Making It Possible: Funding Your Training
We know that our funding options differ from other Drama Schools, and figuring it all out can feel overwhelming. The reality is that the majority of our students leave us with less debt than the average student within the Student Loan system. This is because of the combination of Government-backed funding options available to our students.
Although most of our students fit into our funding model, we recognise that some don’t. So, we also have means-tested bursaries available to apply for to help you achieve your goals.
Please note that our funding options have residency requirements. To learn more about your eligibility, please read the details below.
Foundation Courses do not have government-backed funding available; please scroll down to the Bursaries & Scholarships section of this page to learn about your funding options.
Funding Flow Chart
We know there is a lot of text on this page – so, for anyone feeling a little lost, or for any visual learners, we have created a flow chart that simplifies OSD’s funding model.
You can download the flow chart here.
Funding For Three Year Course
What are the Course Fees?
The fees for the academic year 26/27 are as follows:
Three Year Course in Acting:
£19,500 per year for students who do not receive government funding
What Funding is Available to Me?
Dance and Drama Award (DaDA)
The DaDAs are means-tested scholarships (you don’t pay them back) available to people aged 18-23. Below is an overview of the national income bands.
1. Students from households with an income of £30,000 or below will pay no course fees and are eligible for a grant to help with their living costs.
2. Students from households with an income of £30,001 to £33,000 will pay no course fees
3. Students from households with an income between £33,001 and £90,000 will not pay the full course fees, but will have to make some contribution towards them. The most that you will need to pay is £7,175, which the ALL can cover if you are 19+ at the start of the course.
To put it simply, you will be eligible for a DaDA if you:
- are under the age of 24
- have lived in the UK (the EU, Gibraltar, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein) for the last 3 years
- have a household income of less than £90k
Please note students are not eligible for DaDA funding if they are resident in The Channel Islands, ie. Jersey and Guernsey or the Isle of Man.
For further information and national income scales visit: www.gov.uk/dance-drama-awards
Advanced Learner Loan (ALL)
Students aged 19 and over have access to the Advance Learner Loan (ALL), which can only contribute towards your course fees not living costs. The ALL is a loan, meaning you must repay the government after your training but only once you reach a certain monthly income, but the loan is available to anyone 19+ and is not means-tested.
Eligible for the DaDA?
There are two scenarios if you are taking out a DaDA:
- Household income of £33,000 and below
- You do not need an ALL as your course fees are covered by the DaDA.
- Household income above £33,000
- You can take out an ALL up to £7,175 to cover your remaining course fees
Not Eligible for a DaDA?
- You can take out an ALL to cover £7,395 of your course fees.
You need to have lived in the UK (or the EU, Gibraltar, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein) for the last 3 years to be eligible for an ALL.
When you take out an ALL you will also get access to bursaries to support your travel, living and childcare costs. The School will be responsible for applying for those bursaries on your behalf. The loan will only start to be repaid after you leave the course and only when/if your monthly earnings exceed £2,274.
For more information watch the Shaw Trust clip on this page or watch the Student Loan Company’s clip: Advanced Learner Loans explained.
Example Funding Scenarios - Three Year Course
Scenario One
I am 18 years old and come from a household with an income of £38,000. I have an offer to train on the Three Year Course.
You are eligible for a DaDA! With an income of £38,000, you will need to contribute some money to your course fees.
As you are 18 years old, you are not eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan.
This means you will need to contribute:
- £1,275.00 per academic year for course fees
Scenario Two
I am 19 years old and have a household income of £20,000. I have an offer to train on the Three Year Course.
You are eligible for a full DaDA Award, with additional funds awarded for your living costs.
You will not pay any course fees. In addition to this, you will receive £4,550 per academic year towards your living costs.
You don’t need to apply for the ALL, as your course fees are covered.
Scenario Three
I am 25, and have an income of £30,000. I have an offer to train on the One Year Course.
You are eligible for an ALL; this will cover £7,395.00 towards your course fees.
You are not able to apply for a DaDA, but you can apply for the £5,000 OSD One Year Bursary, which, if awarded, would take your total funding to £12,395
You would need to contribute:
- £6,605 with an OSD Bursary
- £11,605 without an OSD Bursary
Scenario Four
I am 21 years old with a household income of £45,000. I will be joining the Three Year Course
You are eligible for the DaDA and the ALL.
After your DaDA contribution, you will have £1,275 that you will need to contribute towards your course fees for each academic year.
As you are over 19, you can take out an ALL to cover the £1,275 per year (£3,825 total).
This means you will not pay course fees yourself but will have a loan of £3,825 to pay back to the Government once you are employed.
Funding For One Year MA
What are the Course Fees?
The fees for the academic year 26/27 are as follows:
One Year Course in Acting:
£21,000 per year for students who do not receive government funding
What Funding is Available to Me?
Postgraduate Master’s Loan
As a new full-time postgraduate student, you may be able to apply for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan. These loans are repaid after your studies.
A Postgraduate Master’s Loan will cover most of your course fees. Master’s Loans are capped and set by the government, and they are not means-tested. You do not apply for your funding with us at OSD; rather, you apply directly with the Student Finance authority.
There may be some differences in what you can apply for, depending on where you live.
There is more detailed information below, as well as on the Government’s website.
It is worth noting that, if you have already taken out a Postgraduate Master’s Loan then you will not be able to take out a second loan to cover your course fees here at OSD. Keep reading for more details, and for some funding scenarios designed to help bring this information to life.
Example Funding Scenarios - One Year MA
Scenario One
I live in Wales, and I have never taken out a Master's Loan before.
You could be eligible for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan through Student Finance Wales.
The maximum loan you could receive is £19,858, and you can decide how this funding is allocated (either course fees, living costs, or a mix).
If you use the full allocation towards your course fees, you will need to self-finance the remaining course fees.
- £1,745 self-finance
- £19,255 Master’s Loan
Scenario Two
I live in Scotland and have never taken out a Master's Loan before.
You could be eligible for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan through the Student Awards Agency Scotland.
The maximum tuition loan you could receive is £7,000 in addition to a Living Cost Loan, which could be up to £6,900
You will need to self-finance the course fees not covered by your Tuition Loan.
- £7,000 Tuition Loan
- £14,000 Self-funded
Scenario Three
I live in England and have never taken out a Master's Loan before.
You could be eligible for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan through Student Finance England.
The maximum loan you could receive is £12,8580 and you can decide how this funding is allocated (either course fees, living costs, or a mix).
You will need to self-finance the course fees not covered by your loan
- £12,858 maximum course fee loan
- £8,142 self-funded
Scenario Four
I live in the UK and I have taken out a Post Graduate Master's Loan already to support myself through a different course
You are not eligible to take out another Post Graduate Master’s Loan and will need to self-fund your course fees.
OSD offers some Burasaries to those who may need support in funding their training. If you have received an offer to train at OSD and are interested in applying for a One Year Course Bursary, please get in touch with Laura, our Student Support Manager, at l.murray-white@oxforddrama.ac.uk, to request further information.
Funding For Foundation Courses
Fees
What Funding is Available to Me?
OSD has access to a range of Bursary options to help students cover the cost of fees and living costs. Keep reading to find out how you can fund your dream.
Bursaries and Scholarships
The School has a number of bursaries and scholarships available to support course fees and living costs for students who need extra support or who are facing financial hardship.
OSD Awards
The Oxford School of Drama Bursaries
The Oxford School of Drama is committed to promoting inclusivity in the arts and is working proactively towards greater diversity in the range of actors training for the profession. Lack of available funding, which disproportionately affects those applying for our Foundation and One-Year courses, can be a barrier to talented prospective students.
Foundation Bursaries
As part of our commitment to ensuring fairer access, we offer three bursaries for students accepted onto our Six Month Foundation Course for entry in September 2026.
The bursary amounts are as follows
- 3 x Foundation Course bursaries – £3.5k each
For the Foundation Course bursaries, applications are welcomed from anyone with a household income under £35,000 for whom the total fee amount acts as a barrier to accepting a place.
You must have received an offer to attend the school to request an application form. Please email Laura, our Student Support Manager, at l.murray-white@oxforddrama.ac.uk
The deadline for applications will be 3rd July 2026.
Applicants who receive an offer after the deadline date cannot be considered for the bursaries.
Further detailed information about the Foundation Course Bursaries can be found here.
One Year Bursaries
We are aware that the Postgraduate Master’s Loans don’t cover the full cost of course fees, and that the amount you can apply for varies depending on where you live.
We want to ensure our training is accessible to as many people as possible.
To help improve access to our training, we offer a limited number of Oxford School of Drama Bursaries for students joining the One Year MA in Acting.
The Busary amounts are as follows:
- 7 x One Year MA Bursaries – £3,000 each
If you have received an offer to train at OSD and are interested in applying for a One Year Course Bursary, please get in touch with Laura, our Student Support Manager, at l.murray-white@oxforddrama.ac.uk, to request further information.
Student Hardship Fund
The Oxford School of Drama has established its own Hardship Fund which is distributed each year to students on the Three Year and One Year courses at the School. Students not in receipt of government funding and students with disabilities are prioritised.
External Awards
Mhairi Armstrong Bursary
This bursary is in memory of Mhairi Armstong, former Voice Tutor and Trustee of the School, in recognition of her dedication to the work of the School. This bursary is given to a Three Year Course student at the end of their first year of training.
Laurence Olivier Bursary
The Society of London Theatre offers these annual bursaries to help second year students on the Three Year Course facing financial difficulty in their final year of training. The School is invited to nominate two candidates to audition for this bursary.
Constellations Creatives Drama Student Bursary
The School is invited to nominate a student of East Asian origin for this bursary awarded by Yellow Earth Theatre Company to encourage and promote greater participation and representation of East Asian actors on stage and screen.
Sir John Gielgud Bursary
The School is invited to nominate one second year student on the Three Year Course who is facing financial hardship for this bursary.
Equity Student Bursary
Equity makes two awards of £500 each year to help support actors at the start of their professional career. The school, alongside other Federation of Drama School members, nominates two students for the award. Nominated students must be existing Equity Student Members and in their final year of training.
Spotlight Prize
The School nominates one third-year graduating student to audition for the Spotlight Prize.
Sophie's Silver Lining Fund
The School is proud to be a nominated institution for Sophie’s Silver Lining Fund. OSD nominates a student who needs financial support. The fund seeks to support the nominated student throughout their training. Grants will be no more than £1,000.
