Student Finance England - Funding for PGCE programmes

Funding for PGCE programmes at UWE Bristol

If you train to become a teacher on a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) at UWE Bristol, you can get money in three ways.

First, student loans: a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan for living costs, the same as undergraduates get.

Second, a training bursary, which you do not repay. For 2025/26 the amount depends on your subject and degree grade:

• Up to about EUR 33,000 (£29,000) for chemistry, computing, maths and physics
• About EUR 30,000 (£26,000) for French, German, Spanish, biology, geography and design & technology
• About EUR 11,500 (£10,000) for art & design, music and religious education
• About EUR 5,700 (£5,000) for English

The bursary is paid in 10 instalments from October.

Third, a training scholarship offered by subject associations instead of a bursary. You cannot take both. It is worth up to about EUR 35,000 (£31,000) for chemistry, computing, maths and physics, and about EUR 32,000 (£28,000) for French, German and Spanish.

Who can apply

• Course: You are on a full-time PGCE at UWE Bristol that qualifies for funding. iPGCE courses do not get this funding.
• Subject: Bursaries and scholarships go to certain subjects only, such as maths, physics, chemistry, computing, languages, biology, geography, English, art, music and religious education. The amount depends on which one.
• Residence: You live in the UK. EU students can apply if their residence status makes them eligible for Student Finance.
• Student Finance: For a bursary or scholarship you must be entitled to Student Finance, the UK government funding for students.
• Not already teaching: For a bursary you must not already work as a teacher.

How to apply

For a bursary there is no separate application. Once you have a place, you get the details through UWE's Welcome Portal joining instructions over the summer. For a scholarship you apply directly to the relevant subject association, which sets its own criteria.