The answer is 'it is not simple', or "Perhaps but there are a number of conditions".

Firstly I assume you would be studying in the UK, and are looking to the govt student loan scheme - if not then it would depend on which organization you wanted to borrow money from, and you would simply have to ask them

In general loans are awarded to students only on qualifying courses. so check that first with the university or college , but then it gets messy - you need to be resident for 3 years, a UK national or any one of a number of other conditions, and the course intensity has to exceed a certain fraction - so things where you are mostly working and a little study, (like apprenticeships) do not count.

https://www.gov.uk/student-finance/who-qualifies

is worth a read, and the web pages on either side of it/

Then there is the question of the university fees for the year in industry - this varies but  many places charge a significant fraction of the normal course fees because you are still on their books as it were, even if not attending in person.

Then there is how much the placement pays you.- if the placement is unpaid, then you can get a the same funding as a normal study year. But most placements are paid something , so do not qualify for the same student loan as the other years, but somethings like money towards accommodation, you can claim for.

You will need the details of the course, the type of placement, and your own eligibility to hand, and then you need to ask the student loan people.

Mike.

Quoting one university  website.

Students on a sandwich course will usually spend a year of the course on a work placement in the UK. During this year your entitlement to Student Finance will be different to the other  years of the course unless your are considered to be undertaking unpaid service (see below). 

Living Costs: Student Finance

Whether your work placement is paid or unpaid, you can apply for a non-income assessed reduced rate Maintenance Loan.  

In 2021/22 the rates are: 

• £4,035 - if you live away from home and your work placement is based in London. 
• £2,874 - if you live away from home and your work placement is elsewhere in the UK.
• £2,155 - if you live at home. 

Unpaid Service 

If you are considered to be taking Unpaid Service in your placement year then you can apply to Student Finance England for the same types of student funding for your living costs as you would in the other years of your course.

Otherwise it is assumed you are paid by the placement and you cannot apply for the normal student funding.

Unpaid placements that attract this support are specified as: 

a. Unpaid service in a hospital or in a public health service laboratory or with a clinical commissioning group in the UK

b. Unpaid service with a local authority in the UK acting in the exercise of its functions relating to the care of children and young persons, health or welfare, or with a voluntary organisation providing facilities or carrying out activities of a like nature in the UK

c. Unpaid service with a local authority acting in the exercise of public health functions in the UK

d. Unpaid service in the prison or probation and aftercare service in the UK

e. Unpaid research in a UK institution or, in the case of a student attending an overseas institution as a part of their course in an overseas institution

f. Unpaid service with a Special Health Authority, the NHS Commissioning Board, the National Institute for Care and Excellence, the Health and Social Care Information

Centre, a Local Health Board, a Health Board or a Special Health Board in Scotland, or a Health and Social Services Board in Northern Ireland

g. Unpaid service in the UK Parliament

Thank you for the information, but I have a question. I heard that I can pay for the university after completing the course. Is there such a thing?