There are no academic requirements for any of our courses.

Our focus is on training actors to work in the industry, rather than training students to get a degree. For this reason, we have decided against offering degree courses.

Nevertheless, we do understand that our students want recognition for their achievements in the form of a national qualification. Therefore, our Three Year and One Year Courses are certified as follows on the National Qualification Framework:

All qualifications are validated by Trinity College London.

We have 19 students in each year of the Three Year Course, 19 students on the One Year Course and no more than 18 in each class of the Foundation Course.

The audition season runs from September to May each year. We advise applicants to submit their application as early in the season as possible so that we can allocate recall auditions. All our recall auditions are held in person at the school so submitting your application earlier in the season allows more opportunity to allocate you a recall date within your available dates. As the season closes, we can only run a limited number of recall days therefore, you have more chance of being seen at recall stage if you apply earlier on in the season.

For instructions on how to apply please go to the apply page.

Yes. We aim to ensure fairer access by offering a free audition place to eligible applicants who aspire to train at drama school. We are able to offer 100 free auditions to people whose financial circumstances may prevent them from applying to us. 

For instructions on how to apply for a free audition please go to the apply page.

The Oxford School of Drama does not hold a Tier 4 Sponsor licence and would be unable to issue the documentation international applicants would require in order to apply for a Tier 4 Visa to come and study in the UK. Therefore, we are not able to accept international students on the Three Year Course and One Year Course unless they have the right to remain in the UK/settled status.

From 1 January 2021, citizens from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are able to visit/study in the UK for a period of up to 6 months, without the need to apply for entry clearance in advance. They would therefore be eligible to apply for the Six Month  Acting and Acting with Musical Theatre Foundation Courses.

Irish citizens are eligible to apply for any of our courses, and do not require a visa to study or work in the UK or pre-settled/settled status.

For more information about whether you are eligible for our full time courses visit the apply page.

We also run short acting courses which are open to international students. Please visit the Short Course page for more information.

First Round auditions are via self-tape. For all our courses, the First Recall is held at the School. For the Three Year and One Year Course in Acting there is also a Second Recall audition and this is also an in-person audition day at the School. If you get through to this stage of the audition process, we will contact you via email to inform you of the arrangements for the day.

The majority of our Three Year and One Year Course students receive funding and so do not pay the published fee rate. For students who pay the full fees because they are not eligible to receive government funding (e.g. they are aged 24+ or their household income is more than £90,000 per year), the course fees are as below for the academic year 24/25:

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  (Sept 24 – March 25):
£9,000 for the whole course

We want to make sure that everyone can get access to training so we work hard to ensure that applicants who are offered a place on our Three Year and One Year courses can get the financial support they need to enable them to train at the School.

For most of our students that will be a combination of different government funding. There are two government schemes that support our students.

Dance and Drama Awards

The Oxford School of Drama is privileged to be part of the Government’s DaDA Scheme which provides scholarship grants for 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 fee 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. Once you are offered a place on the Three Year and One Year Courses we will invite you to apply for a DaDA grant. 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.

Advanced Learner Loans

Students who are over the age of 19 are eligible to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to help to fund their course. These are not means-tested and they require no credit checks. They are available even if you have previously had a student loan. 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 £2,214 (2023/24).

Bursaries and Scholarships

The School also 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. 

For further information about how to apply for funding visit our Funding and Fees page.

There is no government funding for the Foundation Courses.

No. Students are instead able to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan which is a government loan that is available to help towards course costs for One Year and Three Year Course students aged 19 and over even if they have already had a loan from the Student Loan Company for a previous course. The loan can be used towards course fees only and you apply through the School. Please visit the Funding and Fees page for full details.

Ukrainian students and their family members supported through the Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and Ukraine Extension Scheme are eligible to apply for any of our courses. They are then immediately eligible to apply for Dance and Drama Awards funding for tuition fees and living costs and are exempt from the 3-year residency requirement as per the current Dance and Drama Awards scheme guide (2022/23).

No. Students on the One/Three Year courses house share, usually North of Oxford (just 8 miles from the School) or in towns and villages surrounding the School (Kidlington, Woodstock etc).

As the Foundation Courses are only six months long, the majority of students on the course stay with local host families, and the School provides a list of local families known to the School.

Yes, we offer on-line and in-person short acting courses and devising courses in addition to the Three Year, One Year and Six Month Foundation Courses. Please visit our Short Courses page for more information.

It is only possible to come and look around the School on our Open Mornings. Further details of future Open Mornings are announced in our newsletter and on our Open Events page. We hold one in the Autumn Term and one in the Spring Term.

Yes. Please email us at info@oxforddrama.ac.uk with the subject ‘Prospectus Request’ and provide us with your full name and postal address. You can view the online copy here.