Undergraduate finance

If you're a UK student, studying full or part-time for your first undergraduate degree, you can apply for a student loan from The Student Loans Company. Maintenance loans are also available to help with your living costs, such as rent and food. The amount of loan you get will depend on whether you'll be living away from home, your household income and the benefits you're entitled to.

You'll only start paying back your tuition fees and maintenance loan once you're earning over a minimum amount per year. If your earnings drop below that amount, repayments will automatically stop.

We want to ensure anyone with potential and drive has the opportunity to study with us, no matter their background or financial situation. That's why each year, we provide a number of bursaries to help our undergraduate students gain their degree.

• The Kingston bursary
• Bursaries for care leavers
• Bursaries for estranged students
• Bursaries for young adult carers
• Bursaries for Sanctuary Scholars
• Chancerygate Foundation bursary
• Salutem scholarships 
• AVSH scholarship

If you intend to pay your fees by instalment, this will need to be set up before you can complete your enrolment by visiting our secure site. This can be completed using either a UK or international issued card.

Accommodation and tuition fees can only be paid by instalment if you have a valid Recurring Card Payment (RCP) set up with the University. If you wish to pay by this method, a separate instruction must be set up for each of these fee types before your enrolment can be completed.

Payment via RCP enables you to spread your payments in line with the University's instalment plan, and there is no charge for paying in this way.

Remember: An RCP instruction must be in place at least five days prior to the instalment date for us to collect the payment. Ensure you have enough money in your account on the due dates, otherwise your bank or card issuer may make a charge to your account for every default.

It is your responsibility to check that your RCP instruction has been activated. If you wish to cancel your instruction, all you are doing is removing the option to pay by instalments. You will then be required to pay the outstanding balance in full immediately.

You can find more information and FAQs about paying your fees on the central hub page for Fees and funding.

The most convenient way to pay your fees is by using the University's secure payment website.

You can pay using the following cards:

• Delta
• Maestro
• Mastercard
• Solo
• Visa
• Visa Electron
• American Express

You can also pay over the phone if you call +44 (0)20 8417 3333.

If you are funding your course using a Federal Direct Subsidised/Unsubsidised and/or PLUS loan, please contact our financial aid office for information about payment of tuition fees - studentfunding@kingston.ac.uk. 

You can find information about trusts and charities that offer educational funding from the Scholarship Hub website.

How do I apply?

The first step is to write to your chosen trust or charity, giving a summary of your situation. If you fit its funding criteria, the organisation will send you an application form.

You should include the following details in your letter:

• the title and starting year of your course
• your age and place of birth
• brief details of your previous studies
• a brief explanation of your financial difficulties and why you're applying
• your estimated financial requirements
• how your studies will benefit yourself or others

Make sure your letter is well presented. You might also need to get a reference from your course tutor so make sure they'll support your application.

If your employer, embassy or organisation agrees to pay all or part of your tuition fees, the University will refer to them as your sponsor and will invoice them for the appropriate amount.

Before you enrol, we must receive notification of sponsorship, confirming that the sponsor will pay your tuition fees.

If you are sponsored by a company or organisation, we will require notification of this to be provided via a completed Tuition fees sponsorship agreement form (PDF).  

We do, however, understand that there are some embassies that will only provide notification by letter. In those instances, this will be accepted as an alternate to the sponsor form, provided it is on the embassy's headed paper, is signed by an authorised officer and contains the following information:

• your full name (and University ID number if known)
• the amount (or percentage) of tuition fees the sponsor wishes to pay on your behalf for this academic year
• the name of the person to whom the invoice must be addressed and the address where the invoice should be sent
• the reference number (or purchase order number) to be quoted (if applicable)
• a valid email address for any overseas sponsor

See our Example sponsor letter (PDF). 

Sponsorship forms

Before enrolment to Kingston University, you must upload your completed sponsor form or letter to our Online Student Information System (OSIS).

Please note:

• the University reserves the right to reject a sponsor
• the University may conduct credit checks in full upon the sponsor
• notification of sponsorship is required for each academic year of study
• payment by a sponsor is due on receipt of invoice; there is no instalment option for sponsor payments

Remember, it remains your responsibility to ensure that the Accounts Receivable team has received notification of your sponsorship. The University will not be able to invoice your sponsor until we have received notification from them with all the relevant information.

If your sponsor fails to pay on receipt of invoice, or they withdraw their support at any point in the year, then you will be responsible for any outstanding fees at that point and the University will hold you liable for that amount. You will also be subject to the University's debt recovery procedures.

There may be additional costs related to your course (see the course page for more details) and studying. 

These include (please note: this is not an exhaustive list):

• living costs – such as travel to and from the University, rent and food
• potential additional tuition fees – if you choose to study abroad for part of your degree
• travel, accommodation and subsistence costs – if you do a work placement, field word or take part in field trips
• materials, equipment, clothing and resources – that are specific to your course, a project or piece of work
• professional body membership fees – such as to the British Psychological Society (BPS)
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks – this is required for certain education and healthcare courses
• PCs and laptops – there are open-access networked computers available across the University, plus laptops available to loan. However, you may find it useful to have your own PC, laptop or tablet which you can use around campus and in halls of residence
• stationery – for taking notes during lectures
• reassessment – if you need to be reassessed in either repeat or replace mode, you will be subject to extra costs. Reassessment by retake does not incur an additional cost. The type of reassessment offered to you will be agreed by the relevant Programme Assessment Board in line with the University's Undergraduate Regulations (AR2) or Postgraduate Regulations (AR3)
• childcare costs – if you care for children
• sports clubs and societies – there are membership fees if you would like to join any of the societies or sports clubs run by Kingston Students' Union
• fitness centre membership – with More Energy, the Kingston University Fitness Centre at the Penrhyn Road campus
• graduation – students who wish to attend their graduation will need to pay for guest tickets, gown hire and photography, if they so choose 
• replacement degree certificates and transcripts – if you misplace them in the future

Under the NHS Low Income Scheme you could get money off dental treatment. These awards are means-tested, which means they depend on your income. All students can apply.

To do so, you have to fill in a HC1 form, which you can get from the University's Health Centre, your dentist or your benefits office. Remember to include a copy of your Student Finance Notification with your application.

Full-time students are exempt from council tax while studying. If you're living in private accommodation in the boroughs of Kingston, Richmond, Wandsworth or Merton, the University will notify the council of your student status. This means you do not need to do anything else, although you will need to register with the council. 

However, if you're living in the University's halls of residence, you won't have to provide a council tax exemption form as halls of residence are classed as exempt dwellings. 

If you're living in private accommodation outside those four boroughs, you need a council tax exemption certificate to prove that you're exempt. You can get these from the Information Centre from mid-October. You can get more information from the National Union of Students (NUS).

• an interest-free overdraft – this can be very useful if, for example, you have to pay your rent before your loan arrives in your account
• hidden charges – some banks charge fees for unauthorised overdrafts, for example
• a student adviser – they can give advice and offer the right banking facilities for your needs
• access to internet banking – so you can keep track of your spending
• ability to set up Direct Debits – a UK current account is required to spread your payments over the academic year in line with Kingston University's instalment plan. 

To open a bank account, you might need to show your bank:

• a copy of your letter from Student Finance England, confirming your maintenance loan / grant amount
• identification (such as your passport, full UK driving licence or University registration card)
• proof of your term-time or home address
• confirmation that you have been offered a place on a course at Kingston University