Scholarships & Bursaries (Third-level)

1848 Scholars

The RIAM has set aside a generous budget to offer financial assistance to incoming students each year. We offer 1848 scholars to those students who score highly at audition, in return for administrative or teaching/accompaniment work. 

There are two types of 1848 Scholars 

1.Administrative Assistance Scholars 

Examples of assistance include stewarding, music specialist administration (e.g. bowing/marking parts, scanning music), meeting prospective students, concert administration & presentation, and outreach projects 

€1,000 bursary is awarded for 75 Faculty Assistance Hours 

€2,000 bursary is awarded for 150 Faculty Assistance Hours 

2.Teaching/Accompaniment Assistance Scholars 

For teaching assistance, an interview post-audition will assess your previous teaching experience. Teaching assistants are allocated group classes, early years, or adult students. Accompaniment assistants are allocated rehearsals with students and class concerts. The Head of Faculty monitors all 1848 Scholars engaged in teaching. 

€1,650 bursary is awarded for 60 Teaching Assistance Hours 

€2,500 bursary is awarded for 90 Teaching Assistance Hours 

€5,000 bursary is awarded for 180 Teaching Assistance Hours 

We offer bursaries based on the ranking of applicants at audition. We also assess your willingness to take on administrative or teaching assistance work, and your aptitude for the work. 

BVOF/RIAM Next Generation Awards

Blackwater Valley Opera Festival and the Royal Irish Academy of Music have announced a transformative new music prize to support the studies of two master's students every year at Ireland's National Music Conservatoire

The largest bursary of its kind in Ireland, each year the BVOF/RIAM Next Generation Awards will select one vocal studies student and one instrumental student to each receive €20,000. This new award will assist each winner to complete their two-year Master in Music Performance programme at the RIAM. 

The award is open to vocal and instrumental students worldwide who apply to study on the Masters in Music Performance programme at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, with a particular focus on applications from tenor/countertenors for the vocal award.  Recipients will be chosen through their RIAM audition to receive the award, which will be provided as €10,000 in Year 1 and €10,000 in Year 2.

More information on how to apply and audition requirements can be found on riam.ie/apply. Applications for MMus will be automatically considered for this award.  There is no separate application process.