Funding for Master's programmes (UK & Ireland)

The RCA administers a number of scholarships, however a number of external funding options are also available. We strongly encourage UK and Irish citizens to investigate these options and conduct their own research into funding opportunities.

This page will be updated as new funding options become known. The RCA does not endorse any of these scholarships and funding options, this information is provided as a guide only.

If you are a UK or EU National (with settled or pre-settled status), you may have the option to receive Student Finance to assist you with the costs of your studies. The funding you may be eligible for will depend on where you normally reside.

Postgraduate Loan Funding for Master's Students (except MA Architecture: Part 2)

Students who normally reside in England and study an MA, MFA, Med, MDes or MRes programme may be eligible for a Postgraduate Loan from Student Finance England.

Postgraduate Loan Key Facts:

• A loan of £12,471 is available.
• It is paid in termly instalments over the duration of the programme.
• The loan is not means-tested (i.e. it is not based on your income).
• If you already have an equivalent level (or higher level) qualification, you will not be eligible for the Postgraduate Loan. This is regardless of when or in which country the previous qualification was studied.
• If you are not studying the full MA/MRes programme, you will not be eligible for the Postgraduate Loan.
• If you have previously received a Postgraduate Loan (even if the programme was not completed), you will not be eligible for another Postgraduate Loan except in certain circumstances.
• You will only start to repay this loan from the April after you have completed the programme and only if you are earning over the repayment threshold of £21,000.
• Repayments are 6% of anything earned over £21,000.
• You can apply online at GOV.UK Masters Loan for your Postgraduate Loan.
• Applications usually open in June and will take around four-to-six weeks to be processed.
• To find out more visit GOV.UK Masters Loan.

If you do not normally reside in England, then you can find out more about the funding available to you here:

Student Finance Wales

Student Finance Northern Ireland

Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)

Fore more detail on how to apply, visit Applying for student finance: Master's and MRes

If you are a UK or EU National (with settled or pre-settled status), you may have the option to receive Student Finance to assist you with the costs of your studies. The funding you may be eligible for will depend on where you normally reside.

Students who normally reside in England may be eligible for undergraduate funding for their MA Architecture programme if there is less than a three-year gap between their Part 1 and Part 2. Even if the gap is longer than this, you may still be eligible for undergraduate funding if you can prove they have maintained a link to Architecture during this period. If you haven't, you may still be eligible for the Postgraduate Loan funding.

Undergraduate Loan Key Facts:

• A tuition fee loan, which is paid directly to the RCA, is available to cover the full cost of the fees.
• A maintenance loan can be requested, which is paid in termly instalments directly to you.
• The tuition fee loan is not means-tested (i.e. it is not based on your income).
• The maintenance loan is partially means-tested. This means everyone is entitled to a proportion of the maintenance loan, and those with the lowest household incomes will be entitled to more.
• You can work out how much you might be entitled to by using the Student Finance Calculator
• You will only start to repay these loans from the April after you have completed the programme and only if you are earning over the repayment threshold (currently £27,295).
• Repayments are 9% of anything earned over the repayment threshold.
• You can apply online at GOV.UK - Student finance login.
• Applications for the academic year 25/26 will open in March and will take around 4-6 weeks to be processed.
• The deadline for applying to ensure your funding will be in place for the start of your programme is 23 May 2025.
• You need to make a Student Finance application for each year of your programme.
• To find out more visit GOV.UK - Student finance for undergraduates.

Students who studied their Part 1 abroad or on a part-time basis will not be eligible for undergraduate funding, but may be eligible for a Postgraduate Loan.

If you do not reside in England, then you can find out more about the funding available to you here:

Student Finance Wales

Student Finance Northern Ireland

For more detail on how to apply, visit Applying for student finance: MA Architecture (Part 2)

Aziz Foundation (supporting talented British Muslims - applications will open in January 2025)

The Black Heart Foundation Scholarship (for underrepresented and under-resourced students aged 25 and under)

FindAMasters scholarship

Go City Education Scholarship

MastersCompare postgraduate scholarship

MasterStudies.com scholarship

MastersPortal.com scholarship

Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST)

Postgrad Solutions Study Bursaries

RIBA AHR Scholarship

Snowdon Trust Masters Scholarship for Disabled Students

TopUniversities.com scholarships

The London Pass® Education Scholarship

Geoffrey Squire Bursary

Subject-specific scholarships

Fashion

British Fashion Council MA Scholarship

Kildare Village Fashion Scholarship (Ireland)

Arts & Humanities

The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (Painting, Print, Sculpture).

The Paul Mellon Centre MA Studentship

Design

Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

Industrial Design Studentships for graduates in engineering and science to study for a master's in Industrial Design.

History of Design

The Royal Historical Society Masters’ Scholarships

The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding

One of the most useful resources to discover funding opportunities is The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding. This is an external resource that the RCA subscribes to and makes available for our students. You can log in with your RCA email or request the pin number from Student Support (student-support@rca.ac.uk).  

Grants Online

See Grants Online - Education and Training.

It is often worth looking around for other funding opportunities. In the UK there are many hundreds of charitable organisations and educational trusts that can offer financial assistance to students. This form of funding requires hard work and some luck MA, but many of our current students benefit from assistance from external organisations. 

Turn 2 Us is one of the many useful places to look for relevant charities.

The following progression discounts are available for students who have previously studied at the RCA:

• Students progressing to an MA from Graduate Diploma: a £1,000 fee reduction (£1,000 fee reduction per year for two-year full-time MA programmes and £500 per year for part-time study).
• Students progressing to an MArch, MDes, MEd, MFA or MRes from an MA or MA/MSc: a £2,000 fee reduction (£1,000 per year for part-time study).
• Students progressing to Postgraduate Research (PhD or MPhil) from MA, MA/MSc, MArch, MDes, MEd, MFA or MRes: a £1,000 fee reduction per year (£500 per year for part-time study).
• For Postgraduate Research, if you change from full-time registration to part-time (or vice versa), then the fee reduction will be re-calculated and the maximum discount period is six years (excluding authorised leave of absence).