UAL is participating in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. This is available to US students studying at UAL and enrolled at least half-time on an eligible program.
Most UAL undergraduate and postgraduate programs are eligible for Direct Loans; however, a few UAL programs are ineligible for Direct Loans.
Which Direct Loan can I apply for?
Direct Subsidised Loan
- Available to undergraduate students.
- A subsidised loan is a fixed amount depending on the study year.
- The US Department of Education pays the interest while you are in school.
Direct Unsubsidised Loan
- Available to undergraduate and graduate students.
- An unsubsidised loan is a fixed amount, depending on your dependency status and level of study.
- The US Department of Education charges interest while you are in school.
Direct PLUS Loan
- Available to parents of dependent undergraduate students.
- Available to graduate or professional students.
- Not available to independent undergraduate students or their parents.
- UAL's Cost of Attendance sets the maximum amount for this loan.
- The US Department of Education charges interest while you are in school.
Direct Loan interest and loan fees
The US Department of Education charges interest and loan fees for all Direct Loans.
- You can find the interest charges for subsidised, unsubsidised, and PLUS loans.
- In addition to the interest, all Direct Loans have loan fees. Find out the loan fees for subsidised and unsubsidised and PLUS loans.
- Your Financial Aid Offer letter will list the net loan amounts (the amount after loan fees are deducted); this is the amount you will receive.
- However, you are responsible for repaying the entire borrowed amount, including interest and loan fees.
Direct Loan eligibility criteria
Most students are eligible to receive financial aid from the federal government to help them pay for a university. While your income is considered, it doesn’t automatically prevent you from getting federal student aid.
General requirements:
- You must have a high school diploma or equivalent or completed a high school education in a home-school setting approved under state law
- You must be enrolled or accepted for enrolment at least half-time in an eligible UAL program. Check UAL programs that do not qualify for Direct Loans.
- You must be a US citizen or an eligible non-citizen with a valid Social Security Number. The US federal student aid website provides information on qualifying for US Direct Loans as an eligible non-citizen.
- You must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (Satisfactory Academic Progress (PDF 65KB) (SAP).
- You must not be defaulted on any student loans or owe any federal grants.
- If your course does not qualify for Direct Loans, you may be eligible for private Sallie Mae loans; find more information on the US private loans page.
- UAL cannot approve Direct Loans for online, distance learning, short courses and other ineligible programs.
How much can I borrow?
There is a limit on the total amount of Subsidised and Unsubsidised Loans a student can receive annually and over the lifetime of their study.
Annual limits for subsidised and unsubsidised loans
The annual loan limits vary depending on your course type and year of study:
Dependent Undergraduates (under age of 24) | Subsidised | Unsubsidised | Total |
Foundation Diploma/Higher Education Certificate/BA/BSc year 1 | $3,500 | $2,000 | $5,500 |
| BA/BSc year 2 | $4,500 | $2,000 | $6,500 |
| Graduate Diploma BA/BSc/ year 3+ | $5,500 | $2,000 | $7,500 |
| Independent Undergraduates (over age of 24) | Subsidised | Unsubsidised | Total |
| Foundation Diploma/Higher Education Certificate/ BA/BSc year 1 | $3,500 | $6,000 | $9,500 |
| BA/BSc year 2 | $4,500 | $6,000 | $10,500 |
| Graduate Diploma/BA/BSc/year 3+ | $5,500 | $7,000 | $12,500 |
| Postgraduate and Research Students | Subsidised | Unsubsidised | Total |
| PG.Dip/MA/MSc/PhD | $0 | $20,500 | $20,500 |
Lifetime aggregate limits for subsidised and unsubsidised loans
- Undergraduate dependent students: $31,000; no more than $23,000 may be in subsidised loans.
- Undergraduate independent students and dependent undergraduate students whose parents cannot take PLUS Loans: $57,500; no more than $23,000 may be in subsidised loans.
- Graduate or professional students: $138,500; no more than $65,500 may be in subsidized loans.
- The graduate aggregate limit includes all federal loans received for undergraduate study.
- If the total loan amount you receive throughout your time in education exceeds the lifetime aggregate loan limit, you are not eligible for additional loans. However, if you repay some of your loans to bring your outstanding loan debt below the aggregate loan limit, you could borrow again, up to the amount of your remaining eligibility under the aggregate loan limit.
Study in the United States
- From 1 July 2021, students enrolled at UAL are eligible to complete up to 25 per cent of the program at an eligible institution in the United States.
- A Direct Loan borrower is permitted to perform research in the United States for not more than one academic year if the research is conducted during the dissertation phase of a doctoral program.
- If your program includes a study period in the United States, you must email the Student Funding Service: uscanadaloans@arts.ac.uk. Failure to do so may result in losing eligibility for Direct Loan funding for the remainder of your course.
Consumer Information
The US Department of Education requires institutions providing US federal aid to provide the following consumer Information.
All you need to know about your loan payments
When will I receive my loan payment?
- After we have certified your Direct Loans, you will receive the Financial Aid Offer letter. It will confirm the loan amount and when to expect the payments.
- Your first loan payment will be made at the start of the first term after enrolling in your program. Direct Loans will be paid in 2 or 3 instalments depending on your program teaching structure. Tuition fees will be split iintoequal iinstallments iwhich are n line with your loan payments.
- Loan payment dates align with US Department of Education rules and regulations and cannot be changed.
- Before we pay you, we will deduct the tuition fee instalment from your loans. The remaining balance will be paid to you within 14 calendar days from the date listed on your Financial Aid Offer.
- Private Sallie Mae loan will be paid in one instalment; the tuition fees will be taken in full, and the remaining balance will be paid to you at the start of the 1st term.
How will I receive my loan payment?
- UAL works with Convera (formerly Western Union Business Solutions), which provides secure online payments to students and parents.
- Shortly before your first payment, you will receive two emails to your UAL email account, inviting you to register your UK bank details with the Convera GlobalPay platform.
- Currently, payments through this platform are only available to UK bank accounts. If you or your parent require the payment to be made to a US account, please advise the Student Funding Service.
- Whenever possible, we recommend students open a UK bank account as this will allow them to receive secure same-day payments. Here, you can find more information on opening a UK bank account.
- If you have made any tuition fee payments but have sufficient loan funds to cover your tuition fees, you can apply for a refund using your UAL Portal.
- If your loans do not cover your tuition fees in full, you are liable to cover any shortfalls in line with the Student Fees Policy.
How will I receive my Parent PLUS loan payment?
- If you are a dependent undergraduate student receiving the parent PLUS loan, we will contact your parent to seek their permission to disburse the PLUS loan funds to you.
- If your parent decides to receive the funds in their US account, we will ask them to complete the bank detail form. In most cases, we will deduct the tuition fee instalment from the parent PLUS loan, and the remaining balance will be paid to the nominated account.
- The Department of Education pays your loans in USD. When the funds arrive in the UK, they are converted to GBP using the exchange rate available on the conversion day. Please note the exchange rates fluctuate daily and are out of the University’s control.
Currency exchange rate
- Your US loans (federal and private) are paid in US dollars.
- When UAL receives the funds, they are converted to GBP using the exchange rate available on the conversion day.
- The exchange rate fluctuates daily and is outside of UAL’s control.
Tuition fee deposit waiver
- You may request a deposit waiver if you have an official sponsor, such as the U.S. federal government.
- You must have taken enough loans to cover your full tuition fee.
To request the fee deposit waiver, email admissions@arts.ac.uk and include:
- Your student ID
- Email subject line: US Loan Funding - Deposit Waiver Request
- If your sponsor is Direct Loans, include your Financial Aid Offer letter.
- If your sponsor is Sallie Mae, contact Sallie Mae directly at 800-472-554 or 800-416-0012 (international) to request a Foreign Borrowers Letter.
If you have made a deposit payment but have sufficient loan funds to cover your tuition fees in full, you can apply for a refund using your UAL Portal.
Plan your finances until you receive your loans
- You should plan to have some funds available to cover your living expenses for the first few weeks of your course until your loans are disbursed.
- Any costs incurred before the start of the course, such as flights, student visa, housing deposit, etc., in the first instance, will have to be funded from your funds.
- You should plan to open a UK bank account as soon as you arrive in the UK.
- For further guidance, visit the Big Welcome page.
Contact us
Student Funding Service