Full-time student
You are a full-time student if you are:
1Regs 14-16 ESA Regs•under 20 and a ‘qualifying young person’ (see below); or
•19 or over and a full-time student, unless you are aged 19 and count as being a qualifying young person (see
here);
or •under 19 in full-time advanced education (see
here).
Under 20 and a qualifying young person
You are a ‘qualifying young person’ if you are 19 or under and attending a full-time course of
non-advanced education which you were accepted on, enrolled on or started when you were under 19. If you are accepted on, enrol on or start the course on or after your 19th birthday, you are not a qualifying young person (see below). ‘Non-advanced education’ is anything below degree, Higher National Certificate or Higher National Diploma level and includes school-level courses. Your course is classed as ‘full time’ for income-related ESA if it is for more than 12 hours a week during term time. These 12 hours include classes and supervised study, but not meal breaks or unsupervised study either at home or at college. You may count as a qualifying young person in a gap between courses or for a period after you have finished a course (see
here).
19 or over and a full-time student
You count as a full-time student if you are undertaking a full-time course of study at an educational establishment. There are two definitions of ‘full time’ that apply: the first covers mostly courses of advanced education; the second covers most courses of non-advanced education.
•Your course is full time if it is classed as full time by the institution. If the institution describes the course as full time, you need convincing evidence to persuade the DWP otherwise, bearing in mind that what matters is the course itself rather than the hours you attend. This definition covers all courses of advanced education and any courses of non-advanced education not funded in whole or in part by government at a further education (FE) college.
•Your course is full time if it involves more than 16 hours a week. What matters is the number of hours specified in a document signed by the college. This is often called a ‘learning agreement’, but your college may refer to it by some other name – eg, Passport to Employment. This definition applies if you are at an FE college, not undertaking a higher education course, and your course is fully or partly funded by the government. In Northern Ireland, whether or not your course is full time depends on the institution’s definition. When applying for ESA, a letter from the institution stating that your course is part time should be sufficient.
Under 19 in full-time advanced education
If you are under 19 and in full-time advanced education rather than in non-advanced education, the rules on when you count as full time are the same as for those aged 19 or over (see above).