Personal Funding Options | National Careers Service

Funding advice

Search by personal circumstances

You'll find that a lot of the eligibility rules about funding are to do with your personal circumstances. Qualification for funding can depend on things like how much money you've got coming in or if you have children. You can search here to find the circumstances relevant to you. Each funding scheme has a link for more information, usually to our partner Directgov's pages.

Where the funding is for one specific level of course, one of the following letters will be in brackets:

FE - Further education (which can also include training courses, entry level courses and community learning)
HE - Higher education
PG - Postgraduate

Funding sources with no letters in brackets are not tied to any particular level of course.

Whatever your circumstances

• Educational Grants Advisory Service site
• Professional and Career Development Loan

I've got disabilities

• Discretionary Learner Support (FE)
• Disabled Students' Allowances (HE)
• Professional and Career Development Loan

I'm in work

• Getting training at work

I want to improve my basic skills

• Free courses

I'm studying for my first level 2 or 3 qualification

• Free courses
• Discretionary Learner Support

I want to study away from home

• Help if you're studying away from home (FE)

I want to do a dance or drama course

• Dance and Drama Awards

I'm claiming benefits

• Free courses
• Jobseeker's Allowance
• The Work Programme

I've got children

• Discretionary Learner Support (FE)
• Care to Learn (FE)
• Childcare Grant (HE)
• Parents' Learning Allowance (HE)
• Access to Learning Fund (HE)
• Tax Credits
• Professional and Career Development Loan

I'm a jobseeker

• Jobseeker's Allowance
• The Work Programme

I'm on a course and in financial difficulties

• Discretionary Learner Support (FE)
• Access to Learning Fund (HE)
• 16-19 Bursary Fund

I want to retrain

• Professional and Career Development Loan
• Discretionary Learner Support

I want to know what the standard finance package for university study is

• Eligibility rules (HE)
• Tuition fees and other expenses (HE)
• Maintenance Grant and Special Support Grant (HE)
• Student loans (HE)
• Bursaries, scholarships and other awards (HE)

I want to study for a degree part-time

• Finance for part-time students (HE)

I want to go to university and there's an adult that depends on me financially

• Adult Dependants' Grant (HE)

I want to train to be a teacher

• Initial Teacher Training: Student Loans, grants and bursaries (HE)

I want to do a health care or social work course

• NHS and social work students (HE and PG)

I want to fund a postgraduate course

• Financing your postgraduate course - an overview (PG)