Investing in your education is a wise decision and it's important to understand the student finance support available. From Further Education bursaries to cash scholarships — we're here to help you plan and budget.
If you're under 19 years old and a permanent UK resident, our pre-degree courses are completely free of charge.
Pre-Degree students aged 19 years or over are no longer eligible for free study on our Pre-Degree study programmes and fees may apply for non-permanent UK residents. Financial support may be available.
For further information about our course fees and the financial support we can offer, please look through the relevant sections below.
Fees outlined are correct at time of publishing and provide an indication of current costs. For more information please email admissions@pca.ac.uk
The university is committed to ensuring Further Education is accessible and affordable for all, and we offer a variety of financial support options (listed below) to help Pre-Degree students with their studies. If your net annual household income is £30,000 or less, or you have any exceptional circumstances, then you may be eligible for one of our Pre-Degree bursaries. Students are assessed on an individual basis and evidence of income must be provided in support of your application.
The 2022/23 Pre-Degree bursary scheme is now open and we welcome applications.
Please note: this bursary scheme is not for Higher Education students studying at Undergraduate or Postgraduate level.
For more information about the financial support available for academic year 2022/23 and the evidence required to support your bursary application, please click here. We recommend reading this before completing your application for a better understanding of the support available and eligibility criteria.
Apply for our Pre-Degree Bursary Scheme.
- Funding is limited and applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. However, our aim is to prioritise those students with the greatest financial need, so we recommend all students apply as early as possible.
- If you will be a second year student, or returning to Palace Court to continue your Pre-Degree studies for academic year 2022/23 you must reapply to the bursary scheme to be assessed. Your bursary will not roll over from the 2021/22 academic year.
- Any financial support awarded is subject to students complying with the Code of Conduct as set out in the Student Handbook, and maintaining a sufficient level of attendance and engagement, with absences reported correctly.
If you have any questions relating to bursaries or student finance please contact the Registry team at any time (prior to or after enrolling) by emailing studentfinance@pca.ac.uk
There are two types of bursary as below and for both types, students are assessed according to individual need (evidence of financial circumstances must be provided):
(1) Discretionary Bursary. A contributory bursary targeted at students who need financial support to help pay for things like transport and meals on university days.
(2) Vulnerable Bursary. This bursary is for young people who are considered the most vulnerable, usually students living apart from their parents/carers and in receipt of benefits in their own right. Eligibility includes young people in care, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, young care leavers, young people receiving Income Support or the equivalent Universal Credit (UC) in their own right, young people receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or the new Personal Independence Payments AS WELL AS Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit (as a replacement for ESA) in their own right.
This scheme provides a free meal for eligible students when attending Arts University Plymouth. Eligibility for students under 19 is based on parents (or the student) being in receipt of one or more of the benefits listed below. Additionally, any student under 25 years and subject to a Learning Difficulty Assessment (LDA) or Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) may be eligible. Application for free meals is included within the 16-19 Bursary Fund application.
Free meals are targeted at disadvantaged students. Free meals in further education defines disadvantage as students being in receipt of, or having parents who are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income related Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
- Support under part VI of the Immigration & Asylum Act
- The guarantee element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190, as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC))
- Working Tax Credit run-on, paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit with net earnings not exceeding the equivalent of £7,400 pa
Students may be eligible for a financial contribution towards the cost of travel to and from Arts University Plymouth. Any travel awards will be paid pro-rata into the student's bank account throughout the academic year, to enable them to budget accordingly for travel expenses.
For students in Plymouth, concessions are available on both Plymouth Citybus and Stagecoach buses. For more information students from Devon (excluding Plymouth) should contact Devon County Council on 0845 155 1019 or visit their website www.devon.gov.uk (follow links to Education Transport) for advice and information. Students from Cornwall should contact Cornwall County Council on 0300 1234 222 or visit their website www.cornwall.gov.uk.
The Residential Bursary can assist with accommodation costs for students who need to live away from home to study because they live too far away to travel daily, or if they have a round trip of more than 2 hours. Priority is given to students whose course is not available within their local area.
Payments are to help with the costs of your accommodation during term time only and will not necessarily cover the full costs of living away from home, OR a contribution to the cost of travel. How much you get depends on your household income and your actual accommodation or travel costs.
This fund is very limited and demand often exceeds funds available, so please enquire and apply as early as possible. To apply, please submit the Pre-Degree Bursary Fund application form with supporting evidence and request an additional Residential Bursary Fund form, so that we can capture the details needed to process your application.
Students aged 19 and under who need help with the costs of childcare can apply for the Care to Learn scheme.
Students aged between 19 and 23 can apply for financial support to help with travel OR accommodation costs. Awards are made based on individual circumstances.
A loans bursary fund is available to help vulnerable and disadvantaged learners who are funding their learning with an Advanced Learner Loan. The loans bursary can help with the costs of accommodation OR travel.
Please note: The university endeavours to help support students financially to overcome specific barriers to participation, to enable them to access education. Funds are limited, so we recommend that you apply as early as possible.
The purpose of this statement is to set out how Arts University Plymouth will use its 16 to 19 tuition fund allocation. This fund is designed to facilitate support for students who have been disadvantaged due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
The 16 to 19 tuition fund will be used to provide small group tuition for students aged 16 to 19 who have not yet achieved a grade 4 or above in English and/or Maths. We will invest in an Academic Skills Coach who will be tasked with focusing on English and Maths catch up in which we hope to inspire students to engage in academic skills with bespoke support strategies.
The provision will not be limited to tuition for English and Maths, we will also be allocating some additional funding within the Pre-Degree department to our learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) by supporting them more broadly within their individual study programmes by employing a Pre-Degree Inclusion Champion.
Tuition groups will consist of no more than five students and can be extended to seven students where appropriate. The tuition sessions will be embedded within the planned learning and also scheduled in addition to the planned programme of study hours already timetabled for the academic year 2021/22.
We offer a range of awards and discounts to applicants who have previously studied at Arts University Plymouth:
- Pre-Degree Progression Bursary £300 Cash Scholarship — Available to eligible* students who progress directly from one of our UAL Extended Diplomas or a UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design onto a three or four-year undergraduate degree at Arts University Plymouth.
- Alumni Progression Award — 15% discount on MA or MFA fees for Undergraduate, Pre-Degree and Foundation Diploma in Art & Design graduates, who go on to postgraduate study with us.
- Short Course Progression Award — 10% discount on MA or MFA fees for anyone who has completed a Short Course with us.
- Alumni Discount on Short Courses — Up to 25% discount for UG, Pre-Degree and FAD graduates on our range of Short Courses. Please note, discounted Short Course places are limited. The discount of up to 25% off Short Course fees only applies to those who graduated from BA/MA/Pre-Degree and Foundation courses or programmes no more than 10 years ago. Contact shortcourses@pca.ac.uk to see if there are any discounted places available on the course you would like to do before booking.
*To be eligible students must achieve a Merit or Distinction in their pre-degree study, or those with a Pass must have been awarded a Green Traffic Light for their final Academic and Skills Project progress checks. Students must achieve a minimum attendance requirement in their first and second semester 2022/23 to be awarded the £300 scholarship.
If you're under 19 years
Pre-degree courses at Arts University Plymouth are completely free of charge for permanent UK residents who are under 19 years of age, and who have met the entry conditions i.e. hold a complete Level 3 qualification for the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, and have met the GCSE entry requirements for the UAL Extended Diplomas.
If you're over 19 years
Pre-degree study at Arts University Plymouth requires a tuition fee for students over the age of 19 years old. Extended Diplomas for the entry year 22/23 are charged at £4,291 for UK(home) residents and £11,500 for EU and International students. Whilst Foundation Diploma fees are charged at £5,421 for UK (home) residents and £11,500 for EU and International students.
Under 19 - Free
Over 19 - £4,291
£11,500
Under 19 - Free
Over 19 - £5,421
£11,500
International fees (all categories) exclude costs for any pre-sessional English course and ongoing in-year English language support.
Please contact our Admissions team (admissions@pca.ac.uk) or our Student Finance team (studentfinance@pca.ac.uk) for further advice.
