How is everything paid for?

Students have to pay two costs - course fees and living costs.

Course fees

These are what are paid for course teaching and facilities.

• An Oxford degree costs the same as most UK universities.
• The exact course fee depends on whether your child is a UK (Home fee status) or international (Overseas fee status) student.
• A UK student’s annual course fees are £9,790 for 2026-27.

For more details, visit our course fees page.

Living costs

This includes food, rent and social activities.

• These costs vary depending on a student’s lifestyle but in 2026, the estimated total living costs for a student at Oxford, including rent and food, are between £1,405 and £2,105 a month.
• Each college provides an estimate of what students are likely to pay for accommodation and food. 

For more details, visit our living costs page.

All UK students can apply for and receive two different types of government support.

Tuition fee loan

This covers the full amount of your child’s course fees and is paid termly directly to the University.

Maintenance funding

This goes towards living costs and is paid to your child at the start of each term.

• How much your child receives will depend on the total amount earned each year by the adults living with them at home – this is known as household income.

Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals living in the UK or Ireland, and other students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland who have been granted settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme may qualify for Home fee status and government support. 

For more information, visit our government support page.

Students starting their course from 2026 will only begin to pay back these loans once they have a job and are earning over £25,000 a year. (This threshold is frozen until the 2027-28 tax year.)

• For example, a graduate earning £30,000 could expect to pay back around £37.50 a month.
• Any unpaid loans will be cancelled after 40 years.

Read more about repayments.

Non-repayable funding is available to help UK students from lower-income households to cover their costs.

Crankstart Scholarships

A Crankstart Scholarship provides a non-repayable bursary of up to £6,270 per year towards study and living costs.

It also gives access to funded internships to develop employment skills, as well as volunteering opportunities.

Oxford’s Crankstart scholarships are available to all UK students studying for their first degree with a household income of £32,500 or less a year.

Oxford Bursaries 

For 2026-entry, UK students who are studying for their first degree, and with a household income of less than £50,000 a year, (who have not received a Crankstart Scholarship) are eligible for an annual non-repayable bursary to help with costs.

The amount of this bursary will depend on household income but can be up to £4,320 per year.

Care experienced or estranged student bursaries 

If your child has ever spent any time in care, or is estranged from their family, we can offer them a non-repayable annual bursary of up to £3,500. 

Oxford travel supplements 

If your child receives a Crankstart Scholarship or Oxford Bursary and lives in the UK between 80 and 150 miles from Oxford, they will be given a non-repayable annual Oxford Travel Supplement of £220.

If they live more than 150 miles from Oxford, they will receive £550.

Student Support Bursary

This fund helps UK students who may require financial assistance in a range of circumstances.

If your child has a gap in their finances or needs to meet additional exceptional costs once they have started their course, they will be able to apply for non-repayable supplementary funding.
 

Many colleges offer extra funding for things like research, equipment and study-related travel, as well as financial assistance for students who have significant or unexpected financial needs.

• With over 100 libraries/node/1118 housing over 13 million printed items around Oxford, as well as extensive digitised content, students can almost always find the books and study resources they need without having to buy them.
• Oxford colleges provide subsidised food and entertainment, so eating and having an active social life doesn’t need to cost much.
• The University and colleges have their own sports facilities which are normally free or subsidised for students.
• Your child will be offered a college room for at least two years of their course. This means they only need to pay rent during term time, which is normally only eight weeks long.