Find out how to set up a payment plan for your course costs and check when you need to pay tuition fees.
Tuition fees explained
Tuition fees cover the costs of your course and academic life (including lectures, seminars and tutorials), as well as services related to your student experience and wellbeing.
Fees vary depending on your course, level of study and whether you’re a home student or international student.
Fees set by the University will increase on an annual basis, and are subject to change.
Learn more about tuition fees, including how much your fees are and how they are spent.
How to pay
The way you pay your tuition fees depends on how you’re funding your studies.
Self-financing
If you are funding your studies yourself, you have two options:
- pay in full as part of online registration
- pay in instalments throughout the year.
Instalments
If you’re starting in:
- September, you’ll pay in three instalments – October, January and April
- January, you’ll pay in two instalments – January and April.
Tuition fees of £300 or less are not eligible for payment plans.
Your payment plan can be set up during online registration, with payments coming directly from a nominated debit or credit card.
Pay in full
You pay tuition fees either by debit card, credit card or bank transfer through your Sussex Direct account. You can also pay over the phone.
Check exact payment dates in our Fee Liability Policy [PDF 123KB].
Find guidance on how to make payment through bank transfer using Convera (previously Western Union).
If you’re receiving a student loan
If you are an undergraduate student and have applied for a tuition fee loan, the Student Loans Company will pay us directly.
You need to provide us with the notification sent to you by the Student Loans Company that confirms you are receiving a student loan. Email it to studentaccounts@sussex.ac.uk.
Important: Send your notification before the first instalment date (outlined in our Fee Liability Policy [PDF 157KB]), otherwise you will be considered a self-financing student (see below).
Find out about American Student Loans and Federal Student Aid. These are not the same as loans provided by the Student Loan Company.
Other sponsors
If your fees are being paid by a sponsor, they must be paid in full at the beginning of each academic year.
We recognise the following institutions and organisations as official sponsors:
- UK Government, The British Council, Chevening, British Commonwealth
- overseas Governments and Embassies
- an employer (either UK-based or overseas)
- recognised international organisations or institutions (such as a council or university).
We only accept sponsors that pay us directly. Otherwise you need to set up your own payment plan.
Providing an award letter
You need to provide an award letter that confirms your sponsor funding.
Award letters must:
- be written and signed on headed paper
- include your name, course, funding amount and funding duration
- specify your sponsor’s full contact details, including telephone number and email address.
Email your award letter to sponsorletters@sussex.ac.uk. They must be received by the first instalment date (outlined in our Fee Liability Policy [PDF 157KB]), otherwise we will consider you to be a self-financing student.
Once we have received your award letter, we will update your student account to reflect your funding and issue an invoice to your sponsor.
Payment terms are strictly 30 days from the date the invoice is raised. If your sponsor does not pay, any outstanding amount will be transferred back to your student account and you will become liable for payment. Any unpaid fees will be subject to the Student Debt Recovery Policy [PDF 129KB].
If you can’t pay your fees
If you’re having trouble keeping up with your payments you should contact us at the earliest opportunity, so we can help you to resolve any issues. You can find further information in our Student Debt Recovery Policy [PDF 129KB].
If you don’t maintain regular payments, sanctions may be applied to your account, such as losing access to our IT facilities.
We offer face to face appointment sessions to students who are experiencing difficulties paying tuition fees, accommodation fees or any other charges. Contact us on finance.appointments@sussex.ac.uk with your Student ID, name and reason of appointment needed.
This service is available on Tuesdays between 10am to 1pm and 3pm to 4pm.
Additional costs
We may charge you additional costs for tuition-related expenses. This can include specialist equipment or materials, field trips or bench fees for research students.
You may also need to pay fees for late registration or resits.
Additional costs are defined as legitimate charges in our Additional Costs Policy [PDF 133KB].