RCA scholarships
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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 2024/25 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. Round 1 and 2 programme applications for MA, MFA, MDes, MRes, MArch, and MEd 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.
Financial need or being part of an under-represented group in higher education
Applications for these types of scholarships will open in April 2024 for all Round 1 and 2 offer holders for MA, MFA, MDes, MRes, MArch, MEd and MPhil programmes.
Round 1 and 2 offer holders will receive an email with an invitation to complete a scholarship application. 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 are a Round 3 applicant, there may be a limited number of 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. We will add more information to this page if any further opportunities become available from June 2024.
We will shortly be adding more information about scholarship opportunities specific to Graduate Diploma offer holders for September 2024 entry onwards.
PhD offer holders and applicants can find details of the Sir Frank Bowling PhD Studentship in the Our Scholarships section below. Queries about Doctoral Training Grants should be directed to studentships@rca.ac.uk and further information about PGR funding and doctoral loans can be found here
What sorts of scholarships are available for study at the RCA?
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.
View our list of confirmed scholarships for 2024/25 below, or visit the programme page you're interested in to see the scholarships available for that programme.
How can I prepare for my scholarship application?
Round 1 and 2 offer holders for MA, MFA, MDes, MRes, MArch, MEd and MPhil programmes will be invited in April to answer the following scholarship application questions:
Section 1: Priority eligibility
- Have you received means-tested student funding or scholarship support in another higher education institution? Evidence could include your Student Finance or scholarship confirmation.
- Have you received any means-tested government benefit in the last 5 years? Evidence could include confirmation of benefits payments or a letter from the Department of Work and Pensions or similar government document.
- Have you experienced unavoidable financial hardship? 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 the economic and political climate of their home country).
- 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 or asylum status? Evidence could include a copy of your Application Registration Card (ARC) or permission to stay documentation.
- Do you consider yourself care experienced? Evidence could include social care or local authority documentation.
- Do you have primary caring responsibilities for a dependent or another family member? 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 work after a career break / parental leave? Evidence could include a CV, resignation letter, reference or another document that evidences your situation.
Please note that if you select 'no' for all of the Eligibility Check criteria, you will still be able to submit a short supporting statement (150 words) outlining why you should be considered for scholarship opportunities despite not meeting any of the Eligibility Check criteria above.
Section 2: Personal statement questions
- Outline a summary of your background and financial need (150 words)
- Outline what steps you are taking to plan and prepare financially for study at RCA (150 words)
- Outline how you would benefit from a scholarship at RCA, in the context of your current circumstances (150 words)
- Outline your future career goals and what you see as the positive outcome of receiving a scholarship beyond your studies at RCA (150 words)
The RCA's definition of disadvantage may help you to compose your answer to the first personal statement question:
- 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
- social class
- 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
I do not have the finances to pay the deposit to secure my place, is there any support available?
We are committed to ensuring that financial need is not a barrier to studying at the RCA, and any student unable to secure their place through a deposit can apply for deposit exemption status
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 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.
Scholarship general terms and conditions
- Scholarships are awarded for a specific programme and entry year and cannot be deferred without consent from the academic programme and scholarships panel.
- Scholarship amounts and restrictions will vary across individual awards.
- No correspondence will be entered into regarding scholarship outcomes and no appeal is allowed.
- The RCA may terminate the scholarship in the event that:
a) your performance assessment fails to meet the standards as set forth in the RCA Regulations
b) you fail to comply with any of the terms as set out in the RCA Terms & Conditions and the RCA reasonably considers that you have committed an act that may prejudice or damage the reputation of the RCA.
Contact us
For more information, please contact the Scholarships team
scholarships@rca.ac.uk
