How to apply for an RCA scholarship

To see examples of the types of scholarships awarded for 2025/26, visit RCA scholarships.

All scholarships for the 2025/26 academic year have been awarded.

There are two routes to obtaining a scholarship to study at the RCA in the 2026/27 academic year:

• Academic merit
• Financial need or being part of an under-represented group in higher education

Different types of scholarship include:

• Full fees and maintenance (a contribution to living costs)
• Full fees
• Tuition fee discount
• Maintenance only (a contribution to living costs)

A substantial number of scholarships are for UK (Home fee status) students, though international scholarships are also available.

A number of scholarships are awarded to high-scoring Round 1 and Round 2 students on the basis of academic merit.

These scholarships are determined through the assessment of a Round 1 or 2 RCA programme application and do not relate to any previous qualifications. If you are successful in obtaining one of these scholarships, you will be told about this at the same time as receiving your RCA programme offer.

Scholarship applications for 2026/27 September entry for all MA programmes, MArch, MFA, MDes, MRes & MEd will open in Spring 2026 and all Round 1 and 2 offer holders will be sent a link to apply.

Applicants are not required to apply for a specific scholarship: this single application will be marked against the criteria for any scholarships that are available for your programme, and outcomes will be shared from late May 2026.

We're still confirming the details of the scholarships available for 2026/27, so even if you don't see any examples listed for which you think you meet the eligibility criteria please do make sure that you still apply in order to be in the running for financial support.

You can begin preparing your scholarship application in advance, following the guidance below.

The application will split into two main sections - Eligibility Criteria & Personal Statements. Only those meeting one or more of the Eligibility Criteria will proceed to the Personal Statements section. Even if you don't meet any of the Eligibility Criteria you will still be able to submit a short supporting statement outlining why you should be considered for scholarship opportunities.

Eligibility criteria

• Have you received means-tested student finance, a scholarship in support of financial need or other hardship funding in another higher education institution in the last 5 years? Evidence could include your Student Finance documentation or scholarship/hardship funding confirmation.
• Have you received any means-tested government benefit in the last 5 years? (for example, Universal Credit or Personal Independence Payments) Evidence could include confirmation of benefits payments, a letter from the Department of Work and Pensions, or a similar government document.
• Have you experienced unavoidable financial hardship? (for example, anyone who has experienced bankruptcy, had credit or loan arrangements) Evidence could include bankruptcy paperwork, bank or credit card statements or credit/loan agreements (Note: there is also flexibility here for applicants from outside the UK to provide evidence related to their home country's economic and political climate).
• Do you have a disability or chronic health condition that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do daily activities? Evidence could include a medical or diagnostic report or another official document that explains the nature of your disability or health condition.
• Do you currently have or have you ever had refugee, asylum or humanitarian protection status or limited leave to remain? Evidence could include permission to stay documentation or a copy of your Application Registration Card (ARC).
• Do you consider yourself care experienced or estranged? (by care experienced we mean any time spent in local authority care, with kinship carers, under a special guardianship order or being privately fostered. By estrangement we mean irreconcilably estranged from your biological, adoptive or only living parents) Evidence could include social care or local authority documentation.
• Do you have primary caring responsibilities for a dependent (under 18s or another family member needing long-term care) Evidence could include a Child Benefit Letter, Tax Credits, or another official document that evidences your situation.
• Do you consider this to be a career change or are you returning to study after a career break / parental leave? Evidence could include a CV, resignation letter, reference or another document that evidences your situation.

Personal Statements (the RCA's definition of disadvantage is provided to help applicants to compose their answer to the first statement)*

• Outline a summary of your background and financial need
• Outline what steps you are taking to plan and prepare financially for study at RCA
• Outline how you would benefit from a scholarship at RCA, in the context of your current circumstances
• Outline your future career goals and what you see as the positive outcome of receiving a scholarship beyond your studies at RCA

*RCA Definition of disadvantage

• experience of discrimination or disadvantage based on ethnicity or other protected characteristics
• refugee or asylum status
• type of school and education opportunities experienced
• growing up in social housing
• caring responsibilities
• having experience of being in care
• parental or carer occupational background and/or educational attainment
• receipt of state benefits or experience of unemployment (either yourself, or parent, or carer)
• lack of access to professional and supportive networks
• receipt of means-tested, state-assisted, undergraduate funding

If you are a PhD applicant, queries about Doctoral Training Grants should be directed to [email protected] and further information about PGR funding and doctoral loans can be found on the Funding for MPhil and PhD students page.

Scholarships are awarded for a specific programme and entry year and cannot be deferred without consent from the academic programme and scholarships team.

• Scholarship amounts and restrictions will vary across individual awards.
• No correspondence will be entered into regarding scholarship outcomes, and no appeal is allowed.