There are two levels of tuition fees at the Royal College of Music: 'Home' and 'Overseas' fees. Your fees status is assessed by the RCM based on rules set by the UK Government.
Your fee status is assessed using the information provided in your application form based on the following regulations:
If the information in your application is insufficient for RCM staff to assess your fee status, you may be asked to complete a more detailed fee status assessment form.
The rules around fee status take into consideration not just your nationality, but also where you are resident and the purpose of that residence, and can be quite complicated to understand. Significant changes were made to the rules for assessing eligibility for Home fee status for courses starting in September 2021 and beyond.
If you are beginning a course after 1 August 2021, the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has produced a helpful pdf guide to the fee regulations on their website.
If you began your course at the RCM before 1 August 2021, you can find the list of the eligibility criteria for Home fees on the UKCISA website.
If you are not able to meet the requirements of one of these categories, you will be assessed as an Overseas fee payer.
EU, EEA and Swiss students
Following the UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January 2020, the UK Government has confirmed that EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for Home fee status or financial support from Student Finance England for courses starting in the academic year 2021/22 and beyond.
However, EU students who began their course in September 2020 or earlier are not affected by this change. The UK Government has confirmed that they will remain eligible for Home fees (provided they are able to satisfy all the relevant requirements in the fee regulations), and they will continue to have access to UK student loans, for the duration of their course.
The change will also not affect those EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals benefiting from Citizens’ Rights under the EU Withdrawal Agreement, EEA EFTA Separation Agreement or Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement respectively, who would previously have qualified for Home fee status. It will also not apply to Irish nationals living in the UK and Ireland whose right to study and to access benefits and services will be preserved on a reciprocal basis under the Common Travel Area arrangement.
EU/EEA and Swiss students beginning courses in September 2021 and beyond should refer to the updated fee regulations for the latest information on whether they qualify for Home fee status.
Requesting a review of your fee status
If you believe that your fee status has not been assessed correctly, you can ask us to review this by contacting our Admissions team.
Tuition fees
A full outline of tuition fees for all our courses, including details of charges for additional one-to-one lessons and reassessment fees, is available for download below.
Tuition fees are revised annually for Home and Overseas students. The increase is normally between 2% and 7% and is applied annually to each year of the programme, including for continuing students (except for Home students on the BMus programme). Please check this page periodically for the latest information.
Tuition fees for Home students on the BMus programme are aligned with the maximum tuition fee cap set by the UK government.
