A Minimum Income Standard for Students
This research draws on the Minimum Income Standards (MIS) approach to develop a minimum socially acceptable standard of living for students, which sets out what students themselves identify as necessary to participate in university life. The project has been commissioned and supported by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) with funding from Technology One.
With students facing increased costs of living, the project aims to establish the cost of a minimum acceptable standard of living for students today.
Using the MIS methodology, the research comprises a sequence of focus groups with students from Universities across different cities, covering England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Groups discussed in detail what needs and costs are associated with being a university student in the UK – for accommodation, in the home, for studies, socially, getting around and life more broadly - in order to have a minimum acceptable standard of living which enables them to participate and feel included in the ‘university experience’.
The lists of goods and services described by groups were costed to provide a first baseline MIS for students. The research reports compare these budgets to resources that students may have available, the level of government student maintenance support, hours of paid employment, and parental contributions.
As a starting point the research focused on the needs of a second or third year student living in shared private rented accommodation (). A follow up study broadened the research to look at the needs of first year students, and students living in halls (). This has provided a fuller examination of student living costs across years and in different types of accommodation.
A further study is exploring the needs and costs faced by commuter students, given the growing number of students who do not relocate to attend university. The research will include focus groups and interviews to discuss the costs / savings and broader implications such as travel, time, impact on studies and student experience for undergraduate students who do not live locally to their university and/or do not live in student accommodation.
The research team will also be conducting research specifically focussed on the needs and costs for students studying in London, as well as uprating the 2025 MIS Student budgets.
These projects will be reporting in 2027
Publications
Hill, K., Padley, M. and Freeman, J. (2025) . London: Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI).
Hill, K., Padley, M. and Freeman, J. (2024) . London: Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI).
BLOG
Nick Hillman. HEPI: August 2025