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Scholarships

RCS Scholarships

Each year, RCS disburses circa £1.5 million in scholarships to our incoming and continuing undergraduate and postgraduate students from Scotland, the Rest of the UK, the EU and internationally based on merit and financial need.

RCS scholarships vary in amount from a few hundred pounds to several thousand pounds.

We have also established a specific bursary for Rest of the UK students to assist with fees. This is a means-tested bursary and is awarded automatically when applying for a student loan for fees.

Within the School of Music, the majority of scholarship awards are made in January following an audition and offer of a place at the RCS. Scholarships are made based on ability and potential with some for financial need. Many School of Music scholarships are made for the duration of the programme. There is no separate scholarship application for the School of Music as everyone is automatically considered.

School of Drama, Dance, Production and Film scholarships are awarded for a mixture of financial need and merit. Scholarships within the School of DDPF are applied for and awarded on an annual basis. If you are offered a place at the Conservatoire for drama, dance, production or film (DDPF), you will be forwarded the link to Apply for a DDPF Scholarship.

We are now taking scholarship applications for the academic year 24/25 for the School of DDPF. You can apply on the dedicated page:

DDPF Scholarship Applications

About RCS Scholarships

Scholarships decisions across both schools are made by a scholarship panel in discussion with the students’ Head of Department. Awards made in the second and subsequent years will be subject to the level of future income streams to the RCS Trust and will be confirmed on an annual basis.

The RCS Scholarship Fund is supported by the generosity of many charitable trusts, companies, businesses, bequests and individual members of the public.

If you are successful in being awarded a scholarship that has been donated by a specific trust or donor there may be additional conditions. You may be asked to submit an annual report to your donor/s at least once a year with an update on your progress. Students may also be asked to list the award in their biography and, on occasion, attend events where their donors may be present. Every scholarship student is expected to play a full and active role in the life of the institution, to act as a good role model for other students, and to be an ambassador for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

The RCS Scholarship Fund is supported by the generosity of many charitable trusts, companies, businesses, individual members of the public and from bequests, therefore we ask students not to approach these bodies independently:

  • ABRSM
  • Barcapel
  • Cameron Macintosh Foundation
  • John Mather Trust
  • RCS Trust
  • The Leverhulme Trust
  • The Wolfson Foundation
  • Universal Music UK Sound Foundation
  • Inches Carr Trust
  • Thomas and Margaret Roddan Trust

We encourage you to utilise other resources in your search for funding, such as The Scholarship Hub which provides a free (and premium) database of scholarships, grants, bursaries and awards for UK undergraduates and postgraduates.

Other Scholarships

In addition to the RCS Scholarships detailed above for the Schools of Music and DDPF, we also offer other specific scholarships both institutionally and through working with external foundations. More information is available on the pages below.

International Scholarships for Production


Successful International applicants will be offered a minimum of £2,500 per annum when studying either of our Production programmes: BA Production Arts & Design or BA Production Technology & Management

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