Your tuition fees
Information on fees and payment schedules can be found on our UCSE Policies page. There are different fees for home and international students. Our individual course pages will shown the cost of the course for Home students. Course costs are subject to an annual increase.
The amount of financial support that you will eligible to access will depend on the programme you choose and if it is a full-time or part-time course. It will also depend whether you are a home, or an EU/International student.
Funding your university-level course
Most students can access government financial support to help cover the cost of their higher education studies.
Step 1: Find out what funding is available
Visit Student Finance England to explore the financial support you may be entitled to: gov.uk/student-finance. You can also use the student finance calculator to estimate how much funding you could receive.
Step 2: Understand the types of support available
Tuition fee loan
A tuition fee loan helps cover the cost of your course.
- Available through Student Finance England
- Paid directly to the university
- Covers your tuition fees
Maintenance loan
A maintenance loan helps with your day-to-day living costs while you study.
- Available through Student Finance England
- Usually paid directly into your bank account in three instalments each year
- Can be used towards accommodation, food, travel and course materials
Step 3: Check your eligibility
To qualify for a tuition fee loan, you must meet eligibility requirements relating to:
- Your UK residency status
- The university or college you are studying at
- The course you are taking
- Any previous higher education study - If you already hold a higher education qualification and are applying for one of our undergraduate programmes, you may not be eligible for additional tuition fee loan funding.
- Visit www.gov.uk/browse/education/student-finance
Step 4: Apply for student finance
Once you've checked your eligibility, submit your application through Student Finance England.
If you need more information, reach out to our UCSE friendly support staff by emailing HESupport@southessex.ac.uk
Higher Education Support Fund
Your success matters to us. If unexpected financial difficulties are creating barriers to your studies, our Student Success Funds may be able to help, giving you the support you need to continue your university journey with confidence.
Applying for student finance
We have created the following document to help you understand more about the process of applying for student finance.
Advice and guidance
Our higher education support team is on-hand to provide advice and guidance on issues relating to study costs and financial support, including hardship funding.
Prior to starting your course, it is advisable to work out if this is financially viable, especially if you plan to give up work, or will lose benefits that you were previously eligible for. Before you do this you are advised to speak to the benefits agency to see how your benefits may be affected by enrolling onto a higher education course.
University Centre South Essex works with The Money Charity to assist students in understanding and managing their budgets. We recommend that you use their budget builder to help you prepare for university. Use their online tool to help you.
Additional costs to consider
A summary of the costs that students may need to budget for, while studying a course at the University Centre South Essex are listed here
Our University Centre South Essex sites provide access to a wide range of specialist facilities, equipment, software and technician support. This enables students to successfully complete their studies without the need for significant personal investment in equipment, unless they choose to do so.
While we work hard to keep additional costs to a minimum, some courses may involve extra expenses that are not covered by tuition fees. These may include optional activities, trips, materials or other course-related costs. A summary of the costs you may need to budget for is provided below.
As with most universities, practice-based courses typically incur higher additional costs than primarily classroom-based subjects.
Most course books and a wide range of magazines and journals are available in the library. Students do not need to have their own copies, but if they wish to, students should budget up to £200 over the course to buy them.
Most courses have some specialist material available for students to use, however students will need to budget for the cost of specialist materials, equipment, stationary and printing beyond that provided. This spend will be between £50–£300 per year depending on individual requirements.
Specialist equipment is provided to cover essential learning, with access to computers and necessary software across our University Centre, however some students may choose to buy their own specialist equipment. These may include cameras, or computers and software. Budgets can range from £50–£2,000. Buying specialist equipment is best undertaken in consultation with academic and/or technical staff. The amount spent will depend on individual choices but this expenditure is not essential to pass any of our courses.
Students will receive a printer allowance for standard A4/A3 printing each Academic Year, some courses, for example Photography, may incur higher costs which are not included in the allowance (up to £500 based on previous student experience) when printing and framing images of professional standard for public presentation.
On Engineering courses students are required to bring their own Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Costs in the final year of study on a creative course are very likely to be higher than in earlier years as students bring together their final body of work and portfolio, students may need to budget between £200 and £1,000.
Final-year graduation shows are opportunities to present your final, independent project work to the public. Practice-based courses will typically incur higher costs. Depending on the specific nature of the final project students may need to budget between £20–£1,000.
Students on placement will normally incur additional transport costs dependent on the location of the placement. These will need to be covered by the student.
For students on BA (Hons) Counselling, students will required to pay a sum for 30 hours of personal therapy, a sum for clinical supervision, a sum for appropriate personal indemnity insurance, and a sum for required membership of an industry regulatory body. Students on placement may also be required to pay a sum for an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
For most courses there will be the opportunity to attend field trips and off-site visits, for example to galleries, exhibitions, and studios, museums of relevance to the curriculum, relevant exhibitions or conferences, court visits etc. These are optional and are not required to pass the course. The nature of the costs vary from provisions for a packed-lunch to flight and accommodation costs for international field trips.* The amount spent would be based on location and number of trips taken, and typically range between £30 and £1500 across the duration of the course. Students attending theatre performances will normally be asked to pay for the cost of their ticket.
Information on additional costs for trips will be displayed on the fees and funding section on UCSE course pages.