The vast majority of United Kingdom universities are government financed, with only five private universities (the charitable University of Buckingham and Regent's University London, and the for-profit institutions The University of Law, BPP University and Arden University) where the government does not subsidise the tuition fees. (There is also the non-profit Richmond, The American International University in London which essentially offers an American liberal arts education; this is not a UK university but is accredited by the American Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
British undergraduate students and students from other European Union countries who qualify as home students have to pay university tuition fees up to a maximum of £9,000. A government-provided loan may only be used towards tuition fee costs. Scottish and European Union students studying in Scotland have their tuition fees paid by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. Students are also entitled to apply for government-provided loans to pay for living costs, a portion of which is also means-tested. A new grant is also available, which is means-tested and offers up to £2,700 a year. As part of the deal allowing universities to charge higher tuition fees, all universities are required to offer bursaries to those in receipt of the full government grant. Different funding arrangements are in place for students on National Health Service (NHS) being eligible for a non-means tested bursary, while healthcare students on degree level courses are eligible for a means tested bursary, and are not eligible for the full student loan as a result of their bursary entitlement.
Students living in the UK, if they are from a non-European country, have to pay the same very high fees as overseas students, even if they have been in the UK for more than 3 years, without indefinite leave to remain. Such students are not eligible for a loan from the Students Loan Company either.
On 9 December 2010 the House of Commons voted to increase the cap on tuition fees to £9,000 per year.
Students in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are also eligible for a means-tested grant, and many universities provide bursaries to poor students. Non-European Union students are not subsidised by the United Kingdom government and so have to pay much higher tuition fees.
In principle, all postgraduate students are liable for tuition fees--though a variety of scholarship and assistantship schemes provide support. The main sources of funding for postgraduate students are research councils such as the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) and ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council).