Thank you for your interest in MPAS Physician Associate Studies at St George’s, University of London. We hope that the following information will assist in your planning for the course by clarifying the financial support available.
A note for EU students commencing study after August 2021
EU, EEA and Swiss national students who are starting their studies in the UK after August 2021 should be aware that there are important changes to the national tuition fee regulations and student finance eligibility criteria. Many EU students will no longer be eligible for home fee status or student finance, although there will be some exceptions.
Please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students for further details.
All EU, EEA and Swiss national students who are considering starting a course in academic year 2023/24 are advised to check their eligibility with Student Finance England as soon as possible.
Funding guide
Most of this information relates to students who are ordinarily resident in England. Different rules apply if you normally live in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales. Please contact the relevant funding body for advice:
Northern Ireland: www.studentfinanceni.co.uk, Scotland: www.saas.gov.uk, Wales: www.studentfinancewales.co.uk
Students need to have their finances arranged in advance of joining their programme. Before enrolling you should plan how you will pay your tuition fees and support your living costs for the duration of the course. Physician Associate Studies is an intensive full-time programme and students can therefore find it challenging to maintain part time work during term time, so please take this into account when planning your finances.
The Postgraduate Master’s Loan is designed to be a contribution towards the cost of undertaking a Master’s course (more details below). Even with a successful application for this, students will need to plan how they will supplement this funding with income from other sources.
All prospective and current students are advised to complete an online budget plan using a site such as https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-budgeting-planner/ or https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/budgeting.
Tuition fees
- Home – £11,500 for academic year 2023/24
- International – £23,000 for academic year 2023/24
Please note that tuition fees are liable to increase each academic year
Home tuition fees will increase in line with Government thresholds
International tuition fees are determined by various factors including any significant changes to the course and the rate of inflation at the time of consideration. Tuition fees will not normally increase by more than 5% each year, except when the underlying rate of inflation is significantly higher than that.
Students are expected to have their finances arranged in advance of joining their programme and should make themselves familiar with the St George’s Tuition Fee Policy. Those students paying their own tuition fees (including those with a Postgraduate Master’s Loan, which is paid to the student) must ensure that they make payment to the University in adherence to the St George’s Tuition Fee Policy.
Tuition fee payment can be made online at https://epay.sgul.ac.uk/fees/ (students) or https://epay.sgul.ac.uk/open (parents or sponsors). If you have any questions about making a tuition fee payment to the University please contact our Accounts Receivable team at acco-rec@sgul.ac.uk.
All students whose tuition fees will be fully or partially paid by an external sponsor (an overseas government or the Army, for example), or who will be using a Postgraduate Master’s Loan towards their fees should email a PDF copy of their sponsorship or payment schedule letter(s) to studentfinance@sgul.ac.uk after they have attended their enrolment session and at the beginning of each subsequent academic year.
If you are classified as an international student for fees purposes you should be aware that this fee status will not change during your course except in exceptional circumstances (if you were granted refugee status, for example). If you feel that you have been incorrectly classified as an international student, please contact the Admissions department prior to enrolment at admissions@sgul.ac.uk to request a review of the assessment.
HEE tuition fee support
The MPAS Physician Associate Studies course team have advised that Health Education England will be providing £5,100 tuition fee support for students starting this course in academic year 2023/24.
Students do not need to apply for this. The HEE funding is split across the two years and the St George’s Finance department will adjust eligible students’ tuition fee accounts in order to deduct £2,550 from each academic year’s fee.
Postgraduate Master's Loan
MPAS Physician Associate Studies is designated for the Postgraduate Master’s Loan. Students are advised to make enquiries with the Student Finance England Postgraduate Loan team regarding their eligibility.
Students who start a full standalone Master’s course in 2023/24 can apply for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan of up to £12,167 to contribute to tuition fees and/or living costs. The total loan is divided equally across each year of the course. Payments for each year are made directly to the student in termly instalments.
Eligibility depends on various factors including:
- whether you have studied a postgraduate course before
- your course
- your age
- your nationality or residency status
For more details please visit https://www.gov.uk/masters-loan. You can also contact the Student Finance England Postgraduate Master’s Loan team on 0300 100 0031.
Other sources of funding
It is important to note that even those students who make a successful application for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan will also need to have secured other sources of financial support for the duration of their course. Examples of such sources are; savings, part time and vacation employment, contributions from family/friends where appropriate, scholarships or external bursaries. This list is by no means exhaustive and students are encouraged to research the sources of financial support available to them well in advance of joining their programme.
The following websites include details of charities and other funding organisations and should be helpful as a starting point for research into external funding options:
St George's also subscribes to The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding. This guide is compiled by two former PhD students and features details of hundreds of alternative funding providers and charities, plus lots of information and advice about how to make an application. If you would like to request a PDF copy of this guide please email us at studentfinance@sgul.ac.uk.
St George’s Access to Learning Fund
The St George’s Access to Learning Fund (ALF) provides discretionary financial assistance to Undergraduate and Postgraduate home (UK) students experiencing financial hardship.
Applications can be accepted from fully registered and enrolled home students (students cannot apply before commencing the course). Those students who need financial help to meet essential costs that cannot be met from other sources of support, and those who may be considering leaving Higher Education because of financial problems are particularly encouraged to apply. The ALF can also help to alleviate unexpected financial hardship.
Financial assistance from the ALF is usually non-repayable, however interest-free emergency short term loans may also be available. Please note that the ALF cannot help with paying for tuition fees. Students must be in receipt of all government funding available to them before applying to the ALF.
St George’s EU & International Hardship Fund
St George’s has funding available for full-time Undergraduate and Postgraduate EU and International students who experience financial hardship due to unexpected circumstances which are beyond their control.
Applications can be accepted from fully registered and enrolled students (students cannot apply before commencing the course).
Financial assistance from the EU & International Hardship Fund is usually non-repayable, however interest-free emergency short term loans may also be available. Please note that the Fund cannot help with paying for tuition fees. In order to apply, students need to be able to demonstrate that they had secured sufficient funding to study and live in the UK prior to commencing the course, and that the financial hardship experienced is due to unexpected events.
Budgeting and Advice
Whether you are living away from home for the first time, returning to study, or juggling university with family life, it can be easy to find yourself spending more than you have coming in. It is really important to plan your finances and budget carefully before and during the course in order to maximise the money available to you and ensure that you do not run out of funds mid-term. We have put together some tips below to help get you started.
Before starting your course:
- Use the Student Finance Calculator at https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator to work out how much student finance you will be entitled to.
- Put together a budget plan at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-budgeting-planner/.
- Save as much as possible.
- Look for part-time work. Whilst part-time work should not be given priority over your studies, it can provide a welcome break from studying as well as supplementing your income. If working and studying during term-time is not an option, you may wish to consider working during your holiday periods.
Once you have started your course:
- Share the cooking - whether you live in halls or in a shared house, it is cheaper to cook together in a group, and bringing in a packed lunch will save you money. Supermarkets are often the cheapest place to go for your weekly shop. Tooting also has a large fruit and vegetable market which is well worth a visit.
- If you are living in private rented accommodation, contact the Student Life Centre once you are fully registered and enrolled to request a Council Tax exemption letter to submit to the Local Authority.
- Shop around for the best mobile phone deals.
- Apply for the 18+ Student Oyster Card at https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/18-plus-student-oyster-photocard . You will need your 7 digit St George’s student number to apply. The online TfL application will need to be approved by the University after you are fully registered and enrolled on the course.
- Apply for a 16-25 Railcardat http://www.16-25railcard.co.uk/. Full time students aged over 25 can also apply for this.
- Use www.saynoto0870.com to search for local rate numbers. You can avoid calling premium rate numbers for many national companies by using this website.
- Visit www.moneysavingexpert.com/students for some useful tips on how to make your student funding stretch that bit further.
Student Finance Advice
We hope that this information is helpful and clarifies all the funding available. If you have any questions about funding for the course, or about any other financial matters, please do not hesitate to contact us at studentfinance@sgul.ac.uk.
The information contained in this page relates to 2023/24 entry and is correct at the time of writing.
St George’s, University of London makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all published information, however it cannot accept any responsibility for omissions, errors or subsequent changes that may occur.
This document is a general guide, and there may be changes following publication that affect its contents.