Funding Medicine MBBS
Funding
MBBS and BDS as a first degree
Years 1-4: you will be able to apply for the same package of Student Finance and Queen Mary Bursaries as students on other courses.
Year 5 and beyond: the NHS will pay the tuition fee (non income assessed). For your living costs you can get a £1000 NHS grant (non income assessed), and you can apply for an income assessed NHS Bursary for living costs (in 2012/13 this was up to £3392 for students living away from home).
You will also be able to apply to Student Finance England for a non income assessed reduced rate Maintenance Loan. In 2013/14 this is £2498 for final year students living away from home. You will not be eligible for a Queen Mary Bursary.
Living and other costs
On top of your tuition fees, you will have several other major expenses to budget for. The largest and most essential of these costs is probably your accommodation. On the plus side, our location in the east of London means cheaper rents than elsewhere in London. Other expenses to take into consideration are: travel, food and drink, phone bills, social activities, course books and clothes.
UCAS provides a useful budget calculator.
You can download a guide to planning a personal budget, including a guide to living costs.
It is important for you to balance your income and expenditure in advance. Depending on your lifestyle, living in London for a year will normally cost you on average £9,500 (excluding tuition fees) at 2010-11 prices. You should allow at least an additional £1,500 for each dependant. Bear in mind that a full 52-week year will cost more.
International students can find more detailed information on the cost of living in London and how to plan finances.
Financial support for Home and EU students
Students who are UK residents should apply as early as possible to Student Finance England (or equivalent in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), who will determine your eligibility for a:
- tuition fee loan
- maintenance loan
- maintenance grant.
If you are a non-UK national of the European Union you can apply to the Student Finance EU Team for a loan to pay your tuition fees.
The loan for tuition fees is not available to undergraduate students from outside the EU. Some EU nationals are entitled to the full package of Student Finance that is available to UK students, and which includes funding for living costs in additional to a tuition fee loan. For more information, see: www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/documents/leaflets/funding/39689.pdf
You start to pay your tuition fee loan back after completing your degree, once you are earning more than £21,000 a year. You should apply for Student Finance once you have applied to university – you do not need to wait until you have an offer or have decided where to study. Entitlement to Student Finance is subject to residence, immigration status and previous study criteria. Contact the Advice and Counselling Service at Queen Mary for advice about your eligibility.
For detailed information about all the different elements of Student Finance you can receive, additional sources of funding, information for graduates and information about NHS-funded years of study, see: www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/documents/leaflets/funding/39689.pdf
You may also find it helpful to visit: https://www.gov.uk/browse/education/student-finance
Confidential advice
If you would like individual confidential advice about your eligibility for funding, planning your budget or any other financial or practical issue, please contact the Advice and Counselling Service at Queen Mary: www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk
You are welcome to use this service if you are considering applying to Queen Mary.
Queen Mary bursaries
Queen Mary offers student bursaries to help with the costs of higher education. These bursaries are aimed at students from lower-income households. The amount of the bursary you receive each year will depend on your household income which is assessed during your application for UK Government Financial Support. Please note that all international students and those EU nationals who are only eligible for a tuition fee loan will not be eligible for a Queen Mary bursary. To find out if you are eligible, see: http://www.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/feesandfunding/
Queen Mary and Westfield Alumni student bursaries
We offer two annual student bursaries worth £3,000 (£1,000 for each of the three years) to eligible students who have received their secondary education in the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney or the City of London.
Barts and The London Alumni Association student bursary
The Geoffrey Flavell Student Bursary of £2,000 over three years is awarded annually to one eligible student studying for an MBBS medical qualification. The award provides £1,000 in the first year and two subsequent instalments of £500 each.
Aldgate and Allhallows foundation scholarships
The Aldgate and Allhallows foundation provides scholarships over the duration of the course to undergraduate entrants who are permanent residents of either the City of London or the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Candidates must also meet other specific eligibility criteria regarding age and means of support.
The John Abernethy (Barts) Scholarship
To encourage applications from students in financial hardship who would benefit from the MBBS programme, the trustees of St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College Trust are pleased to offer these new scholarships to two new medical students and one new dental student each year. The John Abernethy (Barts) Scholarships, named after the founder of the Barts Medical College, will be worth £3,500 for each of the five years of the course – subject to the holders’ satisfactory progress each year. The scholarships have been designed to assist students who, despite exceptional academic ability and their aptitude for a medical or dental career, might not be able to undertake the course for financial reasons. All students who enrol in the School of Medicine and Dentistry are considered for the scholarships, which are awarded on the basis of household income (which is reviewed annually) and the attainment of at least three grade ‘A’ A-levels taken in the same sitting. Students’ performance in their Fundamentals of Medicine / Dental Module (at the end of their first term) will also be a major criterion.
You do not have to apply formally to be considered for one of these prestigious scholarships. Instead, the School of Medicine and Dentistry will receive the relevant financial and academic information after you have enrolled and, depending on the Fundamentals of Medicine / Dental results, will recommend the two best medical students and one best dental student who also meet the financial requirements to the trustees for their approval. Additionally, the School will report annually to the trustees on the scholarship holders’ academic performance.
For further details and eligibility criteria, visit: http://www.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/feesandfunding/tuitionfees/bursaries/index.html
Access to Learning Fund (ALF)
Each year the government gives the College money to help students in financial hardship. To apply to the ALF you must have taken out your maximum maintenance loan entitlement. You can apply to the ALF for help towards the difference between your income and basic expenses. You can also apply for help if you have a sudden financial emergency or special circumstances or costs that other students might not have. You do not normally have to repay a payment from the ALF. The amounts available to students through the ALF are strictly limited, and the Fund can in no way be regarded as a substitute for other finance.
Hardship funds
The Barts and The London Alumni Association Benevolent Funds also offer grants and loans to medical and dental students in financial hardship, and bursaries to students undertaking final-year electives, on the recommendation of the appropriate committees of the School. Donations from generations of former students have made it possible to offer such assistance.
Part-time jobs
East London will provide you with plenty of opportunities to work and earn extra money during your studies. However, the School would not recommend that you spend more than 15 hours a week in paid employment, so as not to have a detrimental impact on your studies. International students may also be eligible to work in the UK. If you are registered on a full-time course of six months or longer, then you will be eligible to work for a maximum of 20 hours per week during term time. Queen Mary’s comprehensive Careers team provides information, advice and guidance on searching for part-time jobs. Many part-time jobs are paid close to the minimum wage, which from October 2013 is £6.31 per hour if you are 21 or over, and £5.03 if you are aged 18-20. Many employers pay more than the minimum wage. If you work 15 hours per week and are aged 18, this would generate an income of at least £75.45per week, which could cover food and/or social activities (although there will be deductions for income tax if you work during term time). Do not forget, you also have a summer break, a portion of which you could spend in full-time employment and give your Student Finance a significant boost.
For information about part-time work, including income tax rules for students, see: www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/documents/leaflets/working/5002.pdf
For details of the minimum wage, see: https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/tax-minimum-wage
Further advice
The Advice and Counselling Service at Queen Mary offers detailed advice and guidance on all the aspects of student finance, and more. It also offers advice to international students about all the financial, practical and immigration related aspects of studying at Queen Mary.
Contact the Advice and Counselling Service on:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8717
www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk