The Welsh Government said it has has followed England’s lead in implementing the increase already announced there
13:57, 28 Nov 2025Updated 13:58, 28 Nov 2025
University tuition fees will rise from next September, the Welsh Government has confirmed (Image: Chris Ison/PA Wire)
University tuition fees are to rise by 2.71% in Wales from next September, the Welsh Government has confirmed today. Cardiff Bay said it has has followed England’s lead in implementing the increase already announced there.
The rise means tuition fees in Wales will go up by 2.71% from £9,535 to £9,790 for courses beginning on or after August 1, 2026. This is the maximum that can be charged for home students on undergraduate courses in Wales and is the same level that will be charged in England.
The loan, creeping ever closer to £10,000 a year after two recent increases already, applies to students ordinarily resident in Wales who study in Wales or England. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here.
Announcing the increased bill for for students Vikki Howells, minister for further and higher education, said it will bring in an estimated £19m more income to Welsh institutions at “a difficult time in the sector’s history”. The rise comes at the same time as universities in Wales struggle to make ends meet and face a combined deficit of £77m-plus.
The minister said that increasing tuition fees will “help to safeguard provision and investment in the student experience”.
A rally against proposed Cardiff University cuts at the Senedd earlier this year
Announcing the rise, which comes following representations from universities that they need more cash, Ms Howells said: “I want to re-emphasise that increases in tuition fees should not deter anyone in Wales from applying to university.
“They do not affect the upfront costs of university for students, nor do they increase monthly loan repayments after graduation. Students should speak to their higher education provider if they have questions about fees.”
Last month the Welsh Government confirmed it would also follow England in rising university tuition fees with inflation each year.
As well as being hiked by 2.71% from next year, university tuition fees in Wales will also rise each year in line with inflation.
Speaking last month the minister said: “I am of the view that the same increases to tuition fee caps announced by the UK Government are appropriate for Wales – the period of financial pressure on the sector in Wales is not over.”
After years of university tuition fees for Welsh universities set at £250 less per year than England, the Welsh Government had already announced two recent rises bringing them in line with the higher fees in England.
For the 2025/26 academic year, the tuition fee for full-time undergraduate students in Wales is £9,535 per year for UK “home” students, an increase from the previous £9,250.
The better news is that maintenance grants will also be raised, for the first time since 2018. All eligible students will see their grant increase by 2% as part of an overall uplift to maintenance support of 2%, the Welsh Government had already announced..
Universities across Wales have a combined deficit of more than £77m and that is expected to have risen slightly when new figures are out, the chair of Universities Wales and UWTSD Vice Chancellor, Professor Elwen Evans, told WalesOnline earlier this autumn
Courses have closed and hundreds of jobs have been cut, with more redundancies to come as universities across Wales struggle to balance the books.