Funding Your Dream: An Easy Guide To Drama School Funding

Funding your training. A group of male and female students sat under a tree, talking and laughing together

Course Fees can be confusing and daunting if you are applying to Drama Schools in the UK. Our guide aims to help you get to grips with your options.

One of the things that you need to understand when you are deciding to train as an actor is the cost of the training and what funding is available to help you pay for your course fees and your living costs. With OSD in particular, it is especially important to understand that OSD is not a University, and as such our students do not have access to higher education student loans through Student Finance England, but our students can access alternative Government Awards and Loans. Keep reading for more information about our funding options. 

Course fees at UK Drama Schools and how to obtain funding

  • Make sure that you know how much the course fees are for your chosen course. Course fees for all of our courses can be found here.
  • Look at what Government Funding is available to OSD students (we list these options below).
  • Some funding options have an age or household income requirement, so make sure you read all the details regarding eligibility.
  • Government funding for your training will either be a student loan (which you pay back when you are earning over an income threshold) or a grant (which you don’t pay back).
  • Have a look at OSD’s Bursaries and Scholarships to see if you may be eligible to apply once you have secured your place at the school. 
  • There are Charities and Trusts and Foundations and even individuals who support students to train. Make sure you read the details in this blog, or on our Funding page
  • Do your own research in your local area. There could be local or regional organisations such as local Trusts, Theatre Groups or even local Sponsors who can help with course fees.
  • Many students personally fundraise through their friends and families, as well as through crowdfunding to help with course fees. You may be surprised how small amounts from lots of people can add up. Every little bit helps. When you are fundraising, be specific about what you need (food for a year, course fees, etc) and set a financial target.
  • Students should be prepared to consider supporting themselves through Drama School by trying to save up before starting a full-time course. Students often work during the school holidays and may work some hours on the weekend as well. 

In preparation for Drama School prepare a budget

It is a great idea to create a budget before you move. This budget should list all the expenses you know you will have so that you can build a picture of how much money you will need per month to support yourself. 

You may not have ever created a budget for yourself before, especially if this is your first time living away from home. We suggest sitting down with someone you trust, who may have experience of budgeting, and listing all the costs you know for certain. Things like streaming subscriptions, phone bills, and gym memberships are fixed costs that you may already have experience with.  

If you are saving up before you start training, see whether there are any costs that you can do without or reduce. Going without Spotify Premium for a few months could give you some extra funds to put towards buying your rehearsal clothes.

Creating your budget allows you to be prepared. If you can pin down a monthly figure for your outgoings then you can begin to figure out how much part-time work you may need to take up, or how much you’ll be comfortable spending on rent. 

Expenses to consider when preparing your budget can include…

  • Your accommodation costs – rent and bills
  • Daily transport to and from School – will you take the school bus or will you walk?
  • Rehearsal clothes – black clothes with no logos or prints that are suitable for movement work. 
  • Food/drink
  • Social Life
  • Subscriptions for gyms or one-off exercise classes
  • Traveling home in the holidays
  • Other expenses such as your phone and other subscriptions
  • Course fees 
    • Be sure to factor in additional unknown costs such as books or equipment you may be asked to buy as part of your course. 

Use this useful link to The Money Saving Expert website for more advice on budgeting for students.

The Oxford School of Drama

At the Oxford School of Drama , we work hard to ensure that applicants who are offered a place in our Three-year and One-year courses can get the financial support they need to train at the school. We take a highly individualised approach, talking all our students through the funding process and seeing how the options we have available can help them the most.

Most of our students access a combination of different government funding. Bursaries are also available for our One Year Course in Acting.

As we have chosen to remain a conservatoire without a University affiliation, our students do not have access to loans through Student Finance England.

The Oxford School of Drama is lucky enough to offer eligable students the Government backed Dance and Drama Awards (DaDA) and/or Advanced Learner Loans (ALL) towards both course fees and living costs for One-Year and Three-Year Courses. We also have different types of Student Bursaries to support students across all of the Courses.

Our foundation courses in Acting and Acting with Musical Theatre are not eligible for the DaDA or ALL, but they do benefit from Bursaries provided by the school. 

The Oxford School of Drama

Dance and Drama Awards (DaDA) 

The Government’s Dance and Drama Award Scheme provides grants for exceptionally talented people who wish to pursue a career as a performer. Awards are means-tested. The maximum Awards will fund 100% of a student’s course fee and provide them with an annual living allowance in the form of a grant (it does not need to be repaid). For further information visit the government website

Course Fees

Advanced Learner Loans (ALL)

The Government’s Advanced Learner Loans provide students of 19 years and over a loan to help to fund their course fees. Loan eligibility does not depend on your income, there are no credit checks, and they are available to those who have already 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.

For further information visit www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan and watch the Student Loans Company (SLC) video: https://youtu.be/IVHRwPvcn_M

Bursaries available at The Oxford School of Drama

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 2023.

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. Visit our Funding and Fees page for more information

For more information about external funding opportunities see below:

spotlight-casting

Spotlight provide a list of some Funds and Bursaries Funds, Bursaries and Awards you should know about to help towards course fees and pursue your passion in the Arts.

course fees

This includes The National Youth Arts Trust who grant drama bursaries, up to £1,000 each, to talented young people aged 12-25 who can’t afford to access opportunities in the arts.

course fees Open door

Open Door is an organisation that helps talented young people who do not have the financial support or resources to gain a place at one of the UK’s leading drama schools.

course fees

The Turn2us website allows you to search a database of over 3,000 charitable funds offering welfare and educational grants, financial assistance and other forms of support. Go to the Grants search page below, and enter your postcode to see a list of the charitable grants in your local area which you might be able to apply for.

course fees

There is also The LET Bursary which is a joint initiative from Les Enfants Terribles and WildChild to help support emerging talent through a 3-year undergraduate course plus their first year as a professional actor.

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The Mayflower Theatre Higher Education Bursary Scheme provides financial support.