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  3. Before You Apply
  4. Planning

Planning your application

There are two routes to apply for a place on one of our programmes. One is through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service UCAS. UCAS is a UK-wide service for undergraduate and postgraduate Higher Education programmes of study. The other route is applying directly to us by using our own application documentation. There is no application fee if you are applying to the Faculty of Education directly but UCAS charges a fee to register with them.

Before you Apply you should consider Which programme? will help you decide which programme is for you. On the programme pages, you will find information on the programme delivery, content and assessment as well as entry requirements.

As you will see under ‘after you apply,’ the application process usually has several steps. Most of them involve the Faculty of Education directly. Depending on your programme of choice, you may also need to contact other organisations or agencies, in order to meet your offer conditions. Some steps of the application process have a payable fee or cost.

Most of our programmes will also ask for other qualifications. In a few instances, you may apply through a concessionary route if you do not already have or are currently studying for the required qualifications.

In addition to the entry requirements, we expect applicants to have certain skills and qualities. The selection criteria are tailored to each programme and tell you what we look for in applicants and how applicants can best show that they meet the criteria, and details regarding auditions, interviews, offers, registration and accommodation.

Usually, our applicants have some dance teaching experience before they study with us. However, if you do not have direct experience as a dance teacher before you apply for a place on one of our programmes, there are still things you can do to prepare. You can offer to be a chaperone or class assistant at the dance school where you go to classes yourself. You can observe your own dance teacher: how do they teach your class? How do they correct you and the other students in your class? How do they introduce new steps or dance routines? How do they manage behaviour in and outside of the dance studio?

Some of our programmes of study hold auditions and or interviews as part of the application process. Auditions normally take place at RAD headquarters in London. If we invite you to an audition, there is usually an audition fee to be paid to registry. Please plan your travel, and if you need accommodation, in advance. If you are an overseas applicant and are sending an audition video, you’ll have to meet the cost of posting your video and supporting documentation to us and of the telephone interview.

Successful applicants are made an offer of a place on the programme. The offer normally has conditions that tend to reflect the entry requirements for the programme of study. If you are offered a place and would like to accept it, you are required to pay a non-refundable registration fee for most programmes to secure the place. Please check whether the registration fee is required in your case aswell as ‘how to pay‘. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your application, please contact the registrar directly.

If you receive a conditional offer of a place for one of our programmes, you may find the following information useful on how to go about meeting the conditions of the offer:

The minimum requirement for all our programmes of study is Intermediate (or the equivalent) in dance or ballet. For most programmes, you will be required to provide evidence of your skills in dance or ballet by providing us with a dance examination certificate. As you probably know already, dance societies have set examination dates and centres and charge an examination fee. If you have never taken a dance examination, please read our general regulations on mature students, whether you can meet the dance entry requirement for your programme of choice by concessionary entry, and what the conditions, deadlines and fees are.

Some of our programmes require that applicants provide us with a recent satisfactory police or criminal records check. Registry will need to see the original of your police or criminal records check before your programme starts. The time it takes for the check to be issued can vary greatly from country to country. Please make sure you request it on time. In most countries, the authorities charge a fee for the service. If you live in the UK, it is most likely that you will need a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) or that you are registered with the DBS update service. Applications for Enhanced Disclosure are made through an umbrella body that is registered with the DBS. For the RAD, Due Diligence Checking (DDC) acts as the umbrella body. We will provide you with more information on how to obtain an Enhanced Disclosure as part of an offer.

The RAD aims to create an inclusive working and studying environment. For onsite programmes of study, we wish to know if you have any health conditions or disabilities which might impair your ability to fulfil the requirements of your programme of study. Ahead of the programme start, we will ask you to complete a fitness to practice questionnaire, which may be passed onto an external Occupational Health professional for assessment. The questionnaire is designed to identify students who need additional support whilst enrolled in a Faculty of Education programme of study. Our aim is to be supportive of students with additional learning/support needs.

Please note that if you do have a disability as recognised and supported by the Disabled Students’ Allowance Quality Assurance Group (DSA – QAG), the fitness to practice questionnaire does not replace the assessment completed at one of the DSA-recognised assessment centres. As such, you will still have to go through this process in order to get DSA as well as reasonable adjustments in regards to submissions and exams.

Find out further information from UCAS on the support provided to disabled students while studying at university or college, as well as further pre and post application information.

UK-based students are encouraged to apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance prior to starting on programme. Early applications should enable us to get your institutional support up and running as soon as you arrive. You will find more information on the following pages:

All our programmes of study are delivered in English. If your first language is not English, you will most likely be asked to undertake an English language test to show that you know English well enough to study at Higher Education level. The requirements for your programme of choice can also be found on the specific programme pages. Most English language test organisations charge a fee and require you to travel to their centres for the test. The Certificate in Dance Teaching (Ballet) (CDT) can also be studied in languages other than English. For the CDT programme, you need to ensure that you have the appropriate language skills in the delivery language.

If you are an overseas applicant who would like to join us here in London for the onsite BA (Hons) Ballet Education, it is most likely that you require a Student visa to stay in the UK for your studies. You will find information on the visa requirements and application process on the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) website, where you can also assess your circumstances against the criteria outlined.Visa applicants who need to prove that their international qualification(s) meet the academic or English language requirements should obtain an official statement from UK NARIC. This information is used by UKVI to decide if the applicant meets the requirements of the Immigration Rules. There are quite a few costs involved in the visa application process, amongst others: a visa application fee, the healthcare surcharge, the NARIC statement fee, evidence of your financial position, and travel to and from the visa application centre in your country.

Planning your studies

If you have found a programme that interests you and read through the programme pages, please have a look at the other pages of the website and the sections below relevant to you. They should help you to make an informed decision but also give you an idea what to plan for once you’ve decided to study with us.

Under Fees and Funding, you will find information and guidance regarding tuition, audition, registration fees, re-sit fees and bursaries. Before the programme starts, however, there are other typical programme costs to consider, such as computer and dance equipment, accommodation, travel and practical teaching placements for instance.

In order to help you prepare for your studies, please read the following sections carefully.

Studying onsite

Onsite elements of programmes usually involve practical work in the dance studio. You will need appropriate dance clothes, accessories and footwear throughout your studies. If the teaching of the RAD syllabus is part of the content of your programme, it may also be necessary for you to buy syllabus books/DVDs and/or props.

The Intensive Study Period (ISP) for the Professional Dancers’ Graduate Teaching Diploma will take place in the programme’s location (London or Sydney), depending on where you study the programme. Your planning should, therefore, include travel and accommodation for the onsite events.

The Certificate in Dance Teaching (Ballet) also requires students to attend a five-day Intensive Study Period (ISP). The ISP is usually scheduled in August/early September of the first year of study. The programme is offered in nine languages and in a number of countries across the world. Students will be allocated to a Teaching Centre, which may consist of more than one country. The RAD’s National Office of the main country in each Teaching Centre arranges the ISP and determines the location of the dance studio where the ISP takes place. You will need to arrange travel and accommodation in relation to the ISP and be prepared to travel to another country in order to participate in the ISP.

Studying at RAD headquarters in London

The RAD is located in Battersea, South-West London. The closest train stations are Clapham Junction and Victoria. For guidance on getting here, see our Find Us page. The journey planner on the Transport for London website gives you options on how to reach us by public transport.

The RAD does not have any student accommodation onsite at RAD headquarters. However NEW from September 2024, the RAD has partnered with urbanest to give students access to an allotted number of purpose-built student accommodation in Battersea.  Overlooking the River Thames and the iconic chimneys of Battersea Power Station, this brand-new site provides sector leading student accommodation with easy access to central London and RAD’s headquarters.

With a zone 1 tube station minutes from the front door (Battersea Power Station on the Northern Line), and plenty of hospitality, retail and activities on your doorstep, our Battersea student accommodation is part of a thriving new neighbourhood. It is also a building leading the charge for sustainability through its Passivhaus construction, which delivers energy-efficient heating and cooling throughout the year.

Click here to find out more and book your room.

 

 

Alternatively, depending on the programme of study, a short-term flat share, rather than renting a room in a student residence hall may be more appropriate. Some London universities make their student halls available to students of other institutions, particularly during the summer break.

If you are studying with us here at the RAD headquarters, as a student on the BA (Hons) Ballet Education perhaps, you may be able to manage your travel costs in London with a student Oyster card.

Studying at home via distance learning

The majority of our students are enrolled in distance learning programmes of study. If you would like to study from home, too, you may find the sections below on computer skills/equipment and on time management particularly useful. You may also have to attend onsite elements of the programme, such as Inductions, Intensive Study Periods or practical teaching placements. We hope the information we have for you under those headings is helpful for your planning.

Skills