Apply for a student loan for your study abroad or placement year

You can apply for a tuition fee loan while studying abroad or on a work placement and a maintenance loan to help with costs.

How to apply

Apply for your student loan through your national student finance organisation:

If you're an SFE student with more than one work placement or will split a year between study and placement, it may be easier to download and complete a paper form.

If you're an SFW, SFNI or SAAS student, download a form from your loan provider's website.

What you'll need to provide

To complete your student loan application, you'll need to include the following information:

Course year (the year you are applying for, not the current year)
New course title (if you have transferred course)
New graduation date (if your course has been extended to include the placement year)
Where you'll live for each term (i.e. with parents or elsewhere)
What you'll be doing for each term (i.e. study abroad or work placement)
Whether you will be part of an Erasmus+ programme (depends on continuation of this scheme)
Where your placement will be (i.e. abroad or UK) (work placements only)
Paid or unpaid, and, if unpaid, the type of placement (work placements only)
Name and address of the company (non-Erasmus work placements only)

If you're a British Council Language Assistant (BCLA) you should complete the loan application as if you are on work placement.

Evidence the Student Loans Company needs

Your loan provider does not need evidence that you will be abroad or on a work placement when you apply for your funding.

Evidence will only be required after you applied if:

You apply for a Travel Grant
You are on an unpaid special case work placement

Travel Grants

Your study abroad details will be confirmed by the university if you're an SFE student. If you're a SFW, SNFI or SAAS student, download a Course Abroad form from their website or contact them to request a form.

Unpaid special case work placements

If your unpaid work placement is a special case work placement listed on the application form (for students who are not studying a Social Work or Medicine course), you must email placement-funding@leeds.ac.uk with:

Your name
Your student ID number
The name and address of your employer
Charity number (if applicable)
Your job title and brief description of main duties
Your placement year start and end dates, and which category the placement fits

We will write to your loan provider to confirm your placement details. You may receive a higher level of funding if your loan provider approves the request.

Registering with the University

You still need to register with the University of Leeds. Register online through Minerva from August 1.

You must register to be covered by the University’s insurance.

Find out more about registration.

If you're already on a course that includes study abroad or work placement (UK or abroad)

Complete your student loan application with the details of where you'll be during the year.

If you changed your course to include study abroad or work placement (UK or abroad)

If you've transferred to a course that includes a placement year, you must ask your department for a Change of Programme form, then complete and sign it to ensure your records are updated.

Inform your loan provider if you need funding for your placement year.

If your loan provider has brough forward your application from the previous year

You must change the course title to the new course you have transferred to. You will need to provide details in the sections of the form indicating where you will be and what you will be doing for the placement year.

If your loan provider has not rolled forward your application from the previous year

You will need to complete a full application. Enter the title of the new course you are on the new graduation date, and complete the sections related to your placement year.

If you need to make changes to your application

You can change your course title or course length in your online account in the SFE portal up until the start of the academic year.

After the start of the academic year, email the Funding team at placement-funding@leeds.ac.uk.

If you're an early starter (SFE)

We can request that the first instalment of your maintenance loan be paid early if the first day of term at your host university is earlier than the first day of term at Leeds by five weeks or more.

How to request an early payment

Email placement-funding@leeds.ac.uk to request an early payment.

You'll need to provide:

Your name, Leeds student ID number, and course title
Name and address of the organisation you'll be working for
Start date and end date (this can be an approximate date - the exact end date can be confirmed later)

SFE will contact you directly if they approve this request.

Otherwise, expect to receive the first instalment of your maintenance loan around the last week of August. The remaining payments will align with the University of Leeds term dates.

You must be abroad in person to be eligible for the abroad rate loan and an early payment. You will receive the UK loan rate if you study remotely from the UK at the host institution.

Study abroad loan instalments

We'll request these loan release instalments:

China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Russia or Taiwan: One instalment
Other countries outside of Europe: Two instalments
Countries in Europe: Three instalments

One and two instalment payments will only be scheduled and released once you have arrived abroad.

How withdrawing from your studies affects loan instalments

If you suspend or withdraw from your course once you receive a maintenance payment, the amount will be deducted from next year's funding.

If you received 50% or 100% of the loan at the start of the course, it could substantially reduce your future funding depending on when you cease to be a registered student.

For more information, view our Changes in Circumstances page.

The payment schedule on the SFE portal will continue to show the payment dates and instalments linked to University of Leeds term dates. If you received an email from SFE with an early payment date and/or 1 or 2 instalments, this confirms the actual details of your payments.

Work placement UK early starter

We can request that the first instalment of your maintenance loan be paid early if the first day of work placement is earlier than the first day of term at Leeds by five weeks or more.

Requesting an early payment

Send a letter to your loan provider to request an early payment. For SFE, write to:

Financial Hardship Team
Student Loans Company
Memphis Building
Lingfield Point
Darlington
PO Box 120
DL1 1AS

Your request will only be considered if you can demonstrate that you'll be in financial hardship if you don't get your first maintenance loan payment early.

In your letter, you should include copies of the following documents:

A letter from your employer on headed paper stating your start date or a copy of your contract with the start date.
One month's bank statement for all accounts in your name.
Evidence of any expenditure and financial outlay you will have (e.g. deposit/rent, travel expenses, etc.).
Send evidence to SFE that you have applied for the University of Leeds Financial Assistance Fund.

For help or advice, email the Student Funding team at placement-funding@leeds.ac.uk.

Contact your loan provider for advice if you don't receive a loan from SFE.

If your work placement is in London

If you intend to live and work in London (but not with your parents), you should be eligible for the London rate of student loan. You must:

Provide the address and postcode of your employer on the loan application form to be assessed by SFE for the London rate.
Update the contact address in the 'Your Profile' section of your SFE online account with the London address you'll be living at whilst working.
Both addresses must be in the EC, WC, N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW postcode areas.

Studying abroad for one term

Your place won't be confirmed until January/February of the academic year in which you're going abroad.

The SFE-approved advice is to apply for your student loan as though you will be at Leeds for the whole year, then let your loan company know about the term abroad when your School confirms it.

Your School will also let the Funding team and your loan provider know your term abroad details. Once your loan provider has been advised, they'll reassess your maintenance loan. You may get a small increase or be eligible for a Travel Grant.

What to do if you've transferred to a new course

If you've transferred onto a course to include a study or work placement (an INT or IND course), you must change the course title on your student loan application.

Watch a video from SFE on YouTube about changing to a new university for guidance. The information you'll need to amend is the Course Title by adding INT for study or IND for work to the end.

Authorising us to talk to your loan provider while you're away

We can speak to your loan provider on your behalf if you've set up a Professional Password.

We strongly advise you set one up before you travel, even if you don't intend to use it.

Set up a Professional Password

Call your student loan provider and follow these steps:

Ask to set up a Professional Password.
Let them know who the password is for: A Higher Education Provider
Give them the University address: University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9JT
Give them a secure password and keep a note of it for yourself

If you need support while you're away, email the Funding team at placement-funding@leeds.ac.uk and give us your password. We'll be able to talk with your loan provider and help resolve any issues.