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The Tavistock and portman, NHS Foundation Trust

Financial support

Information and help with financing your studies with us

At postgraduate level, students often find there is limited financial support available to them. It is therefore important that when applying for study, you consider the availability of finance for both tuition fees and living costs. The majority of our students pay their tuition fees through one, or a combination of the following methods.

Please note: if you intend to use a source of funding or loan that is not mentioned on our website, please check with our finance team before you apply as we may not be able to support the funding application.

Bursaries

Receive help with your finances by applying for a bursary

Find out more

Self funded students

If your course fees are more than £650 per academic year, you can pay in three equal instalments. The first is due at enrolment, the second on 15th December and the third on 15th March. 

Payment should be done online by debit or credit card.  

Postgraduate loans

The government introduced postgraduate loans in the academic year 2016/17. We are pleased to say that all of our Master’s level courses are eligible for these loans and students can apply for them up to nine months after their course has started.

These loans will allow you to borrow up to £11,200 to cover fees and living costs and will be paid in instalments to your bank account. You will not start paying the loan back until you have finished your course and are earning over £21,000.

In order to enrol on a course, you will need to pay 1% of your annual fee to enable enrolment even if the loan has not been approved. The remaining fee will be due in three instalments aligned with your Student Loans Company (SLC) instalments. 

The criteria for accessing a government postgraduate loan through the SLC depends on: 

Please note that only Master’s level courses are covered by this particular loan scheme – our Trust certificates, graduate certificates and graduate diplomas, PG certificates and diplomas are not eligible. You also have to be under the age of 60 and be studying at this level for the first time.

Our eligible courses are: 

More recently doctoral loans have also become available for a doctoral course:

In order to apply for a loan, visit the GOV.UK website and follow these directions: 

Please note that applications can be made up to nine months after the start of the course and you will be entitled to receive the full loan amount. Unfortunately, students who commenced a course prior to academic year 2016-17 are not eligible to apply. 

When your application has been approved by the Student Loans Company (SLC), the SLC will release the first installment, usually up to five working days after receipt of the confirmation from the University of Essex that you are registered. 

Any change to your academic status post-registration (e.g. intermission, withdrawal, change of course, change of mode of study) will require prompt communication to the SLC, our student registry and your course administrator. 

Employer sponsorship and funding

Some employers are willing to pay all or part of course fees. This might be through sponsorship or a professional development grant. 

Some NHS Trusts might be able to get funding through their education and workforce development directorates.

Teachers and social workers may ask for advice from their local authority training officers.

Some children’s Trusts have professional development funds. They may also have training priorities and a prescribed list indicating what they will and will not fund. 

If your employer sponsors you, we will invoice them directly but you must provide details of your sponsorship arrangements when you apply and enrol. Please note, employers will not be able to pay in instalments.

Funding for students with disabilities or learning difficulties

We have a Disabled Students Support Fund which has been set up to help students who have been accepted onto or are currently enrolled on a course and who have additional costs associated with their disability. Examples include contribution to extra travel expenses because of mobility needs, or the partial funding of a diagnostic assessment, where a student is not in receipt of the Disabled Students Allowance.

The Disabled Students Support Fund is open to all students at the Tavistock and Portman and please note that applicants are only permitted to apply once during the course of their study. In exceptional circumstances, funds permitting, the committee may consider a further application.

Please see the government’s website for information about the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA).

Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust student loan fund

If you are enrolled on one of the following clinical professional courses and are not funded by a local authority or other sponsor or employer, you may apply for an interest-free loan from our student loan fund, up to a maximum of £2,000 per year. 

Eligible courses are:

If you are successful, you will have to begin to repay the loans in the required instalments to commence six months prior to your course completion date. Otherwise, interest will be charged.

Please note that you can only apply for a student loan once you are enrolled on a course. For more information about student loan funds please contact the Dean’s Office.

Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust access fund

We have a limited sum of money to assist students who have enrolled and are attending whose financial circumstances suddenly change for the worse. If you are in this position, you can apply for a bursary of up to £1,000 as a maximum contribution towards your course fees. The amount you will actually receive depends on your financial circumstances, the annual fee for your course, and the number of other applicants to the access fund. It is our policy to try to help as many applicants in need as possible.

These bursaries don’t have to be repaid, but you can only apply once you are enrolled on a course.

Funding for research students

Students who are studying for a professional doctorate at the Trust can find more information and guidance about research funding through NOCLOR.

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