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Birkbeck’s Lifelong Learning Guarantee

For more than two centuries, Birkbeck has been creating pathways to education. The Lifelong Learning Guarantee is our commitment to you, our students and alumni, that Birkbeck will continue to be open to you wherever you are in your learning journey.

Whether you are looking to reskill, retrain or learn something new, the Birkbeck Lifelong Learning Guarantee offers all graduates a reduction in tuition fees on all future courses from short courses to PhDs - regardless of when you last studied with us.

Learning is lifelong, and Birkbeck is committed to ensuring that our students and alumni always have access to the transformative power of education.

When you join Birkbeck you become a part of an incredible community with a shared passion for learning. Now, whenever you need it, a Birkbeck education will always be open to you.

LIFELONG LEARNING GUARANTEE DETAILS 2026-27

Our Lifelong Learning Guarantee scheme will provide practical support to help reduce the costs of education for those who are continuing their learning journey with Birkbeck. The reduction in tuition fees offered through the Lifelong Learning Guarantee can be applied against as many courses you choose to study at Birkbeck

The Lifelong Learning Guarantee percentage tuition fee reduction will vary according to the course you wish to study. 

  • Certificate of Higher Education - 10%
  • Foundation degree - 10%
  • Undergraduate degree (including with Foundation Year) - 10%
  • Graduate Certificate - 10%
  • Graduate Diploma - 20%
  • Postgraduate Certificate - 10%
  • Postgraduate Diploma - 10%
  • Master's (MA, MRes, MSc, LLM) - 20%
  • Doctoral Research Programme - 10%
  • Short course (including CPD) - 10%

As of December 2022, the Lifelong Learning Guarantee scheme using percentage reductions replaces previous descriptions of the scheme, prior to the launch, which referenced learning points.

ELIGIBILITY AND HOW TO APPLY 2026-27

  • The Lifelong Learning Guarantee scheme is open to all Birkbeck alumni (both home and international fee payers) enrolling on new courses from October 2026.
  • The Lifelong Learning Guarantee Scheme will be available to all new students enrolling from October 2026 once they have completed their award. Once your award has been published, it will appear in your My Birkbeck account. 
  • All Birkbeck alumni who have successfully completed a Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE) or above with Birkbeck will receive a percentage reduction on the tuition fee cost of further study with us, at all academic levels and including short courses and Continuing Professional Development. 
  • Students whose highest award from Birkbeck is a Certificate of Continuing Education (CertCE) or a Certificate of Professional Education (CertPE) are not eligible for the Lifelong Learning scheme.

  • Eligible programmes and short courses

    • Most programmes or short courses directly provided by Birkbeck are eligible for the tuition fee reduction. Programmes or courses offered by third party providers at Birkbeck’s campus are not eligible. Programmes or courses offered in collaboration with other providers may be eligible on a case-by-case basis.

  • When the tuition fee reduction will be applied

    • Alumni can apply and enrol in the standard way, with the tuition fee reduction being applied automatically at the payment stage of the enrolment process.

  • WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PREVIOUS ALUMNI FEE REDUCTION?

    • The Lifelong Learning Guarantee scheme replaces the previous alumni tuition fee reduction. The alumni tuition fee reduction in its current form will run for the last time for 2022/23 entry, including courses starting in January 2023.
    • Students who started their programme prior to the 2023/24 academic year, who were previously entitled to the alumni tuition fee reduction , will be eligible for the tuition fee reduction in accordance with the rules for their cohort (year of entry).

  • MAXIMUM NUMBER OF COURSES

    • There is no limit of the number of programmes or short courses that a tuition fee reduction can be applied to.

  • APPLYING THE FEE REDUCTION RETROSPECTIVELY

    • A tuition fee reduction cannot be applied retrospectively. You are only eligible for the fee reduction when you first enrol on a programme or short course.

  • Other schemes or scholarships

    • In most cases, the Lifelong Learning Guarantee cannot be used in combination with other schemes or scholarships. If a particular tuition fee reduction can be used in conjunction with Lifelong Learning Guarantee, it will be explicitly stated in the terms and conditions for that scheme or scholarship.

  • EMPLOYERS PAYING OR PARTIALLY PAYING FOR STUDY

    • You must be paying some fees yourself - either self-funded or using government student funding – and the Lifelong Learning Guarantee will be applied to the proportion of the fees that you are paying for that programme; it will not be applied to any proportion paid by your sponsor (e.g. your employer). 
    • You are not eligible for the Lifelong Learning Guarantee if somebody else is paying 100% of your fees (e.g. your employer) for the programme.

  • ENTRY ONTO A PROGRAMME

    • Being eligible for the Lifelong Learning Guarantee does not mean that you will automatically be offered a place on a programme. Any entry requirements for the programme will still need to be met, and offers are made at the discretion of the academic department.