Funding for postgraduate teacher training

Eligibility

Your tuition fees and any other bursary or financial support depend on your status as a home, European Union (EU) or overseas student.

Find out more information about EU or overseas status.

All grants and bursaries are subject to conditions and you are not guaranteed funding, but you may be eligible for financial support.

Tuition fee loan

If you are on a postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) course, you will have to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees vary depending on the course and the higher education institution (HEI) or school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) provider. You should contact the HEI or SCITT provider of the course or programme you are interested in directly.

For full details of available courses and providers, you can search for a postgraduate course. In most cases, you need to apply for SCITT courses through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR), although some SCITT providers require direct applications. See a list of SCITT providers.

Home and EU students may be eligible for a tuition fee loan to cover the cost of tuition fees charged. This is available through Student Finance England. More information on the tuition fee loan can be found on Directgov.

Training bursary

Trainees may be entitled to a tax free bursary from the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). The size of the bursary depends on when you start training and what subject you train to teach.

Here are the new training bursary rates for eligible postgraduate trainee teachers starting eligible postgraduate ITT courses on or after 1 August 2010:

Tax free bursary amount: £9,000:

• Physics
• Chemistry
• Engineering
• Design and technology (including food technology)
• ICT
• Manufacturing
• Mathematics
• Diploma - Information technology
• Diploma - Engineering
• Diploma - Construction and the built environment
• Diploma - Environment and land based studies
• Diploma - Manufacturing and product design

Tax free bursary amount: £6,000:

• Biology
• Combined/general science
• Other sciences
• Music
• Religious education
• English
• Geography
• Modern languages

Tax free bursary amount: £4,000:

• Art and design
• Business studies
• Citizenship
• Health and social care
• History
• Leisure and tourism
• Classics
• Dance
• Drama
• Media Studies
• Social Sciences
• Physical education
• Psychology
• Diploma - Business, administration and finance
• Diploma - Creative and media
• Diploma - Society, health and personal development
• Diploma - Travel and tourism
• Primary

You usually apply for your tax free bursary from your HEI or SCITT provider as part of your course induction. After you start your course, your HEI or SCITT provider should take you through the process of applying for your bursary. Your HEI or SCITT provider will then pay you your bursary directly.

To be eligible for a training bursary, you must be a home or EU trainee on a TDA funded course and be eligible for student support. More information on the eligibility for student support can be found on Directgov.

Contact your training provider for more information, or call the Teaching Information Line on 0845 6000 991.

Student loan for maintenance

Home students in England may also be eligible for a student maintenance loan to help towards accommodation and other living costs. This is available through Student Finance England. More information on the student loan for maintenance can be found on Directgov.

Maintenance grant

Home students in England may also be eligible for a non repayable maintenance grant. This grant will be means tested and you can apply through Student Finance England. More details about these grants and the funding arrangements for trainees from the EU can be found at Directgov.

Golden hellos

Home and EU students could also be eligible to receive a payment of either £2,500 or £5,000 from the TDA if you complete a postgraduate ITT course and take up a permanent position teaching the subject you trained to teach in.

Find out more about golden hellos.