Cost of Attendance

The Cost of Attendance (COA) is based on local average costs and is the estimated amount of money it will cost students to study at the University of Derby. This will increase in line with inflation for each academic year. The COA includes course fees, accommodation fees, food, study materials, personal costs (phone, clothing, socialising), transportation, visa costs and estimated origination fees. These costs relate only to the student and cannot include costs for partners or children. 

In some circumstances dependent care expenses, including childcare and nursery costs that are necessary for a student to attend their programme of study, may be considered as part of the Cost of Attendance on a case-by-case basis. Students who incur these costs should contact the Federal Aid Team by emailing federalaid@derby.ac.uk for further information, as eligibility and any COA adjustment will be assessed individually.

Course fees

The cost of your course can be found on the relevant webpage for the course you plan to study.

Find your course

Cost of living

This covers all other costs relating to studying and living in Derby. 

The COA is calculated based on a student residing in Derby and cannot be adjusted for those choosing to live in other locations. Students who choose to live outside of Derby are responsible for meeting any additional expenses not included within the COA.

The costs we have included and the yearly figures for them are in the tables below.

COA figures for the 2026/2027 academic year

For undergraduate students the total COA is calculated using course length of 35 weeks and for postgraduate students 52 weeks.

Visa costs and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) are subject to change, with the IHS depending on the length of your course. The cost shown in the table above is for one year and you will need to calculate the total amount based on the length of your course from your offer letter. The IHS for the whole duration of your course is going to be paid in advance at the time of your visa application.  Please visit GOV.UK for details of these charges.

As part of the application stage for Federal Loans you will be given details of your Cost of Attendance. If you feel that something has not been included (disability allowance, course-related travel) then please email federalaid@derby.ac.uk immediately to discuss this in detail once you have been informed of your COA.

Exchange rate used

All allowable costs in respect of US loan entitlement for academic year 2026/2027 will be calculated using the exchange rate of GBP 1 to USD 1.45.

Although the COA is calculated using the fixed exchange rate above, the actual amount that you will receive in GBP (£) will depend upon the exchange rate available to University of Derby's bank or currency exchange service provider on the date that the loan funds are disbursed.

Tuition fee discounts and scholarships

Any discounts you receive on fees are called Other Financial Assistance (OFA). These will be considered when calculating your Cost of Attendance, meaning the amount you are eligible for will be less than if you didn’t have any OFA.

If you are in receipt of private loans, scholarships, or bursaries either directly from the University or from another source, you must inform the Federal Aid Team as soon as you can prior to your loan being originated, so that this can be factored into your Cost of Attendance.

Failure to do so may result in a reassessment of your Cost of Attendance and a subsequent reduction of your loan entitlement once evidence of such funding is identified during the academic year.

Origination fees

When you take out a Federal Direct Loan, you will be charged an origination fee. This is a small percentage of your total loan amount set by the US Department of Education. The fee is deducted from each loan type before the funds are paid to you. This means the amount you receive will be slightly less than the amount you borrow. However, you are still responsible for repaying the full amount you borrowed, not just the amount you received.

Please note that origination fees are subject to change each year, so you can visit the Federal Student Aid website for more information.

When calculating your Cost of Attendance, the University takes these fees into account for Direct Loans. This helps ensure that the maximum loan amount you are eligible to borrow is sufficient to cover your educational costs after fees have been deducted.