Scholarships, Bursaries & Awards
Central is committed to making training accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or income. We have a range of scholarships, bursaries and awards available which you can find out more about below.
Scholarships and Bursaries at Central
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Scholarships and Bursaries for new offer holders
Applicants made an offer of admission to a BA, MA, or MFA course are eligible to apply to scholarships and bursaries at Central.
The link to the online application form and guidance notes will be included in your admission offer pack. You cannot access the online application form prior to being made an offer of admission.
Offer-holders only need to submit one application to automatically be considered for all funds they are eligible for. Central does not ordinarily award more than one scholarship or bursary to an applicant.
Your eligibility to apply for scholarships and bursaries will depend on when you are made an offer of admission.
Scholarship and Bursary Timeline
Autumn 2023
Eligibility: Applicants made an offer of admission from 01 October 2023 to 20 December 2023
Scholarship/bursary applications close: 10:00am on 03 January 2024
Notification of scholarship/bursary application outcomes: 05 February 2024
Winter 2024
Eligibility: Applicants made an offer of admission from 03 January to 15 March 2024
Scholarship/bursary applications close: 10:00am on 29 March 2024
Notification of scholarship/bursary application outcomes: 24 April 2024
Spring 2024
Eligibility: Applicants made an offer of admission from 18 March to 31 May 2024
Scholarship/bursary applications close: 10:00am on 14 June 2024
Notification of scholarship/bursary application outcomes: 10 July 2024
Fund Courses Eligible Fee Status Open/Closed Access to Central Bursary All Undergraduate courses Home Open Beatrice Lillie Award BA (Hons) Musical Theatre or MA Music Theatre Home/ELQ/Overseas Open Central Bursary Fund All Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses. Home/ELQ/Overseas Open Dame Gillian Lynne Scholarship BA (Hons) Musical Theatre Home/ELQ/Overseas Open Dream On Bursaries All Undergraduate courses Home/ELQ Open Gareth Neame Scholarship Acting, Technical, Design or Craft courses Home/ELQ/Overseas Open Leverhulme Major Scholarship All Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses Home/ELQ/Overseas Open Mary Freeman Scholarships BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education; MA Applied Theatre; PG Certificate Applied Theatre with Young People Home/ELQ/Overseas Open Martha Miller Scholarship BA (Hons) Acting: Acting, BA (Hons) Acting: Collaborative and Devised Theatre, BA (Hons) Acting: Musical Theatre Home Open Michael Grandage Scholarship MA/MFA Creative Producing Home/ELQ/Overseas Open Paul Milikin Scholarship BA (Hons) Acting: Acting, BA (Hons) Acting: Collaborative and Devised Theatre, BA (Hons) Acting: Musical Theatre Home Open Rye Family Scholarship BA (Hons) Acting: Acting, BA (Hons) Acting: Collaborative and Devised Theatre, BA (Hons) Acting: Musical Theatre, MA Acting - Classical, MA Acting - Contemporary, MA Acting for Screen.
Home/ELQ/Overseas Open Sally Mackey Bursaries BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education, MA Applied Theatre Home/ELQ/Overseas Open Walter Johnstone Memorial Fund MA Musical Theatre: Acting and Performance Home/ELQ/Overseas Open The Embassy Scholarship All Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses Home/ELQ/Overseas Open -
Scholarships and bursaries for continuing students
Central has a range of scholarships, bursaries and awards available for students already studying with us.
Fund Courses Eligible Fee Status Open/Closed Clare Rich Scholarship BA (Hons) Acting: Musical Theatre Home Closed Kay Frosdick Memorial Bursary All Undergraduate and Postgraduate Courses Home/ELQ Closed Keep Creating Bursaries All Undergraduate and Postgraduate Courses Home/ELQ/Overseas Closed For Undergraduate students entering their third year of study (2023/24) Home/EU/Overseas Closed Margetta Bundy Education Award MA/MFA Voice Studies: Teaching and Coaching, MA Drama and Movement Therapy Home/ELQ/Overseas Closed Milner Education Award MA Drama and Movement Therapy, MA Applied Theatre, BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education Home Closed BA (Hons) Acting, BA (Hons) Acting (CDT), or BA (Hons) Acting (Musical Theatre), or any of the MA Acting courses Home/ELQ Closed BA (Hons) Acting Home/EU/Overseas Closed -
External Funding
Fund Courses Eligible Description Fee Status Open/Closed Alternative Guide to PG Funding MA or MFA Central also pays for a licence to The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding Online which is a database of alternative sources of funding which can make awards (fees, maintenance, research costs) to any student regardless of subject, or nationality. If you have applied to a Postgraduate course at Central, please email student.funding@cssd.ac.uk to get a PIN so you can access the guide. All Open Snowdon Trust All undergraduate and postgraduate courses Snowdon Trust disability-related study cost grants for disabled students who have access needs not met by DSA or other means. Grants are up to £5,000.
UK based, DSA eligible Open Performance Arts courses
The Wayne Sleep Foundation Awards help support talented students in the performing arts (Dance, Drama, and Music) by providing financial aid. The size of these awards varies, with most ranging from £500 to £2,500.
Applicants must be enrolled in a full-time Higher Education Performing Arts course in the UK, or have been accepted to a course beginning in September 2024. Applicants must have been a permanent resident in the UK for the past three years.
Home/ELQ
Open
Wavendon Foundation All undergraduate and postgraduate courses The Wavendon Foundation is a charity founded by Sir John Dankworth and his wife, Dame Cleo Laine. The charity is administered by a board of trustees who meet quarterly to consider applications for financial or other support. The charity’s objectives are to support persons engaged in the education for the public through performance arts. Grants for individuals are up to £1500. Home The Black Heart Foundation All undergraduate and postgraduate courses The Black Heart Foundation scholarship programme enables successful candidates to advance their education where they might otherwise not have been able to do so. British students on Central’s BA Theatre Practice or MA/MFA Scenography courses can apply to the Art Scholarship Programme; any student on any of Central’s courses can apply to the main Scholarship Programme. Applications from 2nd and 3rd Year students are also welcomed All Open All undergraduate and postgraduate courses Cymdeithas Drama Gymraeg Abertawe (the Swansea Welsh Language Drama Society) scholarship is open to individuals who intend following an advanced course in one of the creative disciplines in the field of drama.
The scholarship is worth £2500.
Applications are open to individuals 18+ who wish to enrol on a graduate, post-graduate or equivalent in acting, scriptwriting, production, directing, stage management, set design or other aspects of drama.
The selection process will be conducted in Welsh. For an application form contact post@dramaabertawe.com
Welsh Open Postgrad Solutions All postgraduate students Students starting any postgraduate course in September 2024 or January 2025. 5 bursaries, worth up to £2000 each. Open
PhD Students
Central is a member of the London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP), which awards AHRC-funded studentships on an annual basis through open competition.
We are pleased to announce the first doctoral studentships call for the Centre for Performance, Technology, and Equity (PTEQ), to begin Autumn 2024. There are four collaborative PhD opportunities with PTEQ partners that represent core questions at various intersections of performance, technology, and equity. Further details for these projects as well as an open field call can be found on the PTEQ Page under “Work with Us.”