Information for students who do not take out a student loan

On this page:

• Information about student loans
• Student funding and shari'ah law
• General information for students who do not take out a student loan
• University of Sheffield funding
• Money advice

Information about student loans

What are student loans?

Undergraduate students

The UK government offers eligible undergraduate students a Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan for each year of study.  For students from England starting their studies from September 2023 onwards, the interest rate will be based on the Retail Price Index (RPI). Students from devolved nations should refer to their funding agency website for more details.

Postgraduate students 

The UK government offers loans to eligible taught and research postgraduate students. These loans are a contribution towards tuition fees and/or living costs. 

Read more about postgraduate loans, postgraduate masters scholarships, PhD loans and PhD scholarships.

Household income assessments via student finance

You may be eligible for University bursaries and scholarships. However, in order to be assessed for University support with eligibility criteria relating to household income, you do need to apply to Student Finance England (or equivalent national agency) and have your household income assessed. You are not obliged to take any loans they offer and you can apply for £0 loan but the household income assessment will be shared with us (if you have given permission to do so) so that we can check your eligibility for our funding schemes.

The information below relates to Student Finance England. If you are from a devolved nation, contact your funding agency for more information.

If you have any questions about an application or the processes outlined below, you should contact Student Finance England.

How to request a household income assessment if you haven't yet applied for any loans from student finance

If you do not have an account or have not applied for any loans from Student Finance England for the relevant academic year, you will need to make a loan application to student finance: 

• Create a student finance account online if you don’t already have one. 
• Log in to your student finance account. Create an application for the relevant academic year and complete the information required.
  • When asked whether you want to apply for a Maintenance Loan, select yes.
  • When asked if you want to be fully means tested for the maximum amount of Maintenance Loan, select yes. This prompts Student Finance England to ask for relevant details so that they can assess your household income.
  • When you are asked how much Maintenance Loan you want to borrow, request £0.
• Complete and submit your application. Using the details you have provided, student finance should then contact the relevant people in your household (your parents or partner) to submit their household income information.

How to request a household income assessment if you have already made an application to student finance

If you have an existing account and have made an application for the relevant academic year because you have taken out a Tuition Fee Loan and/or a non-means tested Maintenance Loan, you can request to change your application to means tested. You - and your parents or partner, if applicable - will need to download and complete some forms and then upload these to your student finance account. If you do not want to take out the Maintenance Loan, write in the ‘Additional notes’ section on the form that you are requesting a household income assessment for bursary/scholarship purposes only. Find out more information online:

Student Finance England - Include household income in your student finance application

You should also download a Maintenance Loan Request Form from your student finance account and complete this and upload it to your online application.

Once you have been assessed, the household income assessment will be shared with the University and we will be able to assess your eligibility for our funding schemes.

Other UK government student finance

Some elements of government student finance are not repayable and depend on your personal circumstances. These include supplementary grants for dependents or disability-related course costs. If you are assessed for support by Student Finance Wales, you may qualify for a non-repayable maintenance grant. 

You will usually need to apply for student finance to receive this support, although you are not obliged to take any of the loans that they offer (you can apply for a £0 loan). Visit your local agency website for more details:

• Student Finance England
• Student Finance Wales
• Student Finance Northern Ireland
• Student Awards Agency Scotland

Student funding and shari'ah law

Deciding whether to take out a student loan can be a confusing time for Muslim students due to differing financial rulings in Islam regarding the matter of riba (interest) in loans.

Here is some information which may help you make your decision.

Shaykh Haitham al-Haddad as well as a number of other scholars and fatwa organisations of the UK and Europe (including the European Council for Fatwa and Research) gave the ruling that it is permissible for Muslim students to take the Student Finance university fee loan, and that there is no interest involved when one does so. This also applies to taking the maintenance loan. This ruling applies regardless of whether one pays back the ‘loan’ later on or not. In neither case is interest involved, and it is therefore permissible for everyone to take the loan, even if they have plenty of money to cover their studies.

Fettah, Zahed

On Sh Haitham's Student 'Loans' Fatwa, Islam21c. 5 May 2016, (accessed 13 June 2023).

The government has published information about providing shari’ah-compliant alternative funding in future and written a blog post for parents and prospective students on alternative student finance.

As and when the government make any changes and provide shari'ah-compliant alternatives to the existing student loans in future, we will include more information on this web page.

Shari'ah-compliant funding

Some Muslim students may wish to avoid loans altogether so you may be advised to investigate alternatives, such as: interest-free loans from Islamic banks; private trusts; looking for part-time work; or utilising family resources. 

Some banks offer shari'ah-compliant accounts and loans. 

Some financial institutions have shari'ah-compliant financial services. They guarantee that money held in these accounts is not invested in industries such as gambling, alcohol or weapons manufacture.

Scholarships for British Muslims

The University of Sheffield is a preferred partner of the Aziz Foundation, a charity that offers 100% tuition fee masters scholarships to British Muslim students studying at UK universities. For more information about the scholarship programme and how to apply, visit our Aziz Foundation Scholarship web page.

Trusts and charities

If you're a Muslim student and have secured your main source of funding for your studies, you may be eligible for some additional financial help from the National Zakat Foundation. Find out if you're eligible and what you might receive on the National Zakat Foundation website.

Contact us

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this with a religious adviser, contact Ameena Blake, Muslim Chaplain, by email at ameena.blake@sheffield.ac.uk.

Belief, No Belief and Religious (BNBR) Life Centre: Find a chaplain/adviser

General information for students who do not take out a student loan

It is really important to consider your funding options if you do not wish to take out a student loan, in order to ensure that you can pay your tuition fees and living costs.

Welfare 

If you're entitled to claim welfare benefits as a student, the office assessing your benefit claim may assume you have taken your UK government student finance loan entitlement and reduce your benefit entitlement accordingly. Check with your relevant local Citizens Advice for more information.

Citizens Advice

If you are a prospective student with an offer or a current student, you may also wish to speak with someone from the Student Advice Centre. You can also refer to the advice that they provide online.

Student Advice Centre - Benefits

Interest-free overdrafts 

Most UK banks offer student accounts for undergraduates who have a maintenance loan. These accounts are interest-free, up to a specified limit and dependent on your credit history. The bank may want to see evidence of your maintenance loan before opening an account.

Alternative sources of funding

More information about alternative sources of funding can be found on our web pages.

Additional funding for undergraduate study

Additional funding for postgraduate study

University of Sheffield funding

The University of Sheffield Bursary Scheme/Experience Sheffield Scholarship (ESS)/Access to Sheffield Scholarships

To be eligible for the main University bursaries and scholarships, which are especially designed to support undergraduate students from a widening participation background, we will need confirmation of your household income. If you do not wish to take out a loan, you can still apply for a household income assessment to be carried out by Student Finance England (or equivalent regional funding body) and request a £0 loan - this allows us to assess your eligibility for either scheme without you receiving any loan.

University of Sheffield Bursary Scheme

Experience Sheffield Scholarships (student login required)

Access to Sheffield Scholarships

Financial Support Fund

If you are experiencing financial difficulties once you have started your studies due to unforeseen costs, then you may be eligible to apply for additional support via the University support fund. 

Apply to the Financial Support Fund (student login required)

Money advice

If you have concerns about the level of funding available to you and how you can manage your budget, you can make an appointment with a money adviser in the Student Advice Centre. Both prospective students with an offer and current students can seek advice.

You can email advice@sheffield.ac.uk or visit in person on Level 3 of the Students’ Union.