Quick Answer
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland does not publish an acceptance rate, and for a conservatoire the number would not mean what you think it means. Entry is by audition, discipline by discipline, against a fixed and very small number of places. Roughly 1,150 students study there in total across dance, drama, music, production and film – so a single programme may take a handful of people a year.
It is 7th in the world in the QS subject ranking it appears in, performing arts, and about 400 of its students are international. It is also expensive: international undergraduate tuition is £29,786 a year, and some postgraduate programmes reach £39,363.
Reviewed by Dr Elizabeth Adey for 2027 entry · Uni Direct team, 2026
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is Scotland’s national conservatoire, on Renfrew Street in central Glasgow. It traces its history to 1847, when it was founded as the Glasgow Athenaeum, was known for most of the last century as the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and has held its own degree awarding powers since 1993. Its honorary President is the violinist Nicola Benedetti; its patron is the King.
It is a conservatoire rather than a university, and that changes almost everything about how you get in and what it costs. This page is about those two things, because they are what applicants actually need and what nothing on the subject currently answers properly. The wider guide is our best UK universities guide.
7th
in the world · performing arts
400
of about 1,150 in total
£29,786
per year · most undergraduate degrees · 2026/27
1993
its own, since
1847
as the Glasgow Athenaeum
Sources: QS’s profile for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for the subject rank and the student numbers, the Conservatoire’s own tuition fees page for the fee, and the published record for the foundation and the degree awarding powers. All read 14 September 2026.
What is the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland acceptance rate?
There isn’t a published one, and we are not going to invent it. We looked: the Conservatoire does not publish an institutional acceptance rate, and the results currently ranking for this question are a Reddit thread, a set of directory profiles, a student accommodation blog and a UCAS Conservatoires data file from 2014. Nobody has answered it.
And an institutional rate would mislead you even if it existed. A conservatoire does not admit to the institution; it admits to a programme, by audition, against a fixed number of places set by what the building and the staff can carry. About 1,150 students are enrolled in total across five schools, so an individual programme may be taking a very small number of people in any year. An average across all of that would tell you nothing about the room you will audition in.
What actually decides your chances
Three things, in this order.
First, the audition itself. It is the decision. Academic qualifications establish that you can do the degree; the audition establishes whether they want you in the cohort, and a conservatoire panel is choosing an ensemble as well as individuals.
Second, your discipline and your instrument. Competition is not evenly distributed. A programme that takes two or three people a year in a particular instrument is a different proposition from one taking twenty across a broader intake, and the number that matters to you is the one for your own specialism – which is worth asking the admissions team directly, because they know it and it is not secret.
Third, the year. Small intakes swing. A programme that was hard to enter last year may not be this year, and the reverse.
So the useful question is not “what is the acceptance rate” but “how many places are there on this programme, and what is the panel listening for”. Both are answerable. Ask us and we will put those questions to them with you.
How entry to a conservatoire actually works
If you have applied to universities before, almost none of that process carries over. The differences are worth understanding before you start, because several of them cost money and some of them cannot be undone late.
You apply to a programme and you audition for it. The route differs by level and by school – undergraduate and postgraduate taught, research, and continuing education each have their own – so check the route on the page for your own programme rather than assuming it is UCAS as you know it.
Auditions are competitive in a way that a grade offer is not. A university offer says: reach these grades and the place is yours. An audition says: we are choosing between you and everyone else who played this week. That is a different kind of preparation, and it is why the Conservatoire runs its own short courses in audition preparation.
The costs that arrive before any tuition does
International students are required to pay a deposit of £2,000, either by a stated deadline or within 30 days of receiving an offer. That is a real commitment on a compressed timetable, and it is worth knowing about it before an offer arrives rather than after.
There is also travel. Live auditions mean getting to Glasgow, and for an applicant from outside Europe that is a substantial cost incurred before any decision is made. Ask whether your programme accepts a recorded first round, because some do and it changes the arithmetic.
What the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland costs
It is one of the most expensive institutions in this guide for an international student, and the Conservatoire publishes the figures plainly, which is more than most manage.
| Programme | Scotland | Rest of UK and Ireland | International |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most undergraduate degrees | £1,820 | £9,790 | £29,786 |
| BA Modern Ballet / BA Dance Artist | £1,820 | £9,790 | £27,968 |
| MMus (performance and related) | £13,707 home | £29,786 | |
| MA (performance and related) | £19,037 home | £37,372 | |
| MA Vocal Performance | £20,595 home | £39,363 | |
| Advanced Artist Diploma (excluding opera) | £10,264 home | £23,886 | |
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland tuition and course fees page, 2026/27, read 14 September 2026. Fees are subject to annual review. Scottish undergraduate fees are usually met by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.
Three things the tuition figure does not include
Living costs. The Conservatoire’s own estimate is between £11,200 and £15,300 a year to live in Glasgow, depending on your lifestyle and on whether your programme runs three terms or four. That is an institution-published figure rather than our estimate, which makes it unusually useful.
Associated programme costs. Every programme publishes its own list – instruments, hardware, software, materials – and these are not small at a conservatoire. Read the programme costs document for your own course, which sits on its degree page, before you set a budget.
The deposit. £2,000 for international students, within 30 days of the offer.
One rule worth knowing if you are applying from Ireland
New students from the Republic of Ireland pay the rest-of-UK fee, not the international fee. That is £9,790 against £29,786 – a difference of nearly £20,000 a year – under a long-standing agreement between the UK and Ireland. If you hold Irish citizenship, establish your fee status early.
Where the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland stands
Seventh in the world, in the only ranking that sensibly applies to it. QS ranks performing arts as a subject, and the Conservatoire’s profile carries a subject position of 7th. It has been in that table’s top ten in most years since the ranking began in 2016, reaching 3rd in 2017 and again in 2021, and 5th in 2022.
It does not appear in the UK domestic league tables, and that is the normal position for a conservatoire rather than a mark against it. The Complete University Guide and its equivalents rank universities on entry tariffs, research output and graduate salaries; none of those describes an institution that admits by audition and trains performers.
So the comparison to make is with other conservatoires – in London, Manchester, Cardiff, and in Europe and North America – and not with a university that happens to teach a music degree. The QS performing arts table is the one place they are set side by side, and it is where RCS looks strongest.
What it teaches, and where
Five disciplines: dance, drama, music, production and film. That breadth is unusual – most conservatoires are music schools with a drama department attached, or the reverse – and it is the reason RCS runs programmes that would not exist elsewhere.
| Area | Examples |
|---|---|
| Music | Performance, collaborative piano, chamber music, composition, conducting, jazz, traditional music, vocal performance, repetiteurship, piano for dance |
| Drama | BA Acting, BA Performance in BSL and English, MA/MFA Classical and Contemporary Text |
| Musical theatre | BA Musical Theatre, MA and PGDip Musical Theatre: Musical Directing, MA Musical Theatre Directing |
| Dance | BA Modern Ballet, in partnership with Scottish Ballet, and BA Dance Artist |
| Production and film | BA Production Arts and Design, BA Production Technology and Management, BA Film Making |
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland programme cost listings and course pages, read 14 September 2026.
Two buildings, not one
The main building is at 100 Renfrew Street in central Glasgow, which is where the Whittaker Library and most teaching sit. Wallace Studios at 210 Garscube Road is the Conservatoire’s second site, about a mile north, used for production and rehearsal work. If you are choosing accommodation, find out which of the two your programme actually uses before you sign anything.
Who the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland suits
It suits somebody whose subject is the whole point, who is ready to be judged on performing it, and who has the money or the funding in place. Those three conditions are all necessary and the third one is the one people underestimate.
It suits an international applicant well in one specific respect: around 400 of its roughly 1,150 students come from outside the UK, which is a very high proportion, and it means the institution is genuinely used to international cohorts rather than treating them as an exception.
It does not suit somebody who wants a conventional degree with performance attached. A university music or drama department gives you a broader degree, a lower fee, a ranked institution and the option to change direction. A conservatoire gives you intensity and a professional network, and asks you to commit before you arrive.
It does not suit somebody who has not costed it honestly. At £29,786 tuition plus £11,200 to £15,300 living costs plus programme costs, a three-year undergraduate degree is a serious sum, and the funding conversation belongs at the start rather than after an audition has gone well.
Elizabeth’s view
The question I am asked about RCS is almost always the acceptance rate, and my answer disappoints people until they hear the rest of it. There is no published figure, and the figure would not help you. What helps you is knowing how many places your programme has and what the panel is listening for, and both of those are things a person will tell you if you ask.
On quality I have no reservations at all. Seventh in the world in the performing arts table, consistently in the top ten, and a breadth across five disciplines that very few conservatoires match. If this is your world, it is a serious place to train.
My reservation is entirely about money, and I want to be blunt. Twenty-nine thousand seven hundred and eighty-six pounds a year in tuition, before you have eaten or paid rent, and some of the postgraduate programmes are approaching forty. Add the Conservatoire’s own living estimate and the programme costs and you are budgeting well over £45,000 a year. That has to be settled before an audition, not after, because a place you cannot fund is worse than no place at all.
If you hold Irish citizenship, check your fee status before anything else. The difference between the rest-of-UK rate and the international rate here is close to twenty thousand pounds a year, and I have seen people not realise.
The last thing I say to everyone: ask whether your first round can be recorded. Flying to Glasgow to audition is a real cost, incurred before anybody has told you anything.
Frequently asked questions about the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Is the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland a university?
It is a conservatoire, not a university, but it has held its own degree awarding powers since 1993, so its degrees are its own. It sits outside the UK domestic league tables, which is normal for a conservatoire.
Is the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland good?
By the ranking that applies to it, yes – 7th in the world in the QS performing arts subject table, and in that table’s top ten in most years since 2016, including 3rd in 2017 and 2021.
How hard is it to get into the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland?
Hard, and unevenly so. Entry is by audition for a fixed and small number of places per programme, and about 1,150 students are enrolled in total. The number that matters is your own programme’s intake, not an institutional average.
How much does the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland cost for international students?
£29,786 a year for most undergraduate degrees in 2026/27, £27,968 for BA Modern Ballet and BA Dance Artist, and between £23,886 and £39,363 at postgraduate level depending on the programme. A £2,000 deposit is required within 30 days of an offer.
What does it cost to live in Glasgow as an RCS student?
The Conservatoire’s own estimate is £11,200 to £15,300 a year, plus the associated costs of your particular programme, which are published separately for each course.
Do students from Ireland pay international fees at RCS?
No. Under a long-standing agreement between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, new students from the Republic pay the rest-of-UK fee of £9,790 rather than the international fee.
When was the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland founded?
In 1847, as the Glasgow Athenaeum. It was later the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and took its present name to reflect the full range of disciplines it teaches rather than only music and drama.
What subjects does the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland teach?
Five: dance, drama, music, production and film – including acting, musical theatre, modern ballet with Scottish Ballet, traditional music, jazz, conducting, production arts and film making.
Where is the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland?
At 100 Renfrew Street in central Glasgow, with a second site, Wallace Studios, at 210 Garscube Road about a mile north, used for production and rehearsal.
How many students does the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland have?
About 1,150 to 1,230, depending on the source and the year, of whom roughly three quarters are undergraduates. About 400 are international students, which is a high proportion for an institution of this size.
What to do next
Two things settle an RCS application, and neither is the acceptance rate. First, find out how many places your specific programme takes and what the audition panel is assessing. Second, cost the whole thing – tuition, living, programme costs, deposit, audition travel – and establish the funding before you prepare the audition.
Send us the programme and the country you are applying from and we will put the useful questions to the Conservatoire with you – the intake size for your discipline, whether a recorded first round is accepted, your fee status, and what the programme costs document for your course actually lists. Immigration questions belong with GOV.UK, which is the authority on the rules, and we pass visa cases to partners.
Ask us about auditioning for RCS- Best UK universitiesThe guide this page sits in, covering the ranked institutions and the specialists
- Glasgow School of ArtThe other specialist institution in the same city, and the same kind of decision
- Cheapest universities in the UKWhere £29,786 sits against the rest of the sector
Sources, all read 14 September 2026: the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s own tuition and course fees page, for every fee in the table, the £11,200 to £15,300 living estimate, the associated programme costs, the £2,000 international deposit and the Republic of Ireland fee status rule; QS’s profile for the Conservatoire, for the subject ranking and the student and international student numbers; and the published record for the 1847 foundation, the former name, the 1993 degree awarding powers and the QS performing arts positions in earlier years.
What we did not check, and what does not exist. No acceptance rate is published and we have not calculated one; the page says so and explains what to ask instead. We have not read programme-level intake numbers for any individual course, and have not implied any. We could not confirm the current application route for every programme – several pages on the Conservatoire’s site returned errors when we read them – so the page tells you to check the route on your own programme’s page rather than naming one. Published student totals differ between sources (about 1,150 and about 1,230 for recent years), so this page gives the range.