Eligibility to Apply for Federal Loans

The University of Edinburgh is approved by the U.S. Department of Education to certify loans under the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program, offering eligible students access to federal student loans whilst studying in the UK. Federally supported loans are made by the U.S. Department of Education rather than by a private lender/bank.

Eligible students studying outside of the USA can apply for: 

• Direct Subsidized Loans
• Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Direct Graduate PLUS Loans (only eligible to students who have taken out Graduate PLUS loans prior to 01 July 2026)
• Direct Parent PLUS Loans (new loan limits apply to students and parents applying for these loans after 01 July 2026 with no previous Parent PLUS borrowing history).

Foreign Schools are not eligible to certify PELL Grants or Perkins Loans

Students receiving US Federal Aid are governed by stringent U.S Department of Education Regulations.

To receive financial aid, including Federal Direct and PLUS Loans, you must meed the following eligibility requirements: 

• Must be studying on campus
• Must be a student enrolled or accepted for enrolment in an eligible programme at an eligible institution
• Must be enrolled at least half-time for the period for which the loan is originated (PhD students who have submitted their thesis for examination do not meet this requirement)
• Must be fully matriculated
• Must comply with the University's Satisfactory Academic Progression Policy
• Must have a High School Diploma or equivalent
• Must not be in default on a educational loan and must owe a repayment on an adjusted federal grant
• Must be a US citizen or eligible non-citizen with a valid Social Security Number 

If you drop below half-time or withdraw from your studies, please email us right away at usloans@ed.ac.uk 

On-campus-based students studying full-time or at least half-time are eligible. The following programmes are NOT eligible to receive Federal Direct Loans: 

• All Online Learning Programmes
• EdD (Doctoral of Education) - distinct from PhD Education which is eligible
• All PhD by Distance Programmes
• MSc Chinese Studies
• Undergraduate MBChB
• All Diploma Programmes
• Bachelor of Nursing
• All Certificate Programmes

If your programme of study is not eligible, you may wish to apply for private loans to cover your cost of attendance. 

Private US student loans 

Use the Edinburgh University Degree finder to search for your selected programme of study to see if it meets the above eligibility criteria. Please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have any queries. 

Degree finder

The U.S. Department of Education requires that degree programmes involving study outwith the University of Edinburgh through a formal arrangement (Written Agreement) with another institution must meet the following conditions to remain eligible for Federal Aid:

• For study outside the USA, the institution does not need to be approved to participate in the Federal Aid (Title IV) Program.
• For study within the USA, the institution must be a participating and approved Federal Aid (Title IV) school.
• The study abroad period must not exceed 25% of the total length of the programme of study.
• The host institution must sign a Consortium/Contractual Agreement with the University of Edinburgh

Always check with the Federal Aid team before finalising any study abroad plans to ensure your eligibility is not affected. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the study abroad location is an eligible entity.

To check if your institution participates in this scheme, please refer to the Federal Student Aid website and find out which international schools participate in the federal student aid programs.

International Schools that Participate in the Federal Student Aid Program

Students attending the University of Edinburgh for one semester or for a full academic year will normally apply for Financial Aid through their home institution. Those who require a Consortium Agreement to be completed should email the form to the University's US Loans Office. Where a Consortium Agreement is in place, funding will continue to be arranged by the visiting student's home institution rather than the University of Edinburgh. 

If you receive US Federal Direct Loans at any point, US Federal Regulations do not allow you to return to the United States for fieldwork, research placements, internships, externships, or to write your thesis.

The only exception is for doctoral (PhD) students doing independent research during the dissertation phase, if the research must be done in the US and is supervised by faculty. At the University of Edinburgh, the ‘dissertation phase’ of a doctoral programme is after your supervised study. This is normally called the write-up or extension period. This requires approval from the Financial Aid Office and can only be granted for up to one academic year. 

This restriction does not affect your ability to return to the US for holidays or vacations.

As a foreign institution the University of Edinburgh does not complete the 1098T tax form for students. However, as an alternative, students are advised to request a Confirmation of Payment Certificate, which may be used for tax purposes, from the Income Section of Finance Department.

For US tax purposes the University of Edinburgh's identification number is 980031779.