Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Scores

Student satisfaction	––
Research assessment	2.35
Entry standards	339
Student/staff ratio	10.5
Academic services spend	1054
Facilities spend	415
Good honours	35%
Graduate prospects	85%
Completion	90.9

What do these scores mean?

History

Formerly known as the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD), founded in 1847 by the Glasgow Educational Association.
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has been located in its current, purpose built location on Renfrew Street in Glasgow since 1987.
In 1997 the Alexander Gibson Opera School was opened by Dame Janet Baker, providing rehearsal and coaching rooms and a stunning performance space.
In 2003, HRH Prince Charles succeeded his grandmother as Patron, thereby maintaining the Conservatoire's royal patronage.
In October 2010 the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland opened Speirs Locks Studios, its second city centre, purpose built campus. The £6-m award-winning investment includes facilities of the highest professional level: specialist dance rehearsal space, technical construction workshops, props and wardrobe facilities and additional teaching and office accommodation.

Notable alumni

Our alumni are musicians, directors, writers, composers, costume designers, set designers, animateurs, educators, actors, performance makers, producers, technicians...and more.

Maureen Beattie – actor
Billy Boyd – actor
Robert Carlyle – actor
Tom Conti – actor
Alan Cumming – actor
Tony Curran – actor
Patrick Doyle – composer
Sheena Easton – singer
James Fleet – actor
Stella Gonet – actor
Hannah Gordon – actor
John Gracie – actor
John Hannah – actor
David Hayman – actor
Denis Lawson – actor
Phyllis Logan – actor
James McAvoy – actor
Lorna McGhee – flute
David McVicar – opera and theatre director
Lisa Milne – soprano
Colin Morgan – actor
Daniela Nardini – actor
Mark O’Keefe – trumpet
Shernaz Patel – film maker, actor
Bill Paterson – actor
Elaine C Smith – actor
David Tennant – actor
Ruby Wax – comedienne

Location and transport

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's main campsus is situated in Glasgow city centre, at 100 Renfrew Street. All six of its performance spaces are to be found here, along with numerous rehearsal spaces, practice and teaching rooms, and the Whittaker Library.
Speirs Locks Studios houses Dance, Musical Theatre and Technical and Production Arts. It is located at 210 Garscube Road, just a short walk from the Renfrew Street site.
Both sites have strong transport links, with Buchanan Street Bus Station and Cowcaddens Underground station within five minutes walk.
Glasgow has two main railway stations: Queen Street and Glasgow Central. Both are within 10–15 minutes walk of the Conservatoire. There are three international airports within easy reach of the city centre.

Entry standards

Generally Undergraduate applicants are expected to have passes at three Highers or two A levels.
Postgraduate students should have an undergraduate degree in a related area of study.
Academic entry requirements may be waived or reduced in the case of mature applicants.
Read more about the audition process and studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on their website.

Student mix

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland currently has 799 students.
642 undergraduate; 145 postgraduate; 12 postgraduate research.
58% of students are from Scotland, 22% from the rest of the UK and 20% are international from 45 different countries.
Female:male 56:44.
Home and EU:overseas students 84:16.
The average applications to places ratio for 2007 entry, across all courses, was 5:1.
There is a high demand for all places; the highest is BA Acting with an average of 50 students applying for every place.

Teaching standards

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland was granted degree awarding powers for taught programmes by the Privy Council in May 1994.
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland remains the only Conservatoire in the UK to have achieved that distinction.
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has the greatest number of full-time staff of any British conservatoire and all its teaching staff are practicing professionals in their own right.
Over the past 3 years the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has been working with staff, students and a panel of international experts developing a new curriculum. Introduced for the 2012–13 academic session, this new curriculum builds on the Conservatoire’s reputation for developing effective and adaptable artists by creating the space and support for this to flourish. The BEd (Music) is delivered in partnership with the University of Glasgow.

Research standards

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's National Centre for Research in the Performing Arts comprises 12 research students and 8 members of staff.
Following an historic agreement between the Royal Conservatoire and the University of St Andrews, research degrees undertaken at the Royal Conservatoire are validated and awarded by the University.
A major new initiative for Scottish Music – Traditional Music Graded Exams – was piloted and launched in October 2007.

Academic strengths

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s visiting International Fellows are some of the most renowned artists in their field and come to work with students several times a year. Through performances, masterclasses and workshops, the Conservatoire’s students benefit from their tuition and inspiration. These artists include Jane Eaglen, Pavel Steidl, the Brodsky Quartet, Lorna McGhee, Ian Bousfield, Nadine George, and the Lecoq Family.
Staff are expert in their fields, and many are professionally active.
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland stages around 500 performances by students and staff every year in its own venues and around 100 in professional venues in Scotland, the UK, and beyond.
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has an impressive number of side-by-side, mentoring and joint projects with national and major performance arts companies. Companies we work with include Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, National Theatre of Scotland, National Review of Live Art, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Playwrights' Studio, Scotland.

Student facilities, including library and computing

The Whittaker Library contains one of the most comprehensive collections of performance materials for music and drama in the UK and internationally.
The IT Department provides access to a growing number of electronic resources with a dedicated in-house IT Trainer.
Student access to The Culverhouse Classical Music Collection via Film & Sound Online.
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has some of the best facilities in Europe. There is an ongoing development programme, and a recent investment of £8.5m in the superb new facilities at Speirs Locks Studios and in the refurbishment of the Renfrew Street Campus. They include six professional performance venues, a high ratio of practice rooms per student, three recording studios, percussion studios, professional stage technology, four bespoke dance studios, new studios for technical, design, scenic art, set-building and costume design and construction. All these are backed up by the latest IT and digital technologies.

Disability services

The Conservatoire welcomes applications from people with special needs and disabilities. There are many students with disabilities who have successfully completed courses, and many who are studying here now, including students with dyslexia, visual and hearing impairments, epilepsy, asthma and ME.
For further information, telephone Jane Balmforth on 0141 2708 282 or email j.balmforth@rcs.ac.uk.