We are ranked the Global No. 1 institution for Performing Arts for the fourth year running and earned the inaugural top spot for Music in the 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subject.
We welcome and support students from all over the world. Our international reputation is matched by our commitment to students who benefit from world-class facilities, amazing performance opportunities and exceptional professors.
We are ranked top UK conservatoire offering music as a single subject in the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021).
After almost 140 years, the RCM is still true to its founding principles of access, excellence and advocacy. With a student cohort numbering some 60 nationalities, the RCM is determined to play its part in bringing people together, enriching our society and promoting unity.
RCM professors are leaders in their fields and graduates benefit from the expert guidance of our sector-leading Creative Careers Centre, achieving remarkable success around the world. Among our alumni are composers and performers such as Sir Hubert Parry, Benjamin Britten, Gustav Holst, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Lord Lloyd Webber, Rebecca Clarke, Anna Meredith, Clemency Burton-Hill, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Sarah Connolly, Gerald Finley, Sophie Bevan, Louise Alder, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Regular visitors to the RCM to work with students in masterclasses and rehearsals include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Alina Ibragimova and Lang Lang. Be part of the future of music.
Royal College of Music students have access to unmatched performance opportunities, often in prestigious venues and with the most highly regarded guest artists.
The College's diverse events calendar includes more than 500 events per year. Ranging from masterclasses and chamber concerts to orchestral concerts and fully staged operas, these give you as much performance experience as possible.
