Student Support Fund

Home/UK statutory-funded students are students who are in receipt of the Tuition Fee Loan and means-tested Maintenance Loan from Student Finance (UK) or the NHS equivalent. 

• Have you accessed all statutory funding for which you are eligible? It is expected that applicants will have done so. This includes having your maintenance loan means-tested so you can receive the highest possible loan amount and possibly become eligible for the undergraduate bursary. If you have not been household income assessed and apply, we would only be able to consider short term support until you have been assessed
• Do you receive financial support from your family or have personal savings? The Student Support Fund assessment will typically include all family contributions and savings (for any purpose)
• Have you made use of an interest-free, charge-free overdraft? These student accounts are typically available to all Home/UK students. Please remember to read your bank's terms and conditions carefully before taking out an overdraft
• Have you sought budgeting advice? We recommend making a 1:1 appointment with one of SUSU Advice Centre’s helpful budgeting advisors, so you can make the best use of your funding  

Home/UK self-funding undergraduate students are students who are not in receipt of the Student Finance (UK) Tuition Fee Loan and means-tested Maintenance Loan or the NHS equivalent. They are required to make sufficient financial provision ahead of their course. 

Home/UK self-funding postgraduate students are either students who are funding their course themsleves, through a third party, or students who are in receipt of the Student Finance (UK) Master's Loan or Postgraduate Doctoral Loan. As students in receipt of the Student Finance loans can only receive a single loan, which is meant to cover both tuition fees and living costs, they are required to make sufficient financial provision ahead of their course. Provision is meant to cover essential living costs, as well as any other costs that were known or generally expected before the course start date.

Students must be fully enrolled to be eligible; students who are Writing Up, on Nominal Roll, or Submitted status are ineligible for the Fund, as students must be paying full tuition fees in the academic year they are in.

• Have you made sufficient provision towards your tuition fees and living costs prior to starting your course and to cover its duration?  
• Are you able to demonstrate a shortfall in your finances? Students are expected to have made reasonable adjustments to their lifestyles to ensure appropriate budgeting measures are in place. 
• Have you considered working to supplement your income? The University offers a range of flexible, part-time employment opportunities. Contact the Careers team for more information. 

If you are a self-funding student who has had an unexpected change of circumstance, which has resulted in financial hardship, you can apply to the Self-Funded Student Support Fund. We may be able to provide a one-time award of up to £540 in the 25/26 academic year to allow time to explore alternative funding options or have your funding return to normal levels.  

The Fund cannot be used towards the payment of tuition fees. If you are struggling to pay your tuition fees, please contact the Student Hub studenthub@soton.ac.uk to discuss if a payment plan may be suitable.

The Fund has no right of appeal, as the basis of the Fund is for students to clearly provide evidence of a change of circumstance which has resulted in unexpected financial difficulty. 

More information about qualifying changes of circumstance can be found in the next section. 

A change of circumstance may lead to an award from the Student Support Fund for students whose financial plan has been negatively impacted. 
 
A change of circumstance is an unexpected event that has occurred since the start of the current academic year and can be sufficiently evidenced. It may include: 

• Decrease in statutory or scholarship funding
• Significant decrease in family support
• Medical event
• Significant rent increase during existing contract period
• Increase in childcare costs

A change of circumstance typically does not include:

• Events that have occurred prior to the start of the current academic year
• Cost of living increases caused by inflation
• Budget shortfalls resulting from discretionary spending
• Exchange rate fluctuations
• Changes to income/expenses that are not recognised by Student Support Fund guidelines