US Department of Education. - Financial aid for students from the USA and Canada

What this support gives you

If you are from the USA or Canada and are studying at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom, the university’s Student Finance Team will help you apply for government student loans from your home country. This is not a grant paid out by the university. It is a service that enables you to use US or Canadian federal funding (as well as Canadian provincial funding) to finance your studies abroad. The team will also issue the approval letter that you need as proof of your financial means for a visa.

For US students, Plymouth participates in the William D. Ford Direct Loan Programme. You can apply to the US Department of Education for low-interest ‘Direct Loans’: subsidised loans for undergraduate students, unsubsidised loans for students at all levels of study, and PLUS loans. For Canadian students, the university is a recognised institution (code PVBZ) for federal and provincial income-contingent student loans. In addition, you can take out a private loan, for example through Sallie Mae. Two things are not available here: US Pell Grants (these do not apply at a foreign university) and benefits from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for new students.

Who can apply

• Where you come from: You are a US citizen or an eligible non-citizen, or you are eligible for Canadian student financial support at federal or provincial level.
• Where you study: You are enrolled on a degree programme at the University of Plymouth or have been admitted there.
• Level (US loans): Your degree programme leads to a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degree.
• Field of study (US loans): Most degree programmes are eligible; however, the following are excluded: medicine, nursing, PGCE, diploma programmes, certificate programmes without an academic qualification, and distance-learning or online programmes.
• Study load (US loans): You are studying on at least a part-time basis and are achieving satisfactory academic results.
• Loan history (US loans): You have a valid National Insurance number, are not in arrears with any previous student loans, and have not yet reached your credit limits.
• Financial need (Canadian loans): Canadian loans are means-tested, so you must demonstrate a financial need.

How to apply

Students in the USA must first complete the FAFSA application online at studentaid.gov and then notify their university of this via the ‘Federal Aid Request Form’. They must then sign the ‘Master Promissory Note’ and attend the induction session for Direct Loans. The application period for loans for the academic year 2026–27 is now open. Canadian students apply for funding through their provincial or territorial student financial aid agency, which covers both federal and provincial funds in a single application.

How realistic are your chances?

As this is not a competitive scholarship, applicants are not selected by a panel. If you are a student from the USA or Canada who has been admitted to an eligible degree programme at Plymouth and meets the loan conditions of your home country, receiving the funding depends solely on you completing the necessary steps correctly – it is not a matter of ‘earning’ a place. Start your preparations early, as the loan cannot be paid out until your documentation is complete.