is considered to be one of the most affordable UK cities to live in while you study. See our living cost calculator for the average cost of living in Cardiff as a full time, undergraduate student.

Repaying your student loan

The UK Government policy statement on Higher Education funding and finance, affecting student loan repayment terms and conditions, applies to students who live in England before starting their course and who commence study from 2023/24 onwards. The Welsh Government has confirmed that Welsh domicile students commencing courses in 2023/24 will continue under the current system for a further year.

Those who take an undergraduate tuition fee loan or maintenance loan via Student Finance Wales in academic year 23/24 will repay this loan under Repayment Plan 2.

Welsh Loan Cancellation Scheme

This scheme applies to students who borrow a maintenance loan from Student Finance Wales. If eligible, the Welsh Government could cancel up to £1,500 from your student loan balance when you start repaying. Please visit the Student Loans Company for further details.

How to apply for funding

Students who are ordinarily resident in Wales will apply to Student Finance Wales for their funding. The application process for students who intend to start a course in September 2023 is now open.

Contact us

If you have any questions please get in touch with the Student Funding and Advice Team: