Royal College of Music Scholarships

Everyone who applies for a performance or composition course starting in 2026 or 2027 is considered for a scholarship, whether they audition in person or by video. Awards rest on merit: performance at the audition, or the strength of the portfolio and interview for composers. There is nothing extra to fill in.

Applicants who audition in November or December and are offered a scholarship usually receive a letter by email before the end of December; others normally hear within two weeks of receiving an offer of a place. Anyone who receives no award letter should assume they have not been given a scholarship.

For postgraduate and international students, the value of the award is taken off the tuition fee invoice rather than paid out. Home undergraduates, who can borrow their full fees from the Student Loans Company, may choose to have their scholarship deducted from fees or to take it for living costs in three termly instalments.

The award letter says whether an award is for the first year only or for each year of the course. Awards are not reconsidered in later years and do not go up or down, and students whose award covers only the first year keep the title of RCM Scholar throughout the course.

Each year the College awards at least three scholarships worth the full fees for every year of the course to UK students from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse backgrounds, who are under-represented in classical music. They can be used for fees or living costs. Candidates must be UK nationals paying Home fees, apply by the October deadline and audition in the main London period, from late November to mid December.

Since 2025/26, UK undergraduates on the BMus from households with incomes of 25,000 pounds or less receive a bursary of 3,000 pounds a year, and those with incomes up to 35,000 pounds receive 1,500. Care leavers can receive a further 1,000 pounds a year. These bursaries come on top of any scholarship and need no separate application.