A Guide to Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Undergraduate Admissions

Written By Dr Xiaoyun Peng

Inchwise Research · Conservatoire Admissions Unit

Data current to 15 October 2026. Applies to entry in September 2027.

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In brief

The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD) is in Cardiff and is part of the University of South Wales Group. It began at Cardiff Castle in 1949. The undergraduate music degree is a four-year BMus (Hons) Music – Instrumental and Vocal, awarded by the University of South Wales; Composition and Jazz are separate BMus degrees.

  • Applications go through UCAS Conservatoires (institution code R59, course code 300F). Applications for 2027 entry opened on 9 July 2026 and closed on 1 October 2026; the course page states that applications for September 2027 are still being considered.

  • The audition fee is £63, in addition to the UCAS Conservatoires fee of £34.50.

  • Applicants audition in person in Cardiff, or submit a recording followed by an online audition or interview. The recorded-audition deadline is 19 October 2026.

  • In-person auditions in China run from 24 October to 6 November 2026 in Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Beijing.

  • Published tuition for 2027/28 is £9,790 (UK) and £30,400 (overseas) a year; neither is fixed.

  • The College’s English requirement for 2027 entry is not yet published; the 2026-entry figure was IELTS 5.5 overall and in each component.

01 About the College

RWCMD is at Castle Grounds, Cathays Park, Cardiff. It describes itself as Wales’ national conservatoire and is part of the University of South Wales Group. It started at Cardiff Castle in 1949. The College states that it has more than 900 actors, musicians, designers, technicians and arts managers from more than 40 countries; a figure for music alone is not published.

The music department lists Brass, Composition and Creative Music Technology, Conducting, Guitar, Harp, Historical Performance, Jazz, Opera, Piano, Percussion, Strings, Vocal and Woodwind; conducting is postgraduate study. Performance venues include the Dora Stoutzker Hall (350 seats) and the Richard Burton Theatre (180). In June 2023 Cardiff Council granted the College a 99-year lease of the Old Library. Named industry partners are Welsh National Opera and BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

02 The Degree

The BMus (Hons) Music – Instrumental and Vocal is four years, full time, awarded by the University of South Wales and taught at the College and the Old Library. The College gives a start date of 19 September 2027; UCAS gives 20 September 2027. UCAS lists Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 as entry points.

  • BMus (Hons) Music – Instrumental and Vocal — UCAS code 300F.

  • BMus (Hons) Music – Composition — four years; the College page shows the same code, 300F.

  • BMus (Hons) Jazz — four years, code 310F.

A part-time or foundation music route and a minimum age are not published.

03 How to Apply

Entry is through UCAS Conservatoires only. The institution code is R59 and the course code 300F. Applications for the three BMus degrees opened on 9 July 2026 and closed on 1 October 2026, which UCAS describes as the equal consideration deadline for music. The course page states that the College is still considering applications for September 2027 entry and directs applicants to admissions; a formal late-application policy is not published. UCAS’s final date for 2027-entry conservatoire applications is 23 September 2027.

The UCAS Conservatoires fee for 2027 entry is £34.50 for up to six choices. The RWCMD audition fee is £63 for both Cardiff and online auditions and is not collected by UCAS. A fee waiver policy is stated to exist; how to apply for a waiver is not published. Every applicant creates an Acceptd profile, whichever audition method they choose.

04 Auditions

For September 2027 entry, all candidates submit or attend an audition. Applicants choose on the UCAS Conservatoires form between an in-person audition at the College and an online route, which is a recorded audition followed by a further online audition or interview. In-person applicants do not submit a video.

  • Recorded auditions: deadline Monday 19 October 2026.

  • In-person applicants: complete the Acceptd form by Monday 5 October 2026.

  • Recordings must be one continuous shot with no edits or cuts, except for the introduction and closing.

UK in-person audition dates for 2027 entry, the length of the audition and its content are not published; the ‘What to prepare’ heading on the audition guidance page has no text beneath it. Composition applicants submit a portfolio through Acceptd and attend an online interview. The College aims to communicate decisions within three weeks of an audition.

05 Auditions in China

RWCMD holds in-person auditions for China-based applicants in Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Beijing between Saturday 24 October and Friday 6 November 2026. The disciplines listed are brass, choral conducting (interview only), guitar, harp, piano, strings, voice, opera and woodwind, across undergraduate and postgraduate music performance. Applicants chose a city on Acceptd and uploaded a self-tape by Monday 5 October 2026. Other overseas locations are not published.

06 Academic Requirements

The College’s course page does not publish the academic entry requirements; its entry-requirements question appears without an answer. The UCAS listing for 2027 states that UCAS Tariff points are not accepted, that musical ability equivalent to a Distinction at ABRSM Grade 8 is expected, and that applicants usually hold at least two A levels including Music, or an equivalent Level 3 qualification; ABRSM theory Grade 6 or above may be considered in place of A level Music.

07 English Language Requirement

The College’s English requirements page states that its information applies to 2026 entry; the requirement for 2027 entry is not published. For 2026 entry, the BMus Music and BMus Jazz required IELTS Academic 5.5 overall, with 5.5 in listening, reading, writing and speaking. Other tests listed for 2026 entry were TOEFL iBT 72, CAE 162, Trinity ISE II or III Pass and PTE Academic 59. Results are valid for two years.

08 Tuition Fees

  • 2026/27: UK £9,790; overseas £29,500.

  • 2027/28: UK £9,790; overseas £30,400. The same figures apply to BMus Composition and BMus Jazz.

The UK column includes the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Neither fee is fixed: the UK fee is set by the Welsh Government and may increase above £9,790, and overseas fees are reviewed each year, with any increase capped at RPI plus 3 per cent or £2,500, whichever is lower.

09 Scholarships and Bursaries

Exceptional talent scholarships are allocated by the head of study after the audition process, and the admissions office sends the scholarship application form directly to candidates. Priority groups include household income below £35,000, six years’ residence in Wales and, in music, the instruments the College lists as endangered: bassoon, viola, double bass, French horn and oboe. Scholarships run for the length of study, subject to satisfactory progression. Whether international students can receive scholarships is not published.

A bursary for UK undergraduates only pays £1,500 a year for household income up to £23,000, or £900 for £23,001 to £35,000, with no application needed.

10 Junior Programme

The College’s junior music strand was Young Music (Junior Conservatoire), part of Young RWCMD. A news item of 19 July 2024 states that weekly term-time Young Music activity would not continue from September 2024.

11 Not Yet Published

  • The academic entry requirements, on the College’s own site.

  • The English requirement for 2027 entry.

  • UK in-person audition dates, audition length and audition content.

  • Whether international students are eligible for scholarships.

  • A minimum age, and admissions statistics.

About this guide

Inchwise is a London education consultancy for families whose children take music seriously. This guide records what the institution publishes, with the date each fact was retrieved. Inchwise is not affiliated with the institution and does not predict admissions outcomes. Where a decision depends on something this guide lists as not published, only the institution’s admissions office can confirm it.

Published dates for this admissions round, institution by institution: 2027 entry: published application and audition dates.

Inchwise offers an online mock audition modelled on the audition format an institution publishes: Mock Audition and Written Report.

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Sources

Dr Xiaoyun Peng
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