Arts Scholarships

All scholars are expected to agree to the terms and conditions.

Please note: applicants should not apply directly to the funding organisation for any of the scholarship awards listed here.

The Arts Society Sussex Scholarship

Value: TBC by the funder

The Arts Society Sussex scholarship will be awarded to a student studying an accredited programme – Foundation Degree Arts, Graduate Diploma or MA Conservation Studies, Graduate Diploma Fine Art or the Master of Fine Art.

Students must demonstrate financial need and excellence and should come from a region in which The Arts Society has a presence (New Zealand, Malaysia, Malta, Gibraltar, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Canada). 

Application: Individuals who have submitted an application to study on one of the programmes outlined above can apply for the award. Applications are considered by the Grants Committee, and a recommendation is made to The Arts Society Sussex for approval.

Terms: The award is for one academic year. Awardees must produce a report in February and at the end of the academic year.

The BASET Endeavour Award

This will be awarded to an Australian national wishing to study on those qualifying programmes listed in West Dean's School of Conservation programme or on a Foundation Degree in Arts course (within the School of Arts).

The Britain Australia Society Education Trust (BASET) offers financial support to talented and deserving young people with skills and a passion in the applied creative industries. BASET supports these people to study and train on the other side of the world in order to increase those skills and to share knowledge and ideas - ultimately taking those skills home to continue their work while building valuable links between Britain and Australia.

"We are two great nations with strong connections and a bilateral desire to promote, maintain, preserve and conserve historical objects, artefacts and creative trades. BASET provides financial sponsorship where it "makes the difference" to support talented young people, both for the benefit of themselves and society as a whole."

Value: £10,000 per academic year

Application: Australian nationals wishing to study on any programme within qualifying School of Conservation Programmes or on a Foundation Degree in Arts course, are invited to apply for this award. The Grants Committee will consider the applications and details of the applicant will be sent to BASET for its approval before the award is made. BASET's decision is final.

Terms: The award is for one or two academic years depending on course duration, and will be paid directly to West Dean College. The applicant recognises that some additional funding from personal sources may be required and that transport, visa and living costs are the responsibility of the applicant. The successful applicant must provide regular updates to BASET and must produce an end of year report in their final term. They will be invited to be a part of the BASET community during their time in the UK.

The Worshipful Company of Cutlers Langdon Dowsett Scholarship

Value: £1,000

The Worshipful Company of Cutlers Langdon Dowsett Scholarship will be awarded to a student under the age of 30 studying on either the FdA in Metalwork, the Graduate Diploma in Conservation of Metalwork or the Postgraduate Diploma in Conservation of Metalwork.

Application: Metalwork students applying to any of the above programmes are welcome to apply for this Scholarship. The Grants Committee will consider the applications and a recommendation will be made to the Worshipful Company of Cutlers for approval.

Terms: The award is for one academic year; paid directly to West Dean College. Scholars are invited to attend the annual Scholars and Prize-winners Reception hosted by the Company, usually held in October. The scholar will be expected to produce an end of year report in the final term.

Arts Bursaries

All bursary-funded students are expected to agree to the terms and conditions.

The Edward James Foundation Bursary Fund

If you need assistance to fund your studies, you can apply for a bursary from The Edward James Foundation Bursary Fund once you have accepted a place to study at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation. The Fund is financed by donations both from The Edward James Foundation itself as part of its charitable objectives and by other organisations and individuals who have made generous donations or bequests to support students.

Applicants should demonstrate a clear financial need and preference will be given to students who show that they are pursuing all possible avenues for raising the funds they will need, including applications to other grant-making trusts, part-time or holiday work and/or student loans. Preference will also be shown to students who have the potential to make a significant contribution to their chosen field.

Grants are given based on individual need. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they can finance any remaining accommodation and tuition fees not covered by their bursary award. The Grants Committee cannot consider an application without this information.

The Behrens Foundation

Value: £5,000 (to be distributed to one student)

Available to students studying on the Graduate Diploma or MA in Conservation Studies or the FdA (all pathways). Applicants should demonstrate a clear financial need. In order to offer maximum impact from the award, students of any age or nationality are eligible to apply. 

Applications: Individuals studying on a relevant conservation or historic craft practice programme are eligible to apply for this award. The Grants Committee will consider the applications and details of the nominees will be sent to the The Behrens Foundation for their records.

Terms: Students are required to complete an end of year report on completion of the academic year in which they receive bursary support.

The Michael and Bente Connellan Bursary

Value: £4,000 (awarded to one student)

Michael Connellan, 1924–2020 | Bente Connellan (née Juhl), 1924–2008

Michael Connellan was an instrument maker and educator who died in 2020, at the age of ninety-six. Throughout his life he was passionate about making and creating things. In his youth he built canoes and sailing boats which he sailed on the nearby Thames Estuary. After serving in the Royal Navy during the war, he started working as a farmer, when he met Bente Juhl, a Danish interior designer. They married in 1953. She helped broaden his horizons and encouraged and supported him in training to become a teacher. Later, he built the family home (where he lived the rest of his life) and became a prolific painter, sculptor and writer. Bente enthusiastically participated in many of these creative endeavours and made her own exquisite drawings and paintings.

As a young man, Michael picked up a violin and taught himself to play. So began a lifelong love affair with Baroque music (he particularly loved Bach) and stringed instruments. Michael would play violin, viola and double bass in various local orchestras, quartets and even a music hall band. He also loved to play his virginals and harpsichord – attempting to master Scarlatti, his favourite composer for the harpsichord.

After a long career as a school teacher, Michael retired early so that he could concentrate on his second career as a stringed instrument maker. He trained on Julia Barker’s Cambridge Violin Makers courses and went on to make well over a hundred violins and violas, and a number of cellos, viols and lutes. As each instrument neared completion, he would play it ‘in the white’ for Bente to make a final judgement on the new instrument’s qualities. Michael was always keen to pass on his knowledge and skills by inviting young makers to work alongside him in his workshop and to make an instrument of their own. It is because of his passion for instrument making and learning that his three children, Lise, Patrick and Catriona, thought it fitting that some of their mother’s and father’s legacy be used as a bursary to support a young instrument maker.

Criteria: The award is available to a student entering the FdA Musical Instruments for the 2021-22 academic year. Applicants should demonstrate an interest in orchestral stringed musical instruments.  Preference will be given to an applicant from an underrepresented group as defined by the Office for Students, who can demonstrate financial need, a commitment to their studies and a clear aim for career development. Preference will also be given to an applicant who has an interest in making bowed stringed instruments. 

Application: Individuals starting on the FdA Musical Instruments are eligible to apply for this award. The Grants Committee will consider the applications and recommendations are made to the funders for a final decision.

Terms: The award is for one academic year. The successful student must produce a report in the final term.

Bursary for the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (FDAD)

Value: up to £2,000

Bursaries are available for talented students aged 18-30 who are unable to pay the full fees.

Application: Applicants who have accepted a place to study on the FDAD programme can apply for a bursary. Applications are considered by the Grants Committee and can be submitted at any time of year.

Terms: Successful students must produce a report detailing the courses they have undertaken as a result of the bursary funding.

Please note: applicants should not apply directly to the funding organisation for any of the bursaries listed below.

The Frances Lowe Bursary

Value: £5,000 (likely to be split between two or more students)

Available to students studying arts on the FDAD and DACC programmes, Graduate Diploma and MA students studying Fine Art will also be considered. Applicants should demonstrate talent and a commitment to their future career development. Applications are particularly encouraged from younger students (18-30).

Application: Individuals studying on a relevant art programme are eligible to apply for this award. The Grants Committee will consider the applications and recommendations are made to the funders for a final decision.

The Horology Bursary

Value: up to £20,000

The Horology Bursary will be awarded to a student studying on one of the Clocks programmes, the FdA, Graduate Diploma or MA. Applicants should demonstrate excellent potential, a commitment to their studies and a clear aim for career development.

Application: Individuals studying on a Clocks are eligible to apply for this award. The Grants Committee will consider the applications and a recommendation is made on to the funder of The Horology Bursary.

The George Daniels Educational Trust Horology Bursary

Value: up to £20,000 (may be distributed up to 2 students)

Application: Individuals studying on the FdA Clocks, Professional Development Diploma, Graduate Diploma Conservation Studies or MA Conservation Studies – Clocks specialism.

Applicants should demonstrate excellent potential, a commitment to their studies and a clear aim for career development. The Grants Committee will consider the applications and details of the nominees will be sent to The George Daniels Educational Trust for their records.

The bursary can be used to pay for tuition fees and/or living expenses.

Derek Hill Foundation Bursary

Value: £3,000 (to be distributed to up to three students)

The Derek Hill Foundation Bursary will be given to a student studying Fine Arts, focussing on painting or drawing or sculpture or interdisciplinary mix of the two. This is not available to students practising tapestry or textile art. Students must demonstrate financial need. Applicants can be of any age or nationality. 

Application: Students on the Fine Arts programme specialising in painting, drawing or sculpture or an interdisciplinary mix of the two are eligible to apply for this award. The Grants Committee will consider the applications and details of the nominee will be sent to The Derek Hill Foundation for their records.

Terms: This bursary is for one academic year. The successful student must produce a report in the final term.

(Information last updated 15 March 2021)

School of Conservation

The Anna Plowden Trust offers bursaries towards the fees for attending a full-time UK training course in the conservation of the movable heritage, such as paintings, textiles, archaeological objects. It also offers Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Grants to enable practising conservators to take advantage of CPD opportunities by contributing towards the cost of short courses and attending conferences. The Trust does not offer bursaries or grants for courses on the conservation of the built heritage.

Sussex Heritage Trust Bursary Scheme is open to any candidates aged 18 or over, with no upper age limit. The Trust’s Bursary Committee will consider funding the costs of one course for an individual studying on the Professional Development Diploma in Historic Building Conservation and Repair or an individual studying on a short course relating to construction, conservation and architectural heritage. 

Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) funds the education of talented craftspeople through traditional college courses, apprenticeships or one-on-one training with masters.

The Furniture Makers's Company provide bursaries to MA students on a furniture related course. For more information, email grantsandeducation@furnituremakers.org.uk

The George Daniels' Educational Trust aims to encourage and financially assist students with grants and bursaries for training in all aspects of horology.

The Printing Charity  offers an annual Print Futures Award, supporting UK residents aged 18 to 30 who are starting out or already working in the print, paper, publishing, packaging, and graphic arts sector.

York Foundation for Conservation and Craftsmanship bursaries are available to craftspeople and conservators who would like assistance to further their skills and knowledge as well as to organisations who would like to take on trainees.

The Zibby Garnett Travel Fellowship is a charity giving financial help to individual students and apprentices to broaden their understanding of conservation worldwide. The students travel to relevant countries of interest, studying regional heritage craft and conservation techniques, and bring these skills back to the UK. 

School of Arts

Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) as above, makes awards to craftsmen and women of all ages to help them further their careers.

The Eaton Fund provides funding for artists (not performing) e.g. painters, potters, sculptors and photographers. Funding given for materials and equipment.

The Printing Charity  as above, offers an annual Print Futures Award, supporting UK residents aged 18 to 30 who are starting out or already working in the print, paper, publishing, packaging, and graphic arts sector.

RAB Trust (Rowan Armour-Brown) offers a number of annual awards to students of violin making at UK Colleges. Their financial grants typically help to fund the purchase of woods or tools, or underwrite the cost of a specific project. The Trust does not cover tuition fees or normal living expenses. 

The Terence Pamplin Award is made every other year to encourage excellence in research in organology (the science and history of the development and construction of all acoustic musical instruments and their use) and musicology as it links to acoustic music instrument technology. It consists of a cheque and certificate confirming the award. The next Award will be made in 2021.

The Textile Society is committed to supporting and developing the study of textiles in the UK and awards bursaries supporting internships or apprenticeships and BA or MA final year projects or dissertations. Students undertaking any UK educational textile/fashion or related course are eligible.

The following websites may also be useful when searching for funding:

Yorkshire Ladies Council of Education offers education awards to women.

Enhanced Learning Credits Administration Services (ELCAS) is the MOD's Enhanced Learning Credits Scheme (ELC), an initiative to promote lifelong learning amongst members of the Armed Forces. The ELC scheme provides financial support in the form of a single up-front payment in each of a maximum of three separate financial years. West Dean College of Arts and Conservation is an approved supplier (ELC no. 3280). Up to £2,000 per ELC claim available.

Postgrad Solutions Study Bursary (worth £500) - The closing date for all entries for postgraduate courses starting in Autumn 2021 or January 2022 is 14 September 2021.

Student Cashpoint has information and advice about budgeting and applying for funding.

Turn 2 Us provides information and advice about grants and benefits.