Information will be updated for courses starting in September 2023 when this is available.
Tuition fee loans are available to UK students who meet the residence requirements. EU students who began courses before 31 December 2020 are also eligible to apply, as are EU students beginning courses in 2021 and beyond who have Settled or Pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and meet the residence requirements.
All eligible students, regardless of household income, can apply for a loan to cover the full tuition fee. This is paid by the government directly to the RCM. You need to apply for a tuition fee loan for each year of study.
Maintenance loans are available to UK students who meet the residence requirements. EU students who have Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and meet the residence requirements may also be eligible for a maintenance loan.
For courses starting in 2022-23 eligible students living away from home in London can apply for a loan of up to £12,667 per year to help with living expenses whilst studying. The exact amount you can borrow depends on your household income. Use the Student Finance Calculator to check how much you can borrow.
Find out more about eligibility for undergraduate student loans on the UK Goverment website.
The application procedure and nature of support available is slightly different in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Students from these countries are advised to check the following websites for further details:
You can find out more information about undergraduate student loans and make an online application via the UK Government website.
For full information about how student loan repayments work visit the UK Government website.
Repayments through HMRC will not start before the April after graduation, although voluntary repayments can be made at any time.
Any outstanding loan will be written off after 30 years.
Postgraduate students from the UK who are ordinarily resident in England who are enrolled on courses beginning in Autumn 2022 are eligible to borrow up to a maximum of £11,836 for their entire course. Students on two-year Masters programmes (eg MPerf) are eligible to borrow up to £5,918 per year.
Details of loans for courses beginning in Autumn 2023 will be published as soon as they are available.
Payments are made directly to students in termly instalments.
Payments for part-time students are divided equally over the duration of your course.
Find out about Masters loans on the UK Government website
Education provision is a devolved matter for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so students who are ordinarily resident in these nations of the UK will not be eligible for loans from Student Finance England. Please refer to the websites of Student Awards Agency Scotland, Student Finance Wales and Student Finance Northern Ireland for further details of alternative arrangements and to check your eligibility.
Only Masters degree courses are eligible, not other postgraduate qualifications. Courses can be for one or two years full-time, or three or four years part-time.
Students who already hold a Masters qualification, or other equivalent or higher level qualification, will not be eligible to apply.
Full information on eligibility criteria for Masters loans is available on the UK Government website.
Applications open in mid-May each year, and we recommend that you apply by the end of June at the link below, to ensure that your funding is in place by September.
Applications should be submitted online via the UK Government website. If you already have an undergraduate student loan for a previous course, you can log in using the same account.
You will need your passport details and, if you are a UK national, your National Insurance number. Depending on your circumstances, you may also need to provide some supporting documentation to prove your residency. You only need to apply once for a postgraduate loan, even if your course lasts more than one year.
For full information about how student loan repayments work visit the UK Government website. Masters loans are on the Postgraduate Loan plan.
Payments will be made concurrently alongside repayment of any undergraduate student loan.
Repayments through HMRC will not start before the April after graduation, although voluntary repayments can be made at any time.
Any outstanding loan will be written off after 30 years.
Doctoral students from the UK who are ordinarily resident in England who enrolled on courses beginning in Autumn 2022 are eligible to borrow up to a maximum of £27,892 for their entire course.
Details of Doctoral loans for 2023 entrants will be published on this webpage as soon as they are available.
Payments are made directly to students and can be used for tuition fees or living costs.
The loan is divided equally over each year of your course, paid in termly instalments.
Find out about Doctoral loans on the UK Government website
Education provision is a devolved matter for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so students who are ordinarily resident in these nations of the UK will not be eligible for loans from Student Finance England.
Courses can be for three to eight academic years in duration, full or part time.
Students who have already received a Doctoral loan, or who have received or will receive Research Council funding, will not be eligible to apply.
Full details on eligibility criteria can be found on the UK Government website.
Applications open in late June, at the link below.
Applications should be submitted online via the UK Government website. If you already have an undergraduate and/or masters student loan for a previous course, you can log in using the same account.
You will need your passport details and, if you are a UK national, your National Insurance number. Depending on your circumstances, you may also need to provide some supporting documentation to prove your residency. You only need to apply once for a postgraduate loan, even if your course lasts more than one year.
For full information about how student loan repayments work visit the UK Government website. Doctoral loans are on the Postgraduate Loan plan.
Payments will be made concurrently alongside repayment of any undergraduate student loan.
Repayments through HMRC will not start before the April after graduation, although voluntary repayments can be made at any time.
Any outstanding loan will be written off after 30 years.
You can find lots more information at The Student Room, where you can also find an active student community forum.
Royal College of Music
Prince Consort Road
London SW7 2BS
United Kingdom
