Study at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts

Location and student life

LIPA is based on Mount Street in Liverpool city centre, a short walk from five major theatres, concert venues, museums and the independent cafes of Bold Street. Liverpool is home to more than 70,000 students and is often described as one of the UK's most affordable student cities. Named England's first UNESCO City of Music in 2015, it has a busy live music scene, summer festivals and the legacy of the Beatles. Manchester is less than an hour away by train, and most teaching, venues and student housing sit within walking distance of campus.

Courses and subjects

Courses are grouped into acting, dance, design and technology, filmmaking, management, music and sound technology. Undergraduate options include BA (Hons) degrees in areas such as Acting, Musical Theatre, Dance, Music through songwriting, performance and production routes, Sound Technology, Theatre and Production Technology, and Management. LIPA also runs CertHE Foundation Certificates in acting and popular music, plus one-year postgraduate courses including MA Acting, MA Filmmaking and Creative Technologies and MA Music Industry Management. Most performance courses select by audition or interview alongside academic qualifications.

Entry requirements for international students

International applicants apply through UCAS for undergraduate degrees or directly to LIPA for postgraduate courses, and most performance courses also require an audition or interview that can be arranged from overseas. English language evidence is needed for the Student visa: for example, BA Acting asks for IELTS 5.5 in each of the four components, and some other qualifications may be accepted. Exact tariffs and accepted equivalents differ by course and country, so check the requirements on the relevant course page and country page before applying.

Accommodation

LIPA does not run its own halls of residence. Instead it vets nearby private providers popular with its students, including Cathedral Campus, a student village directly opposite the Mount Street site. Typical options include halls or student-village rooms with shared kitchens, quieter studio apartments favoured by postgraduates, and house shares from the second year. Its 2026 guide quotes non-en-suite rooms from about £107 per week and studios from about £169, though prices change each year.

Scholarships and funding

LIPA states that it currently offers no scholarships specifically for international students, and advises applicants to seek funding in their home country; guidance for US students on federal aid is published on its site. Finance information appears on the official finance and international pages, where any future awards would be listed. Funding changes from year to year, so check those pages for the latest position before budgeting.