Fees & Funding

Students classed as ‘Home Fee’ status

Fees for new entrants classed as ‘Home Fee’ status in 2025/26 are £9535 on entry. Fees for subsequent years may be subject to increases year on year in line with inflation and Government Policy. This will be clearly communicated to applicants when they are offered a place, if not before. Please see the Fees Policy for more information.

Students classed as ‘Overseas Fee’ (sometimes referred to as ‘International’) status

Fees for new entrants classed as ‘Overseas’ Fee status in 2025/26 are £18,000 on entry. You will be required to pay the full cost of your tuition fees. Fees for subsequent years may be subject to increases year on year in line with inflation and Government Policy. This will be clearly communicated to applicants when they are offered a place, if not before. Please see the Fees Policy for more information.

If necessary, government loans, scholarships or sponsorship should be sought from your country of origin. All students classed as Overseas fee status must have funding or, if self-funded, appropriate funds in place, prior to starting the course.  National Centre are currently not in a position to provide scholarship or bursary opportunities to Overseas students. If you have any questions please contact joanna@nationalcircus.org.uk.

Fee Status Eligibility

To be classified as ‘Home’ fee status normally you must be resident and ‘settled’ in the UK on ‘the first day of the first academic’ year of your course. You must also have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for the three years before that date. All other students who do not meet the residence requirements to be classed as having ‘Home’ fee status will be classed as having ‘Overseas’ fee status. There are some exceptions. Please find further information and guidance below:

UKCISA

House of Commons Library

Student Finance

Additional Costs and Equipment

In addition to your tuition fees you will be expected to incur the following costs while studying on the Foundation Degree:

• You will be expected to bear the cost of attending at least one circus performance during your period at the National Centre. Also, whilst not mandatory, you will be strongly advised to see as many other performances as possible because this is a circus arts course with a strong focus on performance
• Tuition fees do not include some personal materials, such as practice clothes/kit and books

Equipment

The specialist equipment used in some circus specialisms can be expensive, but it is normally possible for the National Centre to supply you with access to the equipment you will need for your course. There are some exceptions, notably any apparatus which has to be custom made or made to fit the student’s size. One example of this would be a Cyr wheel. Most students opt to purchase their own equipment, and the National Centre has a loan scheme to assist you in the purchase of circus equipment, provided this is essential for your circus discipline.

Financial support

There is a range of support available to students, to enable you to train at the National Centre for Circus Arts with minimum financial commitment, including:

• Government loans to cover tuition fees and/or living costs
• NCCA Income-Assessed Scholarship
• Leverhulme Arts Scholarship

Eligibility criteria applies. To find out more about financial support options available to you please see below, if you have any questions please contact our degree team.

Student Loans

Eligible Home Fee students that are new to higher education can apply for a tuition fee loan through the Student Loans Company. You will not have to pay anything up-front, and you will not have to repay anything until after you have graduated and are earning a minimum salary. For more information on the current repayment thresholds, please visit the government Student Finance page. Depending on your residency status you may also be able to apply for a maintenance loan for living expenses from the government. This is means-tested and dependent on household income.

Read the step by step guide to student finance here.

NCCA Income-Assessed Scholarships

National Centre for Circus Arts offers scholarships in the form of cash bursaries to eligible Home Fee students , depending on their financial circumstances.

If you wish to be considered for a scholarship, you need to complete an application to Student Finance England (or its equivalent) as early as possible in order to be means-tested. This will allow us to assess what level of support you may be entitled to.

Leverhulme Arts Scholarships

NCCA is supported by the Leverhulme Trust and is in receipt of funding for Arts Scholarships.

These are allocated for specialist arts institutions or registered charities to provide training opportunities across the fine and performing arts: music, drama, dance, film, fine art, etc.

Leverhulme Arts Scholarship*

Funds of between £5000 – £10,000 are available to students. The recipients are chosen towards the end of the academic year in their first year by the HE team, and continue to receive the funds for each year of the course (*depending on circumstance, more information will be available to registered students).

Students are selected for the scholarship based on their personal circumstances and commitment and progress on the course throughout their first year. The recipients of the award also become ambassadors for the Leverhulme trust and are asked to contribute to yearly reporting and may be invited to special events.

*this fund is currently under review and this section will be updated later in the year. 

Care leavers Support

NCCA understands that for young people who are leaving care or who are not in contact with their parents, there will be many extra practical considerations to think about when making the transition to Higher Education. For this reason, there are services in place to make this transition easier, and to support care experienced and estranged students throughout their studies. When coming to train at a National Centre for Circus Arts there is a tick-box on the enrolment form asking if students have spent any time in care or are estranged from their parents. By ticking this box students are able to let us know that they may be in need of some extra support.