Can you get student finance for a distance learning degree?

Often yes for tuition, if you live in England and the course and provider qualify. Help with living costs is the catch: under the current part-time rules, distance learners can only apply for a Maintenance Loan if a disability stops them attending in person. Which rules apply depends on the date your course starts.

This covers student finance for people who normally live in England. GOV.UK says students from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man follow different processes. This is general information rather than financial advice. Figures change, so check them before you commit, and ask your provider's funding team about your own case.

First, which rulebook is yours?

The dividing line is 1 January 2027. Courses starting before then fall under the existing system. Most courses starting on or after that date use the new Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), which replaces earlier higher education funding and some further education funding. Confirm your start date with the provider, because a course beginning a few weeks either side of the line is handled differently.

Courses starting before 1 January 2027

GOV.UK's part-time page works on course intensity, meaning how much of a course you complete in a year compared with the full-time equivalent. If yours is 25% or more, you may be able to get a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £7,335 for the 2026 to 2027 academic year. Your university or college can tell you your intensity. Maintenance Loans depend on where you live, household income and intensity, and are not available if you are 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year.

That page sets no separate rule about tuition loans for distance learners, so ask the provider to confirm that your course is eligible.

Courses starting on or after 1 January 2027

The LLE works in credits. A full-time bachelor's year is usually 120 credits, and one credit equals 10 hours of expected learning time. The eligibility page sets out the main conditions:

• You are normally eligible when studying between 30 and 180 credits a year.
• Most qualifications at levels 4 to 6 count, and some level 7. Certain modules are covered too.
• Your provider must be registered with the Office for Students.
• You must be under 60 on the first day of the course for a Tuition Fee Loan.
• The usual maximum Tuition Fee Loan is £39,160 in total, roughly 480 credits or about four years of full-time study.
• Earlier government tuition funding is deducted, so a previous degree may reduce what is left. But you can be eligible even if you have studied before.

The pages we read do not mention distance learning at all. That silence does not mean it is excluded. It does mean you should get an answer from your provider in writing.

What pace really means, in numbers

Here is the sum for a degree of three full-time years, or 360 credits. This is arithmetic rather than a rule, and your own course may be structured differently.

The hours are the part people tend to underestimate. A plan of 15 hours a week has to survive school holidays and busy spells at work. Draft a real week on a timetable before you decide how many credits to register for. Credit load can also affect extra financial help, so changing pace mid-way is worth discussing with someone first.

Living costs: the bit to plan around

On the current system, GOV.UK is plain about this: distance learners can only apply for a Maintenance Loan if they cannot attend in person because of a disability. So the usual assumption is that your living costs stay your own responsibility, and a loan will not replace your wages. For courses from 2027, Maintenance Loans are part of the LLE, but the pages we read do not settle how they apply to distance learners, so check with Student Finance England and your provider.

Extra help may be available if you have a low income, a disability or children, including grants or allowances that generally do not need to be repaid. Providers may also run their own bursaries.

Repaying under the new system

For LLE courses, repayments start once you have finished or left the course and earn over £25,000 a year. Any balance is written off 40 years after the April you first become due to repay. Interest is charged from the first payment until the loan is repaid or written off, and GOV.UK gives a current rate of 4.1%. These figures can change, and they are not the same as the terms on older loans, so read the terms for your own start date.

Questions for the provider

1. Is this exact course eligible for student finance, and from which start date?
2. How many credits is each year or module, and what fee will I pay per year?
3. Is the course taught entirely at a distance? Does it include any exams or residential days that I would need to attend?
4. If I reduce my study for a year, what happens to my loan and to my place on the course?
5. What support do you offer for disabled students and for students who have been out of education for a long time?

Applying is usually direct, since UCAS says flexible and part-time courses are generally applied for through the university or college itself. You also need to apply for funding for each course and reapply each year of a longer one. If you do not meet the entry requirements yet, look at the Access to HE Diploma. If you are nervous about studying alone after a long gap, our notes on self-testing are a reasonable place to begin.