RCM Undergraduate Bursaries

As part of its Access and Participation Plan commitments the RCM offers bursaries to promote equality of opportunity to access conservatoire study, by providing financial support to UK undergraduates from low-income backgrounds. 

Bursaries are allocated based on the assessment of your household income by the Student Loan Company (SLC) for your student loan application. There is no separate bursary application process.

• The amount available as a bursary depends on your household income. Students from households with an income of £25,000 or lower will be eligible for a bursary of £3,000 for each year of the BMus course. Students from households with an income of £25,001 to £35,000 will be eligible for £1,500 per year.
• A further top-up bursary of £1,000 will be available to care leavers in years 1, 2 and 3, to assist with additional housing costs during the summer vacations.
• Eligibility is reassessed at the start of each academic year.
• All UK students on the BMus programme will be eligible for consideration for bursary funding for courses beginning between 2025/26 and 2028/29.
• Bursaries are in addition to any RCM scholarships awarded following audition. An RCM scholarship does not count towards your household income.

Eligibility

To receive a bursary students must be:

• Registered on the Bachelor of Music programme
• A UK national or have settled status in the UK
• Ordinarily resident in the UK (this means that your main, permanent address must be in the UK and you are not in the UK for the main purpose of education)
• Home fee status
• Eligible for a maintenance loan from the Student Loan Company (SLC)
• Assessed by the SLC as having a household income of £35,000 or less per year

How to apply

Bursaries are allocated based on the assessment of your household income by the SLC for your student loan application. There is no separate bursary application process. Students must apply for a student loan from their relevant local funding agency (Student Finance England, Student Finance Northern Ireland, Student Finance Wales or the Student Award Agency for Scotland). We recommend applying promptly when funding applications open to ensure your assessment is visible to the RCM by the start of October.

Visit the GOV.UK website for details of how to apply for a student loan.

As part of the student loan application students must consent to means testing by their funding body and agree for their data to be shared with the RCM. Students must re-apply annually for Student Finance from the SLC and will be re-assessed for bursary eligibility for each year of their studies. Students can be considered in any year of their BMus programme. It is not a requirement to have been a bursary recipient in previous years.