Will I be affected by the 2012 rise in UK tuition fees?

You will only be affected by the planned increase in tuition if you are a Home/EU student starting an undergraduate course in or after the 2012/13 academic year. Students who started courses before September 2012 are not affected. As a general rule you can expect to pay roughly the same amount throughout your course, allowing for yearly inflationary increases as approved by the government.

Please note: Medical students beginning their 3 years of Clinical Medicine (the "2nd BM") are deemed to have begun their course on the start date of their Preclinical study, even if they have transferred in from another institution. This is because Medicine is a single 6 year course in two parts.

Graduate students and students classed as Overseas for fee status purposes will not be affected.

If I change courses, will my fees be affected?

If the new course has a higher or lower fee rate than the original course, then the new fee rate applies from the date of transfer date. If you transfer during a term, any new fee rate may apply from that term or from the following term depending on the exact date of transfer. No additional fees or refunds are payable for any time registered on the previous course. Please see the Fee rates page if you are unsure of the rate payable for the new course. We recommend that you talk to your college or department about the potential fee implications of changing courses.

What is my fee status?

Your fee status is the University's way of identifying what fee rate you should pay and is based on your nationality and country of residence. The regulations that are used to decide your fee status are set by the UK government and are the same regulations that are used in all English universities, with similar regulations applying elsewhere in the UK. Please see our dedicated Fee status page for more useful links and information, and our Fee rates page to see how your fee status may affect your tuition fee.

Your fee status is assessed before you begin your course at the University, however due to the large number of requests we receive and the possibility of changes in government regulations we cannot provide individualised fee status assessments until you have made an application for admission to the University.

What is my fee liability?

Your fee liability is the number of terms for which you are liable to pay University tuition fees while studying at the University of Oxford. Some courses have a minimum and maximum fee liability.

If you are unsure of your fee liability you can visit our dedicated Fee liability page, which has a list of courses, their respective liabilities, and guidance on how to calculate when your liability period ends.

Please note that once you have reached the standard fee liability for your course you may still need to pay a continuation charge (see below).

What is the 'Continuation charge', and am I liable to pay it?

The University continuation charge is being introduced for all graduate research students who start their course in the 2011/2012 academic year or later. All students who are still registered for a research degree after they have reached the end of the standard period of fee liability for their course will be expected to pay a charge. It remains payable until you have submitted your thesis. This charge will be the same for all students regardless of qualification, course, fee status or prior Oxford study. It has been set at £400 per term in 2013/2014 (the first year the charge will be payable). Part-time research students may be eligible for a reduced continuation charge, and this will be confirmed in due course. Financial support may be available to help pay this charge; for further details, please see our dedicated Continuation Charge FAQ.

If you started graduate research study before 2011/12, you will not be liable for the University continuation charge provided that you have not changed course.

Please note that this charge is separate from the college continuation charge which has been levied for a number of years. All graduate research students, regardless of start year, may be liable for the college continuation charge. For more details on the arrangements at your college, visit your college's website.

What is an ELQ (Equivalent or Lower Qualification) Student?

You are an ELQ student if you are a Home/EU student who started undergraduate course from 2009/2010 to 2011/2012, or a Home/EU or Islands student who started a graduate taught course in 2009/2010 or 2010/11, who is studying for a qualification of an equivalent or lower level to one you already hold. ELQ students are charged a higher tuition fee rate than the fee charged to other Home/EU students.

For further information about ELQ students, including details of how to determine whether you are liable to pay fees at the ELQ rate, please see our ELQ page.

Where can I find more information about my personal fee situation?

If you require further information which is not covered in the FAQ or in other pages within the Fees and living costs section of this website, we recommend you contact us directly.