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Equivalent or lower qualifications (ELQ) fee liability information

This page will help you decide if you will pay fees at the ELQ fee rates.

• 'Previous study' and funding implications
• Who is this information for?
• Am I an ELQ student?
• Fee rates
• Islands information

'Previous study' and funding implications

This page is to explain why you may be paying higher tuition fees. Previous study at degree level also affects eligibility for government funding for Home/EU Undergraduate or PGCE students. More information on how this may affect you is available on our funding site.

Who is this information for?

The information on this page is relevant to the following students:

• Those classified as either Home or EU for fee purposes currently undertaking an undergraduate programme of study which is of an equivalent or lower level than a qualification you already hold (entry between 2009/10 and August 2012).
• Those classified as either Home, EU or Islands* for fee purposes undertaking a graduate taught programme of study which is of an equivalent or lower level than a qualification you already hold (entry in 2009/10 or 2010/11 only).

If you fall into any of the following categories the information on this page does not apply to you:

• Students classified as Overseas for fee purposes
• Students in receipt of Disabled Student's Allowance (DSA)
• Students wishing to undertake a graduate research programme of study
• Students who started a graduate taught course in October 2011 or later, or undergraduates starting after August 2012

Am I an ELQ student?

You are an ELQ student if you currently study for a qualification of an equivalent or lower level to one you already hold. To calculate if you are liable for fees at the ELQ rate follow the steps below to compare the highest qualification you hold against the qualification you are currently studying towards.

If you have studied for, but did not complete or were not awarded a qualification you should use your next highest qualification to do your calculations. If you hold an honorary degree (including the Oxbridge MA), this does not count as a relevant qualification when determining whether you are an ELQ student, you should use your other qualifications for your calculations. If you hold an MA from a Scottish institution where for historical reasons an MA is awarded instead of a BA and this is the highest qualification you hold, please use the Bachelor's degree group (Group 1) for your calculations. If you have completed an integrated undergraduate Master's degree (typically 4 or 5 years in length), this is considered a Master's qualification (Group 4) for University tuition fees purposes, but please note that for government funding purposes it is considered equivalent to a Bachelor's degree.

Step 1: Identify the group(s) of your current qualification(s).

Step 2: Identify the group of the qualification you are now studying.

Step 3: Compare the group numbers.

Result: If the group number of the qualification you are now studying is higher than the group number of the qualification(s) you already hold then you should pay the standard Home/EU, Islands or Overseas fee rate. You are not an ELQ student.

If the group number of the qualification you are studying is the same as or lower than the group number of the qualification you already hold then you are liable to pay the ELQ fee rate. You are an ELQ student.

Please note the examples of qualifications given in each group are not exhaustive lists of all affected qualifications nor are all the qualifications offered at Oxford. The lists are provided for illustrative purposes only.

 ** note that for government funding purposes these integrated masters courses are considered to be equivalent to Bachelor's degrees

Fee rates

To see the tuition fee rate for your programme of study see the fee rates page.

If you have any queries regarding ELQ status please contact fees.clerk@admin.ox.ac.uk outlining your current qualifications, the programme you are now studying and any other information you feel is relevant to your case.

Islands information

* Island rates, which are only payable by students from Channel Islands and Isle of Man, apply to undergraduate programmes of study and the PGCE only. For all other programmes Islands students are charged at the Home/EU rate.

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