A Guide to the Four UK Undergraduate Conservatoires Compared

Written By Dr Xiaoyun Peng

Inchwise Research · Conservatoire Admissions Unit

Data current to 8 October 2026, with the 2027-entry audition dates re-read on 13 October 2026. Figures are those published by each conservatoire, recorded with their sources in the individual Inchwise guides.

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In brief

This guide sets the four UK conservatoires most often applied to from abroad side by side: the Royal College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Royal Northern College of Music. Each figure is what the conservatoire itself publishes, recorded with its source in that institution’s individual Inchwise guide.

  • Three of the four apply through UCAS Conservatoires. Guildhall uses its own system and publishes no UCAS Conservatoires deadline.

  • The published undergraduate English requirement is IELTS 5.5 overall at all four.

  • All four hold auditions in Asia for 2027 entry, at different cities and on different dates, and each publishes a list of disciplines that cannot be auditioned overseas.

  • Published 2027/28 international tuition is £32,600 at the RCM, £30,850 at RAM and £30,700 at RNCM. Guildhall has not published a 2027/28 rate.

  • Scholarships are assessed automatically at audition at the RCM, RAM and RNCM. At Guildhall they are applied for after an offer has been accepted.

01 The Four at a Glance

  • Royal College of Music — South Kensington, London. Just over 900 students from more than sixty countries. Four-year BMus. Applies through UCAS Conservatoires. 2027/28 international tuition £32,600 a year.

  • Royal Academy of Music — Marylebone, London. Founded 1822. Four-year BMus. Applies through UCAS Conservatoires, paired with Acceptd. 2027/28 international tuition £30,850 a year.

  • Guildhall School of Music and Drama — Barbican, City of London. Four-year BMus. Applies through the School’s own system, not UCAS Conservatoires. 2026/27 international tuition £31,790 a year; 2027/28 not published.

  • Royal Northern College of Music — Manchester. States that it has over 900 students from more than sixty countries. Four-year BMus, with a three-year route entering directly into year two. Applies through UCAS Conservatoires. 2027/28 international tuition £30,700 a year.

02 How You Apply

The RCM, RAM and RNCM all apply through UCAS Conservatoires, which carries a single application fee of £34.50 for the 2027 cycle covering up to six conservatoire choices. RAM pairs UCAS Conservatoires with an Acceptd profile and states that the two deadlines are the same.

Guildhall does not use UCAS Conservatoires. The School states that it offers programmes in music, acting and production arts, and that UCAS and UCAS Conservatoires are not suitable for applications across all of them. Applications are made directly through the School’s own portal, which means a family using one UCAS Conservatoires application for the other three runs a separate process for this one.

03 Academic Requirements

  • Royal College of Music: two A-levels at grade E or above; or one A-level at grade E or above plus two AS-levels at grades D and E or above. Also accepted: three Scottish Highers at grade D or above, Cambridge Pre-U at P3 or above in at least two subjects, BTEC Level 3 National Diploma, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma at 24 points.

  • Royal Academy of Music: two GCE A-levels. No grades are specified on the entry requirements page. Also accepted: BTEC, UAL or RSL Level 3 National or Extended Diploma at PPP, T-Level at Pass, and three Scottish Highers.

  • Guildhall School: two A-levels at Pass (A*–E); International Baccalaureate at 24 points; BTEC National Extended Diploma at PPP; BTEC National Diploma at PP; Access to HE Diploma at Pass; T Level.

  • Royal Northern College of Music: two A-levels at grade E or above, normally including music, plus three different GCSE subjects at grades A*–C or 9–4. RNCM is the only one of the four whose published requirement normally names music as a subject.

04 English Language Requirements

The published undergraduate requirement is the same figure at all four: IELTS Academic 5.5 overall with 5.5 in each component, which the RCM and RNCM record as CEFR B2.

Two conditions differ. RNCM publishes a separate requirement of 7.0 in each component for direct entry into year two of its three-year route. RAM publishes a TOEFL iBT route at 72 overall for tests taken before 21 January 2026. The alternative qualifications accepted differ between the four, and each publishes its own list.

05 Overseas Auditions and Discipline Restrictions

All four hold auditions in Asia for 2027 entry. The cities differ:

  • Royal Northern College of Music: Beijing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, plus New York.

  • Royal College of Music: Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, plus Sydney, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, New York and Toronto.

  • Guildhall School: Hong Kong, Qingdao, Seoul and Tokyo.

  • Royal Academy of Music: Qingdao and Hong Kong, plus Brisbane, Sydney and New York. RAM publishes no Beijing or Shanghai centre.

Each conservatoire publishes disciplines that cannot be auditioned at an overseas centre. The RCM lists composition, composition for screen, conducting, organ, percussion and historical instruments. Guildhall lists classical percussion and timpani, jazz drums and percussion, harpsichord, fortepiano, opera, electronic and produced music, composition and répétiteur. RNCM states that its China and Hong Kong centres are open to all applicants except popular music, percussion and composition.

RAM states that every overseas centre is gated by a video pre-screening round, so registering for a centre does not by itself secure a live audition.

06 Deadlines and Audition Periods for 2027 Entry

The main application deadline is 1 October 2026 at all four, with conditions attached at three of them.

  • Royal College of Music: 1 October 2026 for most programmes; 1 November 2026 for the Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, New York and Toronto centres. Video submissions for performance degree video auditions are due 26 October 2026. London auditions run mid-November to mid-December 2026.

  • Royal Academy of Music: 1 October 2026 for most courses; 13 January 2027 at 18:00 UK time for candidates auditioning in New York. London auditions run 7 to 18 December 2026; Qingdao 2 to 4 November, Hong Kong 5 to 6 November, Brisbane 9 to 10 November, Sydney 12 to 13 November 2026, New York early March 2027.

  • Guildhall School: 1 October 2026 for the BMus, with all closing deadlines at 4.30pm UK time. Audition videos for recorded and overseas bowed strings, harp and guitar are due 23 October 2026. Asia auditions are Hong Kong 9 to 11 November, Qingdao 14 November, Seoul 16 November and Tokyo 17 November 2026.

  • Royal Northern College of Music: applications opened 9 July 2026 and closed 1 October 2026 at 18:00 UK time, which is also the composition portfolio deadline. Overseas auditions are Beijing 27 to 28 October, Qingdao 30 October, Shanghai 2 to 3 November, Shenzhen 4 to 5 November and Hong Kong 6 to 7 November 2026, with New York 26 to 28 January 2027. The main audition period is November and December 2026 and offers are released on 24 December 2026.

RNCM is the only one of the four that publishes a fixed date on which offers are released.

The full list of dates each institution publishes for this cycle, including the specialist music schools and the junior departments, is collected in the Inchwise guide to application dates published for September 2027 entry.

07 Application and Assessment Fees

  • Royal College of Music: UCAS Conservatoires £34.50, plus an RCM assessment fee of £115 for a single principal study or £165 for a joint principal study, the latter available to BMus instrumentalists and composers but not to singers.

  • Royal Academy of Music: UCAS Conservatoires £34.50, plus an Academy assessment fee of £100 paid through UCAS Conservatoires.

  • Guildhall School: an application fee of £129, non-refundable, with no UCAS Conservatoires fee because the School does not use that route. Eligible undergraduate applicants can apply free through the School’s Supported Application Scheme.

  • Royal Northern College of Music: UCAS Conservatoires £34.50, plus an assessment fee of £80 for a single principal study or £120 for a joint principal study.

08 Tuition Fees

Published annual rates for the year a September 2027 entrant begins, 2027/28:

  • Royal College of Music: international £32,600, home £10,050, international part-time £23,750.

  • Royal Academy of Music: international £30,850, home £10,050. RAM publishes a three-year table: 2025/26 at £29,050 international and £9,535 home; 2026/27 at £29,900 and £9,790; 2027/28 at £30,850 and £10,050.

  • Royal Northern College of Music: international £30,700 and home £10,050, held at the same rate for all four years, which the College publishes as a four-year international total of £122,800.

  • Guildhall School: 2027/28 not published. The published 2026/27 rates are £31,790 international for entrants from September 2026, £27,810 international for entrants of September 2025 or earlier, and £9,790 home.

RNCM is the only one of the four that publishes a rate held flat across the four years, and so the only one for which a four-year total can be read directly from the published table.

09 Scholarships

The mechanism differs, and it decides what a family knows at the point of accepting an offer.

  • Royal College of Music: assessed automatically at audition, with no separate application. The ABRSM award, the only full scholarship published as open to an international undergraduate, requires the applicant to audition in London during the main audition period; an applicant who auditions at an overseas centre is not eligible for it.

  • Royal Academy of Music: assessed automatically at audition. The Bicentenary Scholarship is published as covering full tuition plus a maintenance grant, with no Home fee status condition.

  • Royal Northern College of Music: two routes, one assessed automatically and one applied for, with international undergraduates published as eligible for both.

  • Guildhall School: applied for after an offer has been accepted. The School states that all students who accept a place can apply for scholarship support and that eligibility details are provided once an offer has been accepted, and that scholarships must be applied for annually.

10 What Is Not Published

None of the four publishes an acceptance rate, an applications figure or an offers figure for undergraduate entry.

Guildhall has not published a 2027/28 tuition rate. The RCM does not publish specific London audition dates, stating that candidates are told their date a few weeks after the application deadline. Guildhall does not publish London audition dates for bowed strings and guitar. RAM does not publish a pre-screening deadline for London.

Where a decision depends on something recorded here as not published, the conservatoire’s own admissions office is the only source that can confirm it.

11 The Individual Guides

Each conservatoire has its own Inchwise guide, with the full set of published facts, the exact wording of the institution’s own statements and an explicit list of what it has not published.

Sources

About This Guide

Inchwise is a London education consultancy working with families whose children study music seriously. This guide records what each conservatoire publishes, and the date each fact was retrieved. Inchwise is not affiliated with any of these institutions and does not predict admission outcomes.

Where a decision depends on something this guide records as not published, that institution’s own admissions office is the only source that can confirm it.

Application dates for the current cycle are collected separately, with every unpublished item stated: application dates published for September 2027 entry.

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