Funding is available to eligible students who are on a full-time HNC, HND, degree or equivalent level course. It is also available for a PGDE.
You must tell us if you change course or institution, or if your circumstances change at any time, as this might affect the funding you are entitled to.
If you have previously been on a full-time Higher Education course, we may not be able to give you full funding. The rules relating to previous study are complicated; if you are in any doubt about your entitlement, you should visit the relevant section of our website or contact us for advice before completing your application.
Residence eligibilityYou must give us details of your education and employment history. This includes details of your secondary education and any college or university where you have been a student since you left school. You must also give us details of your full-time or part-time employment/unemployment and education history for the last three years. Please note - if you have finished or you are due to finish school this year, you will only be presented with relevant questions in the application.
Studying abroad/placementsIf your study abroad is compulsory, regardless of your household income, you will be eligible to claim the cost of your journey abroad and medical insurance. If you indicate on your application that you will be studying abroad as a compulsory part of your course, we will send you the appropriate form to claim these costs. If you choose to take a voluntary period of study abroad as part of your course that is not an ERASMUS exchange, and it does not extend the total length of your degree in the UK, you can apply for the same level of living cost funding you would get if you were studying in the UK. We will not pay the cost of your journey abroad or medical insurance.
If you are on a full-year paid placement you can apply for a student loan, but we will not pay any bursary, additional loan or living cost grants. If you do not want a student loan, you should still apply to us to pay your tuition fees. For students on a full-year paid placement, we normally pay half the normal tuition fee straight to your institution. If you are on a full-year unpaid placement (mainly in the public sector) you can apply for the full normal funding package available to you. If you are on a part-year placement, either paid or unpaid, and you will be spending at least 10 weeks in your home institution, you can apply for the normal full funding package available to you. If you are in attendance for less than 10 weeks of the year at your institution, SAAS will pay half the normal tuition fees for that year. If you are doing an Allied Health Profession course (speech and language therapy/pathology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, radiography [diagnostic imaging - degree only, diagnostic radiography, therapeutic radiography, radiography and oncology], podiatry [chiropody], orthoptics, dietetics, paramedics, prosthetics and orthotics), you do not need to complete this section of the application. To apply for placement expenses you can pick up a form from your university or college or download one from our website.
Funding pageYou will have to pay up to £9,250 towards your tuition fees. You can choose to take out a student loan to pay all or some of your fees. The amount of tuition fee loan you can get does not depend on your household income. If you are studying at an approved private college or university outside Scotland, you can take out a loan of up to £6,000 towards your tuition fees. If you are not entitled to apply for help with your tuition fees, for example, if you are doing a second course of Higher Education, you will not be entitled to apply for a loan to pay them either.
EU tuition fees onlyIf you are an EU student coming here for education, you may qualify for payment of your tuition fees. You must meet the relevant residence conditions, as set out in the residence section above.
Loan and bursaries for living costsThe tables below will give you an idea of what living cost funding you can get, based on your household income, as a young or independent student.
| Young student | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Household income | Bursary | Loan | Total |
| £0 to £20,999 | £2,000 | £5,750 | £7,750 |
| £21,000 to £23,999 | £1,125 | £5,750 | £6,875 |
| £24,000 to £33,999 | £500 | £5,750 | £6,250 |
| £34,000 and above | £0 | £4,750 | £4,750 |
| Independent student | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Household income | Bursary | Loan | Total |
| £0 to £20,999 | £1000 | £6,750 | £7,750 |
| £21,000 to £23,999 | £0 | £6,750 | £6,750 |
| £24,000 to £33,999 | £0 | £6,250 | £6,250 |
| £34,000 and above | £0 | £4,750 | £4,750 |
Most school leavers will be classed as 'dependent'. Under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985, parents have a general obligation to support their children, depending on the particular circumstances of the case. This obligation extends to children over 18 and up to 25 who are in further or higher education or training.
Whose income we take into account:
In most cases, we'll ask to see your household income for the tax year beginning 6 April 2021 and ending 5 April 2023. For those who pay tax as they earn (PAYE), we take the total gross income. For those who are self-employed and those who have income from property, we take the taxable profit. For those who are unemployed, we only take certain benefits into account (see list below). For example, Jobseeker's Allowance. Full details of the income we take into account are on the application.
Types of benefits we take into account:
If, at any time during the year, there is likely to be a drop in income of at least 15%, we may be able to reassess your funding based on an estimated income during the current financial year. We must see documents to confirm the income details for either the 2021/22 or 2022/23 financial years, whichever is relevant, that would demonstrate this drop before we can consider reassessment. This is not available if the income changes from year to year because of the type of employment, investments and so on. Contact us for more advice.
We can reassess your award if your parent/step-parent/parent's partner or husband/wife/civil partner or partner dies and we used their income to assess the award. If this applies to you, contact us for advice as soon as possible.
Evidence we need to seePAYE
The most common document we'll accept is your P60. This must be for the tax year ending 5 April 2023. If you have lost your P60, we'll accept your 'Month 12' payslip or 'week 52' payslip if it includes a 'year to date' (YTD) total for taxable pay. We can also accept an employment and benefits history from HMRC.
Self-employment
If you're in business on your own or in partnership, please give your net business profit for tax purposes for the last completed business accounting year. You must support this amount with a copy of your self-assessment tax calculation that you sent to HMRC showing the income for year ending between 6 April 2021 and 5 April 2023.
Income from property and land
We'll accept your HMRC self-assessment form (SA105). The figure we want is your 'taxable profit' which is currently in box 38. We'll also accept a letter from HMRC confirming your total income from all sources for the tax year ending 5 April 2023 (this is called an employment and benefits history).
Income from private, employers or state pensions (including Pension Credit)
If it is a private work pension, we'll accept a copy of your P60 from your pension provider. If it's a state pension, and you do not have a P60, we'll accept an end of year statement from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), covering the tax year ending 5 April 2023.
Replacement living costs benefits
You should prove your income with a copy of a P60U for the relevant year or a letter from DWP or Jobcentre Plus confirming the total amount of benefits received for the tax year ending 5 April 2023. We can also accept an employment and benefits history from HMRC.
Working Tax Credits
We need to see pages 1 to 4 of either your current year tax credit award notice or your tax credit annual review, covering the full 2021/22 tax year.
Maintenance payments
If you're making maintenance payments to another household, you should either send us a copy of your Child Support Agency (CSA) letter, if the CSA have been involved, or a copy of your bank statement which shows the regular payments you make.
If the maintenance payments are coming into the household, we do not need to see evidence. Do not include maintenance you receive for any children who are not students in further or higher education.
Single benefactor evidenceIf they cannot give us any of the above, we can accept a signed letter on company header paper, from a professional person, confirming they are separated. A professional person can be a doctor, nurse, lawyer, solicitor, notary public, teacher, counsellor, police officer, family mediation worker, social worker, nursery teacher, student adviser or minister of religion.
Lone parent evidenceIf you cannot give us one of the above, we can accept a letter, on company header paper, from a professional person, confirming that you are a lone parent. A professional person can be a doctor, nurse, lawyer, solicitor, notary public, teacher, counsellor, police officer, family mediation worker, social worker, nursery teacher, student adviser or minister of religion.
EU students evidenceWe need to see a copy of your EU passport or EU Identity Card.
Nursing and midwifery diploma and degree studentsYou should give us the details of the course you will be studying. Funding is available to eligible students who are on a diploma or degree course in nursing or midwifery.
If you have previously received public funds for a course of Further or Higher Education, you can still get a bursary for courses under the Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary scheme (NMSB). However, if you have previously received funding under the NMSB scheme, this may affect any future funding.
You must tell us if you change course or institution, or if your circumstances change at any time, as this might affect the funding you are entitled to.
We normally make awards for the shortest time needed to complete your course. However, if you need to increase the time to complete your course, in certain circumstances, we will give you up to one more year of funding. If you need more than this, you should contact your institution, who in turn will contact the Scottish Government Health Directorate for approval, to allow you to receive funding to extend your studies further.
Nursing and midwifery diploma and degree students - residence eligibilityIf you are not a UK or other EU national, as well as the above, you must be 'settled' in the UK within the meaning of the Immigration Act 1971, on the relevant date.
The courts have defined 'ordinarily resident' as 'habitual and normal residence in one place'. It means that you, your parents, your husband, wife or civil partner live in a country year after year by choice, apart from temporary or occasional absences such as holidays or business trips. Living in the UK totally or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education, does not count as ordinarily resident.
If you do not meet the general residence conditions set out above, you may still be eligible to apply to us for funding, if you meet any of the other conditions set out in Schedule 1 of the Nursing and Midwifery Student Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (as amended). You can find a copy of this in the 'about us' section of our website.
If you are a European Union student studying in the UK, but not otherwise resident in the UK, the Scottish Government Health Directorate may pay your tuition fees, direct to your university, if you meet the residence conditions set out below.
You should apply to the institution you are studying at for help with your tuition fees. You should not make an application to SAAS. You will not be eligible for any other form of funding, for example, the bursary and any other allowances.
The residence eligibility conditions are complicated and we may have to ask you for more information to establish your circumstances. If you are in any doubt about your eligibility, please contact us for advice or check the more detailed residency section of our website.
Nursing and midwifery diploma and degree students - educationYou must give us details of your education history.
This includes details of your secondary education and any college or university where you have been a student since you left school.
If you are returning to Higher Education after a break in study, we will need details of any education you have done during this break.
Nursing and midwifery diploma and degree students - funding packageAll eligible students receive a non-income assessed bursary.
| Year or years of your course | Amount |
|---|---|
| 1,2 & 3 | £10,000 |
| 4 | £7,500 |
Initial Expenses Allowance
We will pay you an extra £60 Initial Expenses Allowance in your first year of study. This will be included in the first instalment of your bursary.
Single Parents' Allowance
You may be entitled to this income-assessed allowance if you're single, widowed, divorced or separated, your civil partnership has been dissolved or you no longer live with your partner, and you're bringing up a child/children on your own. The amount we'll pay is up to £2,303 a year.
Please note - for a child to be dependent on you, this normally means they're still at school. However, in certain circumstances, you can retain your entitlement to Child Benefit if your child has left school and is in non-advanced education or approved training. In these circumstances, we can pay the Single Parents' Allowance until your entitlement to Child Benefit stops.
Dependants Allowance
You can claim this income-assessed allowance for your husband, wife, civil partner or partner and for any child you are legally responsible for. You cannot claim this allowance for another student. If your husband, wife, civil partner or partner is also in full-time education, you can claim the higher rate of dependants allowance for your first child.
If your dependants have any income, this may affect your entitlement. We take account of their gross income from all sources. However, we'll ignore the first £1160 of any income they have. You should tell us the type of income your dependants have for the academic year you are about to start. You must declare your husband's, wife's, civil partner's or partner's income, even if you're only claiming for your children.
Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA)
If you have a disability, you may be eligible to claim for certain extra expenses. You can get more information about the expenses we may pay from our website.
Before we can pay this allowance, you'll need to fill in an application form to give us more information. We may also have to refer you to an assessment centre for advice on the equipment you may need. This can take time so it is essential that you apply as early as possible.
Childcare Allowance for Parents
The childcare allowance is payable to any student who is a parent.
You may be entitled to this allowance if you pay for registered or formal childcare. You can receive up to £2,466 a year, depending on your childcare costs. You can download this form when you're making your application for funding.
Nursing and midwifery diploma and degree students - evidence we need to seeIf you cannot give us one of the above, we may accept a letter, on company header paper, from a person who knows your circumstances well in a professional capacity and can confirm categorically that you are a lone parent. A professional person can be a doctor, nurse, lawyer, solicitor, notary public, teacher, counsellor, police officer, family mediation worker, social worker, nursery teacher, student adviser or minister of religion.
Please try to be as accurate as possible when estimating your dependant's income for your academic year. We pay the Dependants' Allowance provisionally. This means we will ask you to confirm the income your dependant actually received, at the end of your year of study - we will then reassess your allowance.
If the amount you are entitled to is less than we previously paid you, we will ask you to give us the difference back. So that we do not pay you more than you are due, you should tell us about any change in your circumstances during the year.
You must supply copies of your children's full birth certificates with your first application.
PostgraduateEligible full-time and part-time postgraduate students can apply for a loan to pay their tuition fees and the Disabled Students' Allowance (if this applies).
Eligible full-time postgraduate students can also apply for a living costs loan. This is paid in addition to the tuition fee loan. The living costs loan is not available to part-time students.
Eligible full-time courses are one-year taught Postgraduate Diplomas and taught Masters courses*. Eligible part-time courses are two-year taught Postgraduate Diplomas and taught Masters courses; the course must not be completely distance learning.
Your application for a loan to pay your tuition fees is only valid for one academic session. If you are a part-time student doing your course over two years or if you are studying the Masters in Educational Psychology at Dundee or Strathclyde University (*exceptionally funded full-time over two years), you must apply for a fee loan in both years of your course.
Postgraduate - general eligibilityIf you are studying part-time, you must take no more than two years to complete your course.
Eligibility at the beginning of a course, determines your eligibility for the duration of that course. This means, if you start a course while ineligible to receive funding on residence grounds, you will continue to be ineligible to receive funding on residence grounds for the rest of that course.
Postgraduate - residence eligibilityIf you are not a UK or other EU national you must be settled in the UK (as set out in the Immigration Act 1971) on the relevant date. To find out about getting settled status, you can visit the Home Office website at www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk or phone their helpline on 0870 606 7766.
We will not normally treat you as being ordinarily resident in the UK and Scotland if your main purpose in coming here has been to receive full-time education and that you would have otherwise been living elsewhere.
Eligibility at the beginning of a course determines your eligibility for the duration of that course. This means, if you start a course while ineligible to receive funding on residence grounds, you will continue to be ineligible to receive funding on residence grounds for the rest of that course.
There are exceptions to this rule for those who were seeking asylum in the UK who now have a form of leave to remain in the UK. For all others, you should contact us for advice before starting your course to see what funding may be available.
Remember to get in touch if you have any doubts or questions about your eligibility.
Postgraduate - funding packageTuition fee loan
You can apply for a tuition fee loan to pay your tuition fees of up to £7,000 (£3,500 if you are studying part-time). To qualify for a loan to study part-time, you must take no more than two years to complete your course.
If you apply for a loan, we will pay the relevant amount, as indicated above, to your university on your behalf. The amount of loan we can give you does not depend on your household income.
If the amount your university charges you is higher than £7,000 (or £3,500 if you are studying part-time), you will have to pay the difference yourself.
Living costs loan
If you change course and are aged 60 or over on the relevant date of your new course, regardless of which year you enter your new course, you will not be entitled to a living costs loan for your new course. The living costs loan is not available to part-time postgraduate students.
Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA)
If you have a disability, you may be eligible to claim for certain extra expenses. You can get more information about the expenses we may pay from our website. Before we can pay this allowance, you will need to fill in an application form to give us more information. We may also have to refer you to an assessment centre for advice on the equipment you may need. This can take time, so it is essential that you apply as early as possible.
Postgraduate - evidence we need to seeYou must provide a copy of your EU passport or EU identity card. However, if you received tuition fee funding from us at undergraduate level, you will have provided this.