Tuition Fees &
Student Funding Explained

Q: How to get a student loan?

You can get a student loan through the UK Government. Check your eligibility and begin the process at GOV.UK.

Q: When do you start paying student loans?

You will start repaying your student loan once you graduate and are employed - whether you are self-employed or working as part of an organisation. Depending on your plan, you will begin repaying your loan once you hit the designated annual income threshold.

Q: How many years does student finance fund?

Student finance typically funds your first higher education degree, which usually lasts 3 years. However, you can receive funding for other courses, including Access to HE courses, Postgraduate degrees and second Undergraduate degrees depending on the course you are enrolling on and your personal situation. You can find more information on eligibility for funding at GOV.UK.

Q: What is a tuition fee loan?

A Tuition Fee Loan is a loan provided by the Student Loan Company which covers the cost of your tuition and is paid directly to the university or higher education institute you are studying with.

Q: How can I pay tuition fees without student finance?

If you are not eligible for student finance from the Student Loans Company, options are available to help you fund your studies. These options include bursaries, scholarships, fundraising and private student loan companies.

Considering studying at dBs Institute? Navigating through course fees and funding options is a crucial part of your preparation. We understand it might seem daunting, with elements ranging from tuition fees to living costs. But don't worry, we're here to make things simpler. Here you'll find easy-to-understand breakdown of our course fees and overview of the funding you might be eligible for.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are the cost to study with us. Our Access to HE diplomas are run in partnership with Access Creative College, while our undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are run in partnership with and validated by, Falmouth University. Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. Falmouth University and dBs may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.

Diploma Fees 2023-24

UK & Home Fee Status Students

Tuition fees from September 2023 for new UK and home fee status students starting in the academic year 2023-24.

Music Production / DJ & Electronic Music Production Access to HE courses, 1 year, on campus

£4,835

Games Development
Access to HE courses, 1 year, on campus

£3,384

A student works with headphones at a iMac

Undergraduate Fees 2024-25

UK & Home Fee Status Students

Tuition fees from September 2024 for new UK and home fee status students starting in the academic year 2024-25.

BA(Hons) / BSc(Hons) courses, 3 years, on campus

£9,250

BA(Hons) top-up degree, 1 year, on campus

£9,250

FdA courses, 2 years, on campus

£9,250

Channel Island & Isle of Man Students

Tuition fees from September 2024 for new UK and home fee status students starting in the academic year 2024-25

BA(Hons) / BSc(Hons) courses, 3 years, on campus

£9,250

BA(Hons) top-up degree, 1 year, on campus

£9,250

FdA courses, 2 years, on campus

£9,250

International Students

At this time, we are currently unable to accept international students on our on-campus undergraduate degree programmes.

EU students who hold settled or pre-settled status may qualify for
home fees if:

You have settled or pre-settled status granted under the EU Settlement Scheme
You are an Irish national living in the UK or Republic of Ireland
You are a British national living in the EU/EEA or Switzerland

If none of these exceptions apply, you'll be classed as an international student and will not be eligible to study on-campus at dBs Institute.

A group of students stand around a desk making music, with electronic equipment

Postgraduate Fees 2024-25

UK & Home Fee Status Students

Tuition fees from September 2024 for new UK and home fee status students starting in the academic year 2024-25.

MA (Hons), full-time, on campus, 1 year

£8,500

MA (Hons), part-time, on campus, 2 year

£4,250

MA (Hons), full-time, online, 1 year

£8,500

MA (Hons), part-time, online, 2 year

£4,250

Channel Island & Isle of Man Students

Tuition fees from September 2024 for new UK and home fee status students starting in the academic year 2024-25

MA (Hons), full-time, on campus, 1 year

£8,500

MA (Hons), part-time, on campus, 2 year

£4,250

MA (Hons), full-time, online, 1 year

£8,500

MA (Hons), part-time, online, 2 year

£4,250

International Students

At this time, we are currently able to accept international students on our online postgraduate degree programmes only.

MA (Hons), full-time, online, 1 year

£8,500

MA (Hons), part-time, online, 2 year

£4,250

EU students who hold settled or pre-settled status may qualify
for home fees if:

You have settled or pre-settled status granted under the EU Settlement Scheme
You are an Irish national living in the UK or Republic of Ireland
You are a British national living in the EU/EEA or Switzerland

If none of these exceptions apply, you'll be classed as an international student and will not be eligible to study on-campus at dBs Institute.

Access to HE funding

Depending on your circumstances, you may need to rely on funding to cover your tuition costs for our Access the HE courses.

If you require funding, you may be able to access this through an Advanced Learner Loan provided through the UK government. Head to the GOV.UK website to find out about Access to HE funding and how to apply.

Find out more

Advanced Learner Loan

The Advanced Learner Loan covers your tuition fees and the loan is paid directly to Access Creative College.

If you’re a full-time UK Home student, you can get the full amount (£4,835) to cover your tuition fees.

If you complete an undergraduate degree after completing an Access to HE course, Student Finance England will ‘write off’ the debt of the Advanced Learner Loan. This means you do not have to repay it.

If you do not complete an undergraduate degree after completing an Access to HE course, you will have to pay back the loan. If you receive an Advanced Learner Loan for 2024/25 your yearly threshold will be £27,295. You will be required to repay 9% of your income over the threshold. If your income drops below this threshold the repayments will pause.

Undergraduate Funding

Most students will need to access funding to help with the cost of their studies. For UK students, the primary source of funding is a student loan from the UK Government, to help pay for university or college tuition fees and to help with living costs.

Head to the GOV.UK website to find out about undergraduate funding and how to apply.

Find out more

Tuition Fee Loan

The tuition fee loan covers your tuition fees and the loan is paid directly to Falmouth University.

If you’re a full-time UK Home student, you can get up to £9,250.

You will have to pay this loan back, details on repaying your loan can be found at GOV.UK - repaying your student loan

Maintenance Loan

The maintenance loan is funding to help with day-to-day costs, such as rent or food while studying. The maintenance loan is a student loan provided by the government and it’s paid directly to the student.

You apply for the Maintenance Loan through the same process as Tuition Fee Loans.

Head to the GOV.UK website to find out about undergraduate funding and how to apply.

Find out more

A group dBs students working a track in studio 3

Postgraduate Funding

The majority of postgraduate students fund their studies with a Master's Loan, and eligible students can apply for a master's loan to help with the cost of studying at postgraduate level.

A Postgraduate Master’s Loan can help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate master’s course. Head to the GOV.UK website to find out about eligibility criteria and how to apply.

Find out more

The Master’s loan system is different to undergraduate student finance. Postgraduate student finance is provided as one loan to help with tuition and/or living costs and paid directly to the student. The student will be expected to then use the loan according to their individual circumstances (a contribution towards tuition fees and/or living costs). You will be responsible for paying your course fees directly to Falmouth University. If you want to then pay your tuition fees in three instalments, aligned with your loan instalments, please contact the Falmouth Income team at student.fees@falmouth.ac.uk.

Online Postgraduate Funding

To qualify for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan for distance learning, you’ll need to be living in England on the first day of the first academic year of your course. You’ll also need to live in:

England for the whole of your course, if you’re an EU national
The UK for the whole of your course, if you’re not an EU national

Find out more

Frequently Ask Questions

What is the student loan?

In the UK, the student loan, provided by the Student Loans Company, is a provision that helps students pay for their university tuition and living costs. Students in the UK can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan. The Tuition Fee Loan is paid directly to the university or higher education institute providing the tuition and the Maintenance Loan is paid directly to the student to help them pay their rent and other living costs while they study.