Some four-year degree courses involve a UK-based sandwich/placement year in industry which forms an assessed part of your course. If you take a placement year, your entitlement to Student Finance England (SFE) funding will change for the 2026–27 academic year.
The information below applies only to students completing a UK work placement year in 2026–27 who are eligible for Student Finance England funding. It does not apply to ERASMUS placements or students spending a year studying abroad.
Students in the UK on a Student visa should contact Student Advice before arranging a placement year to understand how this may affect their visa. There is also a dedicated section later on this page with more guidance.
This guidance covers SFE funding only. It does not apply to Student Finance Northern Ireland, Student Finance Wales or Student Awards Agency for Scotland.
Important: All placements that form part of your course must be formally approved by the University’s Placement Team before you start. You can find contact details for and more information about the process on our work experience and placements page.
If you receive Student Finance England loans and grants
Most students on a placement year are entitled to a reduced rate Maintenance Loan and a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £1,955 for 2026–27. This applies whether your placement is paid or unpaid, unless your placement falls under one of the exceptions listed later on this page.
Maintenance Loan
During a placement year, the Maintenance Loan is paid at a reduced rate. For 2026–27, the maximum loan available is:
- £2,461 if you live at home with your parents
- £4,607 if you live away from home while attending a London university
You will receive the standard full-time rate only if your placement meets one of the exceptions.
Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant
If you began your course before September 2016 and normally receive the Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant, you will not receive these during your placement year unless your placement meets one of the exceptions.
Additional grants
If you usually receive grants such as the Parents’ Learning Allowance, Childcare Grant, or Adult Dependants’ Grant, these will not be available during your placement year unless your placement qualifies under an exception.
The Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is also not available during a placement year unless your placement meets an exception. If you normally receive DSA, it’s important to ensure you have any essential equipment in place before your placement begins and to think about how you will manage without this support. You can contact Disability Learning Support for advice.
Exceptions
You may be eligible to receive your full amount of Maintenance Loan, (and Maintenance Grant if you started applicable) and where relevant any additional grants, if your placement falls under one of the following:
Unpaid service in a hospital or in a public health service laboratory or with a clinical commissioning group in the UK
Unpaid service with a local authority in the UK acting in the exercise of its functions relating to the care of children and young persons, health or welfare, or with a voluntary organisation providing similar facilities or carrying out activities of a like nature in the UK
Unpaid service with a local authority acting in the exercise of public health functions
Unpaid service in the prison or probation and aftercare service in the UK
Unpaid research in a UK institution or in the case of a student attending an overseas institution as a part of his course in an overseas institution
Unpaid service with a Special Health Authority, the NHS Commissioning Board, the National Institute for Care and Excellence, the Health and Social Care Information Centre, a Local Health Board; a Health Board, Special Health Board or Health and Social Services Board in England or Wales, or their Scottish or Northern Irish equivalents
Unpaid service in the UK Parliament
Tuition fee liability
Please check your tuition fee charge with your Registry Office. If you are eligible to receive Student Finance England funding and are liable to pay a tuition fee for your placement year, you can apply for a Student Finance Tuition Fee Loan to cover this.
If you previously studied at degree at Higher Education level and/or have repeated a year of your current course more than once, your entitlement to receive a Tuition Fee loan will be affected. If this applies to you, please contact Student Advice to discuss your eligibility.
Student Finance England application process
Apply for your Student Finance online as normal. When asked, select ‘Placement in the UK or abroad’ and enter the name and address of your placement. If you don’t have these details yet, you can skip the step - but doing so may result in incorrect payments, so make sure you update your placement address as soon as you have it.
Apply for the appropriate Tuition Fee Loan and indicate whether you want to receive the Maintenance Loan. If your placement is unpaid and falls under one of the exceptions, you will usually need to provide evidence to receive the full-time rate of funding.
If you originally enrolled on a three-year course but have transferred to a four-year course to include a placement year, you must report this in your 2026–27 Student Finance England application. Select ‘not on exactly the same course’, enter the details of the new four-year course, and confirm that you will be on placement in terms 1, 2 and 3. Your Registry will also need to confirm this change to Student Finance England.
If you have already submitted your 2026–27 application and did not report the course change, you must call Student Finance England on 0300 100 0607 and request a Change of Circumstances form. This form is not available online, but once it has been issued to you, a copy will appear in the ‘view correspondence’ section of your online account. Complete the form and upload it to your account or return it by post.
If you decide not to take a placement year after applying for funding, both you and your Registry Office must notify Student Finance England so your funding can be reassessed.
EU students
If you are an EU/EEA national currently residing in the UK with EU Pre-Settled Status, please contact Student Advice if you are considering undertaking a placement year abroad, as longer absences from the UK may affect your future application for EU Settled Status.
EEA migrant workers
If you receive the Maintenance Loan and/or any of the additional grants based on being assessed as an EEA Migrant Worker and you stop your usual work or reduce your weekly hours to undertake your work placement year, your entitlement to continue to receive SFE funding will be affected. SFE will no longer consider you to be an EEA Migrant Worker because the work you do while on your placement will be seen as being a part of your course and ancillary. You can still apply for the SFE EU Tuition Fee Loan as an EEA national and you may be able to resume your Migrant Worker status for the following academic year. Contact Student Advice to discuss further and for advice about switching to an EU loan only for your Placement Year, if required.
Student visas and placements
Please contact Student Advice if you are a student studying at Westminster on a Student visa and are considering undertaking a placement year. There have been important changes to the immigration rules affecting students on a Student visa and undertaking placements. You must get advice from Student Advice at soon as possible if you are considering a placement year. Please ask the placements team for the separate information sheet about placements for international students.
Other financial help
If you are normally eligible for full Student Finance England funding (ie maintenance loan and tuition fee loan) you can apply to the university Living Expenses Support Scheme (LESS) during your placement year. Find out more on the LESS webpage.
If you are responsible for a child/ young person, or receive Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment, please contact Student Advice to discuss your state benefit entitlement.
Contact Student Advice if you are on a Student Visa or any other type of visa as you may not be eligible to claim state benefits and claiming could break your visa conditions.
Other issues
Council Tax
You are still considered to be a full-time student for Council Tax exemption purposes when on a placement year, so you should continue to be eligible for a Council Tax Exemption Certificate letter, available from your Registry Office or Self Service.
Income Tax and National Insurance
You may be paid a salary while on your work placement. Everyone must pay income tax and National Insurance on their earnings once their income goes over the earnings threshold and this applies to you even while you are on your placement year. The basic personal Income Tax allowance is £12,570 for the 2026–27 tax year. If you pay too much tax, you can reclaim this. Visit the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group website for more information.
Please contact Student Advice if you have further questions.