Funding your training and financial support
We offer places based on talent and potential, not on financial situation. However, it is important that when you accept a place at RADA, you understand how you will pay for it and whether you will need financial assistance. Our Student and Academic Services team is here to help with advice and support about paying your fees, applying for student loans and RADA scholarships.
We are a higher education provider, which means that coming to RADA costs the same as most UK university courses and has the same access to student loans. We also offer RADA scholarships and have links with external scholarship schemes such as D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, Boris Karloff Foundation or Clothworkers’ Foundation. Around 60% of undergraduate students receive some financial support from RADA.
We include some advice on budgeting as a student in our Living in London pages and our Student and Academic services team can help offer more in-depth advice once you start your training with us.
We encourage anyone who is worried about finances to come and talk to us.
Student loans
RADA is a Registered Provider with the Office for Students and applications are made directly to us (not through UCAS). This means that Home (UK) students studying on our courses are eligible for financial support from the Student Loans Company.
Undergraduates can apply for a student loan for your tuition fees and living costs if:
- you are a UK ('home') student
- you have not already completed a course at the same level (for example another BA degree or higher)
Tuition fee loans are not means-tested, and are paid directly to RADA. This means that you do not have to pay any fees upfront for your course.
If you meet the above criteria you may also be able to take out a maintenance loan to support you in your studies. These loans can be means-tested and the amount you can access will depend on whether you are living at home or independently. The maintenance loan is paid directly to you for your living costs.
Information about how much you can borrow, how to apply for loans and a student finance calculator are available on the government's student finance website.
RADA is a higher education provider and our fees are set by the Government. You can find course tuition fees are at the top of each course page on the website.
Other costs
Almost all materials and resources you require for your course, including travel for any trips, are included in your tuition fees.
Other material costs (not included in your tuition fee): approximately £300. Depending on your course, things not covered include protective footwear, practice clothes, play texts and stationery or footwear, yoga mats, play texts and stationery.
To participate in our Technical Theatre and Stage Management courses you will need to have a laptop, phone/tablet devices and related equipment. See more information on the document here. Prices for laptops may vary but costs are likely to be in the region of £550 and upwards. Educational discounts are available, so we advise that you wait until you are enrolled before buying any new equipment. We recognise that not all applicants/ students will own this equipment or be in a financial position to purchase it and depending on circumstance will support you to ensure that you can access the equipment you need.
International students will need to pay for visa costs; please visit the UK Visas & Immigration website for further details.
More information is available from the admissions team by emailing admissions@rada.ac.uk.
Students who have studied for a previous degree level qualification are not eligible for government-sponsored loans for a degree at the same or lower level.
RADA welcomes applications from UK students who already hold a degree from another institution or in a different subject and we hold a small number of places at the UK fee rate for such students.
You will need to finance yourself for both fees and living expenses. We have a very limited number of scholarships, which include full-fee and/or full-maintenance scholarships for students applying to our undergraduate programmes who are not eligible for student finance. Please read our scholarship section below for more information.
It is in your interest to provide us with information about how you intend to pay for your fees and support yourself through training, if you are not eligible for government-sponsored student finance. We will prioritise students from low-income backgrounds and from under-represented groups in allocating financial support.
Where we have limited funds, competitive awards* and/or must nominate students for specific named scholarships, we will use additional criteria to prioritise students as per the targets set out in our Access and Participation Plan:
- Household income is under £25,000 per year
- Ethnicity – students from a Black or Global Majority background
- Disabled students
- The student is classed as a care leaver/looked after or ‘estranged’ and is thus eligible for an additional annual financial award of £4,000 per year (on top of the income derived award – see point 14) for each year of study.
- Students studying on our FdA in Technical Theatre and Stage Management
*competitive awards are named scholarships which students are invited to interview/audition for.
Depending on your circumstances, you may be required to obtain a study visa for your chosen course of study.
International students are required to pay the full cost of their fees and living costs. We also ask for evidence that there is sufficient funding available for tuition fees and living costs for at least the first year of your course – you may also be required to submit this proof to UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) when applying for a study visa.
All international students are asked to pay a £3000 deposit when accepting a place offer.
There are also financial requirements associated with the allocation of a Student visa.
Please visit the UK Visas & Immigration website for further details.
American applicants
RADA is not, at present, eligible to administer US Federal Loans.
RADA offers a number of scholarships and bursaries.
Students are invited to apply for a scholarship once they have been offered a place. Priority is given to low income undergraduate students who are studying in higher education for the first time (under £25,000 up to £45,000) and from groups under-represented in the profession.
We are not currently able to offer scholarships for our MA Theatre Lab.
All students meeting the General eligibility criteria below will be allocated an automatic award of £4000, per year, for the duration of their registered programme
General eligibility
Students must meet all the following criteria:
- Be registered on a higher education programme at RADA validated by King's College London and be classed for funding purposes as a ‘RADA student’.
- Must be a UK/IRE student undergraduate student who is new to Higher Education (ie does not already hold a degree)
- Must have taken all government finance available to them (Student Loans)
- Household Income should be under £45,000 per year
- Must be able to provide proof of their household income (parental or partner) or must be able to provide proof of their own personal income to determine if they meet the government agency definition of being an ‘independent student’.
Students who do not meet the General Eligibility criteria may be considered for a Discretionary Award. Students new to RADA are required to provide evidence of their own attempts to raise additional finance to contribute to the cost of their courses.
Find out more in our Scholarship Policy.
Care Experienced
In accordance with our 2020 – 2025 Access and Participation Plan, RADA offers an additional scholarship to people who are care experience (for living costs) of £4,000 per year for each year of study. This is for UK students on undergraduate courses.
Students are invited to apply for scholarship support once a place is offered.
Find our Accessible Summary of the Access and Participation Plan 2020-25.
Hardship fund
RADA has a small hardship fund. Students can make a direct request to Student Services staff for assistance for emergencies (like dental treatment) or general hardship. Amounts awarded will not usually exceed £500.