RCA scholarships and awards
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The RCA is committed to celebrating diversity, eliminating discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity to all.
Our scholarship programme is growing, with hundreds of financial awards planned for the 2024/5 academic year, supporting students with financial needs as well as those from under-represented groups, including students with disabilities and students with refugee and asylum seeker status.
How can I get a scholarship to study at the RCA?
There are two routes to obtaining a scholarship to study at the RCA.
Academic merit
A number of scholarships will be awarded to high-scoring students on the basis of academic merit. Your application will be automatically assessed for one of these scholarships, and if you receive an academic merit scholarship, you will be told about this at the same time as receiving your RCA offer. Receiving this type of scholarship does not stop you from applying for other scholarships, which might be linked to your financial circumstances or being part of an under-represented group in higher education.
These scholarships will be available in the earlier rounds of applications, so the earlier you apply the more chance you have of receiving a scholarship.
Financial need or being part of an under-represented group in higher education
Applications for these types of scholarships will open in Spring 2024, and will be open to everyone who has applied and been offered a place as part of Round 1 and Round 2.
All Round 1 and 2 offer holders will be invited to complete an application, asking for more information about you and your circumstances. Applicants will then be marked against the criteria for the different scholarships that are available and matched to a scholarship based on their score.
If you apply in Round 3, there may be scholarships still available, but they are likely to be for specific programmes or specific personal circumstances, and mostly for UK students - the majority of scholarships will be awarded to Round 1 and Round 2 applicants.
What sorts of scholarships are available for study at the RCA?
Most of our scholarships are aimed at MA level study, though there are also scholarships available for Graduate Diploma, MFA, MDes, MPhil, MRes, MArch, MEd and PhD.
Different types of scholarships include:
- Full fee payment plus living costs
- Full fee payment
- Partial fee payment
- Contributions to living costs
Most scholarships are for UK (home) students, though international scholarships are also available.
Select a programme below to view examples of the types of scholarships that were available for the 2023/24 academic year.
A full list of scholarships available for 2024/5 will be available from October 2023.
Previous scholarships for September 2023 entry
Select a programme to view examples of the types of scholarships that were available for the 2023/24 academic year.
Other funding opportunities
Scholarships are extremely competitive and limited in number and meeting the eligibility criteria for a scholarship does not guarantee that you will receive one. We recommend that you apply for your place to study as soon as possible; we also recommend you look into external funding options and apply for any other sources of funding available to you.
In the UK there are many hundreds of charitable organisations and educational trusts that can offer financial assistance to students. Being successful in receiving this form of funding requires a combination of luck and showing attention to detail in the content of your application. Many of our current students have benefited from assistance from external organisations.
Turn 2 Us is one of the many useful places to look for relevant charities.
The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding is another good place to start. This is an external resource that the RCA subscribes to and the pin number for access is 1201.
RCA Open Days provide an opportunity to hear more about funding. Follow this link to find out when the next Open Day is and how to register to attend.
