Scholarships

Each year, RCS disburses circa £1.5 million in scholarships to our incoming and continuing undergraduate and postgraduate students from Scotland, Rest of UK, the EU and internationally on the basis of 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 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 audition and offer of a place at the RCS. Scholarships are made on the basis of ability and potential with some for financial need.  Many School of Music scholarships are made for the duration of 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 academic year 24/25 for the School of DDPF. You can apply by following the relevant link below:

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.