This four-part blog series is intended to help MSPs and their staff with queries they receive on student support eligibility and entitlements. It covers support for college and university students at all course levels, signposting readers to further relevant information.
This blog looks at available funding and who qualifies for funding.
Other blogs in the series cover:
- Support for Further Education (FE) students
- Support for Higher Education (HE) students
- Benefits and student loan repayment
Student support eligibility
Students studying in Scotland may be eligible for financial support to help with tuition fees and living costs.
The support a student is entitled to depends on factors including:
- Residency: Students must meet general residence conditions to qualify for tuition fee and living cost support.
- Course level: Further Education (FE) college courses and Higher Education (HE) courses at colleges and universities have different financial support entitlements.
- Course studied: Students studying certain courses such as nursing, midwifery and paramedic science are entitled to bursary support.
- Household income: Bursary and/or loan support entitlement depends on household income.
General residence conditions
To qualify for support with tuition fees and living costs, Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) students must meet general residence conditions. These are set out in the Student Support (Scotland) Regulations 2022 (the 2022 Regulations).
Applicants must:
- be ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date (usually the first day of the first year of a course); and
- have been ordinarily resident in the UK in the three years prior;
- have settled status in the UK; or
- have a relevant connection to Scotland (i.e. a spouse, civil partner or child of a qualifying person with settled status in the UK).
Definition of ‘ordinarily resident’
The Scottish Government expects someone who is ordinarily resident in Scotland to have made their home in Scotland with the intention of staying and living here. Those who have moved here for the purpose of full-time study are not considered ordinarily resident.
The 2022 Regulations set out:
… a person who is resident in Scotland on the relevant date as a result of having moved to Scotland for the purpose of undertaking a course of education is to be considered to be ordinarily resident in the area from where they moved. – 2022 Regulations, Schedule 3(1)
There is no set time someone needs to be in Scotland to establish ordinary residence, though SAAS states the UK must be the applicant’s main place of residence for the “three years immediately before the relevant date”.
In cases where it was considered appropriate to do so, SAAS may write to HE applicants seeking specific details as to why someone had resided in Scotland. Examples of further information SAAS might request are details on property ownership or employment contracts.
The 2022 regulations also include exceptions to the ordinary residence conditions. Under these exceptions applicants may qualify for tuition fee support only, or tuition fee and cost of living support.
Exceptions are explained further by SAAS guides:
- The SAAS guide to residence conditions for UK nationals sets out eligibility criteria for those who: have returned to the UK; live in the EU, EEA or Switzerland; were born and spent “the greater part” of their life in the UK; have fled Ukraine or Afghanistan; or are in or have a family member in the Armed Forces.
- The SAAS guide to residence conditions for EU, Irish, EEA, Swiss, Gibraltar and Turkish nationals following Brexit sets out eligibility criteria for people from these areas.
- The SAAS guide to residence conditions for non-EEA nationals sets out eligibility criteria for: Ukrainian nationals; asylum seekers and those granted refugee status, Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave in the UK; Iraqi nationals with Indefinite Leave to Enter the UK; Syrian nationals with Humanitarian Protection; those granted Leave to Remain as a Stateless Person; those granted Leave to Remain as a victim of modern slavery; and those granted Indefinite Leave to Enter or Remain as a victim of domestic violence or domestic abuse.
Applying for funding
From 1 August 2026, the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) will deliver student support for FE and HE as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to simplify the post-school funding body landscape. Previously, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) provided support for FE students.
FE students are those at college studying courses below HNC/HND level. Financial support for FE students will be administered to colleges by SAAS and continue to be distributed by colleges. Students apply directly to their college to receive non-repayable bursary payments.
HE students are those at university or at college studying for their Higher National Certificate or Diploma (HNC or HND). HE students apply directly to SAAS for tuition fee and living cost support. Living cost support for HE students is available as non-repayable bursaries or repayable student loans, depending on age, level of study and household income.
Student support by level of study
The amount of support available to an eligible student studying in Scotland depends on their level of study.
Scottish qualifications are mapped out on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) from level 1 to 12, taking in qualifications awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), Further and Higher Education Institutions, and apprenticeships and vocational qualifications.
Colleges typically offer courses from SCQF Level 4 to SCQF Level 8. Learners can study Further Education (FE) courses at SCQF Level 6 or below such as National 4 and 5, Higher and vocational courses.
HE courses delivered at colleges are Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs):
- HNCs (SCQF Level 7) are generally one-year long college courses equivalent to year one of a university degree programme.
- HNDs (SCQF Level 8) are two-year college courses, equivalent to year two of a university degree programme.
Universities offer qualifications from SCQF Level 7 to SCQF Level 12. These include:
- Bachelors/Ordinary Degree (SCQF Level 9): A three-year, first degree without honours.
- Graduate Apprenticeship (SCQF Levels 9 to 11): Work-based learning opportunities up to Masters degree level.
- Honours Degree (SCQF Level 10): A four-year, first degree with honours.
- Masters Degree (SCQF Level 11): A further study option following a first degree, usually completed in up to two years full time or two to four years part time.
- Postgraduate Diploma/Postgraduate Certificate (PGDip/PGCert) (SCQF Level 11): Further study options following a first degree. Courses take one or two terms with no dissertation.
- Doctoral Degree (SCQF Level 12): Known as PhDs, these qualifications involve students conducting independent and original research over three or four years full time or up to seven years part time.
Part 2 of this blog series explores available support for FE students in more detail.
By Lynne Currie, Senior Researcher (Further and Higher Education), SPICe