Emergency loans
An emergency loan is a short-term loan designed to support you during short-term funding issues. It can be used to pay for food, utility bills, or travel to your site of study (including placements).
Please read the following page carefully before applying for an emergency loan.
Am I eligible?
Emergency loans will be issued to students who are currently fully registered:
- UK undergraduate students whose funding has been delayed, or who have faced unexpected and unforeseen short-term costs,
- PG students whose funding has been delayed.
Please note:
- Failing to make reasonable adjustments to your lifestyle is not considered an unexpected or unforeseen short-term cost.
- Students who have unpaid emergency loan debt may not be eligible for further support from an emergency loan.
Both postgraduate and international students are expected to have made sufficient provision for their studies prior to beginning the year of study. If you have a shortfall in their finances, it may help to discuss your situation with the Student Support and Advice Team. You can contact the team via a self-referral form, which can be found on the University Student Hub webpage.
What can an emergency loan be used for?
You may apply for an emergency loan for assistance with:
- food costs
- essential utility bills, such as heating and electricity
An emergency loan cannot be used for:
- tuition fee costs
- rent (you should speak to your landlord in the first instance to negotiate rent payments. Our Student Advisers at the Student Hub can help you if you need support)
- in place of a negative outcome from the Student Support Fund
- to make up a shortfall in financial provision
How much can I borrow?
Emergency loans are distributed in relation to national standards for expenditure (composite living costs) to give you a basic amount to cover food, travel and essential expenses such as utility bills. These are set by the National Association of Student Money Advisers (NASMA), and for a single student with no dependents for 2024/25 academic year, this is £128 per week.
Please note, we are unable to issue a loan for more than two weeks' living costs at any one time.
If you require a larger amount of money, you may benefit from discussing your situation with the Student Support and Advice Team as they can look at what other options may be available to you, and can provide advice on a range of issues including housing. You can contact the team via a self-referral form, which can be found on the University Student Hub webpage.
Students are expected to have made reasonable adjustments to their lifestyles to ensure appropriate budgeting measures are in place. Additional information is available for students on the University Managing your money webpage. In addition, the Student Support and Advice Team are available to offer advice on issues related to money management.
How do I repay the loan?
Once the loan has been given it will appear as a debt to the University on your account until it is repaid.
You will receive an invoice from the Fees Office, which will explain how to repay the loan. We won't charge you interest on the loan, but you'll be expected to repay the loan within 4 weeks.
Students who do not repay their emergency loan before they re-enrol will not be eligible for a further emergency loan until they have repaid their outstanding loan debt. Students need to repay their loan before they can graduate.
Failure to repay may result in your details being passed to a debt collection agency working on behalf of the University, and future applications may be refused.
If you are unable to repay the loan by the date specified, please contact the Fees Office (fees-office@york.ac.uk) directly to discuss a repayment plan.
How to apply
If you require an emergency loan please complete the online application form. In order for us to accurately gauge how much money you reasonably require, you will be expected to confirm what your loan will be used for and how much you estimate this will cost.
You will be required to submit the following documentation as part of your application:
- a copy of your funding confirmation letter, or confirmation that a funding application has been submitted,
- a copy of the most recent full bank statement for each of your bank accounts and your balance at the time of the application for each account. All bank statements need to be provided in pdf format. The current balance for each account can be submitted as a screenshot or a transaction view provided that your name and account details are clearly visible.
If you do not have your supporting documentation to hand, you can save and return to the form. If you are self-funded, provide a document that confirms how you expected to cover your finances, both tuition fees and living costs, for the duration of the current academic year.
Once submitted, your application will be reviewed and an outcome confirmed within two working days (Monday to Friday). If successful, your emergency loan will be paid via bank transfer; please ensure we are able to do this by submitting your bank details securely online.
If you require any clarification about the emergency loan application process or what type of evidence you need, please contact sfsu@york.ac.uk
Please note, it is not guaranteed that your application will be successful, or whether you will be lent the full amount you have requested.
Emergency loans policy
See our full policy details for emergency loans.