These FAQs are here to help you find the information you need, when you need it, but you can always contact AskBU if you’d like to talk to someone in person, by phone or email, or if you have feedback about the FAQs.
I am repeating a year of study - can I still get funding?
Undergraduate students
If you need to repeat a year of your course, you can still apply for full-time student finance funding. Do not apply for part-time funding, even if you're taking fewer modules than usual, as you are not eligible for this.
You are normally entitled to funding for the standard length of your course plus one extra year. This is sometimes called a 'gift year', a '+1 year' or an 'additional year'. The gift year can be used to fund a repeat year of study.
If you repeat a year of your course more than once or you’ve previously studied on a higher education course and received funding in the past, you may have used your gift year of funding already. This means that you will not be entitled to receive a Tuition Fee Loan for your repeat year and will have to pay your own tuition fee. You will continue to be eligible for the Maintenance Loan, and grants for dependants and disabilities, if applicable.
There is an exception to this rule: If you are repeating the year because Compelling Personal Reasons (CPR) affected your study (for example, illness or bereavement), Student Finance may, at their discretion, award an extra year of funding to you. This extra year of funding would include the Tuition Fee Loan.
To be considered for this extra year, you will need to provide SFE with evidence of the circumstances that caused you to repeat and ask them to consider this. You should do this once you have made your funding application for the next year of your course.
You can also apply for a CPR year of funding retrospectively. For example, if you have already used your gift year to fund a repeat year but CPR caused the repeat, you can ask SFE to backdate a CPR year. If agreed, this would release your gift year to be used for your current repeat year instead. This is very useful especially if you cannot provide CPR evidence for your current repeat year.
For more advice, you can contact Student Finance on 0300 100 0607 or contact AskBU.
Postgraduate students
Postgraduate student finance is a fixed award, regardless of how many years of study you undertake. Therefore you would not receive any further funding if you extend your course. You can still apply for additional financial support through BU.
For more advice, you can contact Student Finance on 0300 100 0031 or contact AskBU.
Please also see our What Happens If I Need to Repeat a Unit page for more information including the practical, academic, financial and visa implications of repeat study.