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.
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.
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.
Further details on the DaDA and ALL can be found below. We have also created some scenarios that might help make these funding options more transparent for you. If you ever have any questions about funding, you can email us at info@oxforddrama.ac.uk
Example Funding Scenarios
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.
Fees
The fees for the academic year 25/26 are as follows:
Three Year Course in Acting:
£19,000 per year for students who do not receive government funding
One Year Course in Acting:
£19,000 per year for students who do not receive government funding
Acting Foundation Course & Acting with Musical Theatre Foundation Course (Sept 25 – March 26): £9,000 for the whole course
OSD has access to a range of funding options to help students cover the cost of fees and living costs. Keep reading to find out how you can fund your dream.
Please note that, unfortunately, no public funding is available for the Foundation Courses.
Dance and Drama Awards
The Oxford School of Drama is part of the Government’s DaDA Scheme which provides scholarship grants for exceptionally talented people aged 18–23 years who wish to pursue a career as an actor.
The maximum Award will fund 100% of a student’s course fees and provide them with an annual living allowance of £4,550 in the form of a grant (it does not need to be repaid).
The awards are means-tested and eligibility depends on your household income. Household income is parental income unless you have worked full time for three consecutive years prior to 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 Loans
Students who are over the age of 19 are eligible to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan (ALL) of up to £7,395 per year towards their course fees. These are not means-tested and they require no credit checks. They are available even if you have previously had a student loan. 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. You can also find full eligibility details here: www.gov.uk/advanced-
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.
As part of our commitment to ensuring fairer access, we offer three bursaries for students accepted onto our Six Month Foundation Course and two for our One Year Acting Course, for entry in September 2025.
The bursary amounts are as follows
- 3 x Foundation Course bursaries – £3.5k each
- 2 x One Year Course bursaries – £5K
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.
For the One Year Course bursary, applications are open to anyone who will be 24 or over on the day the course begins and therefore not eligible for a DaDA award, with a household income under £35,000.
Please find more information on the bursaries here.
You must have received an offer to attend the school to request an application form. Please email the Student Support Manager at l.murray-white@oxforddrama.ac.uk
The deadline for applications is midnight on 4 July 2025. Applicants who receive an offer after this date cannot be considered for the bursaries.
The Ashley Family Bursaries
OSD is grateful to have been awarded bursary funds from The Ashley Family Foundation to support two Welsh students in their training with us.
The bursary amounts will be decided at the time of application, but will be no less than £5,000.
The Ashley Family Bursaries are open to any Welsh applicant with a household income under £35,000, and who holds an offer to train on either the One or Three Year Courses.
However, we encourage any Welsh applicant who may have a higher household income to apply for the bursaries if they feel that their income does not reflect their financial situation accurately. For example, if the household has a high number of dependants and, therefore, a lower level of available support for the individual applicant.
Applications for the Ashley Family Bursaries may only be made once an applicant has received an offer to train at OSD. The deadline for applications is 4th July 2025. To recieve an application form, please email our Student Support Manager l.murray-white@oxforddrama.ac.uk
Garfield Weston Foundation Fund
The School is very grateful for the support that it receives from the Garfield Weston Foundation to assist students with both course fees and living costs. The School is able through these funds to respond to the individual needs of students who may be unable to take up a place at the School without some additional support to make the training affordable. Priority access is given to students with the greatest need. This may be because they are from low income families or they are unable, because of their age, to take up funding from the Dance & Drama Award Scheme. The School will invite students who are offered places to train at the School to apply to the Fund.
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.
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