Students
Financing a second degree
Government support not available for course fees
The Department for Education and Employment have advised that the official educational guidelines on financing a second undergraduate degree are that “previous attendance on a full-time higher education course at a publicly funded institution in the United Kingdom will usually mean that a student is not eligible for support for fees for another course. Previous attendance at a non-publicly funded institution will also usually debar them, if any support from public funds toward their fees was available to them.”
However, partial funding of course fees for medicine and dentistry as a second degree may be available.
You can get a maintenance loan for living costs
Currently government regulations mean that UK students are entitled to claim a means tested Maintenance Loan to help with the costs associated with course related and living costs if studying Veterinary Medicine as a second degree provided they satisfy the eligibility criteria. This is applied for in the normal way via GOV.UK page on Student Finance
Potential sources of support
It is acknowledged that the recent rise in fees will make it difficult for those without private sponsorship or savings to undertake the programme, below are some ideas for those wishing to look into alternative funding possibilities.
• See Professional Career Development Loans
• See Prospect’s guide to Funding Postgraduate Study
• See Family Action’s Educational Grants
• See Turn2Us for an online searchable database of educational grants along with advice on benefits
• Search for scholarship applications
Alternatives to doing a graduate degree, such as a Masters or Ph.D.?
Studentships and fellowships are available for these courses and, if you do have to pay a fee, they are not as expensive.
• The Pirbright Institute in Berkshire has a number of postgraduate and research initiatives. It is the largest research institute in the United Kingdom dedicated to the health of farm animals.
• The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) also provides training opportunities, as do a number of universities around the UK.
