Primary instrument/specialism
- Composition
The Composition pathway is designed to develop artistically aware, imaginative and confident creators, who are equipped to succeed as musicians in a rapidly-changing cultural landscape. We are looking for active and engaged individuals, who are interested in developing professional attitudes towards compositional practices, willing to collaborate and develop communication skills for use with other composers, performers and artists from a broad range of disciplines, demonstrating an independent willingness to prepare for lessons and classes, and a clear interest in widening musical experiences as they progress through their studies with us here at the RCS. When you study Composition, you will be working with our diverse and talented performing community across both our School of Music and School of Dance, Drama, Production and Film. You’ll benefit from our professional partnerships with leading ensembles and orchestras, and there will be opportunities to hear your work performed. The performance of new work is of paramount importance to us, and we have a significant reputation for contemporary music. PLUG, our critically acclaimed annual festival, has become a renowned platform for new work, premiering hundreds of new works across the years. You’ll follow your own tailored path through the programme; you have the option to include a second study in performance, work in the superb electroacoustic and recording studios, or devise new work in our purpose-built performance venues. Our staff are working artists, with various areas of specialist expertise. There’s a real sense of community among our composition students, staff, and PhD cohort; the Composers Forum meets weekly, and our students are offered support in setting up their own collectives for collaboration and performance. Composition can be a solitary existence; at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, we help you to develop the skills to work with other artists across disciplines, allowing our students to develop a number of projects within dance, theatre, film, and musical theatre. Please note, the international deadline for this programme is the 1st December 2023, but we would encourage applicants to apply by the 2nd October 2023 to be guaranteed consideration for the first round of scholarship.
During the application and audition process, you must select which instrument(s) you wish to specialise in for the duration of your course. On this course, you can choose from the following options:
Only one instrument is studied. It may be possible to study a further instrument formatively, but this will not contribute towards the qualification.
For all courses, you must select at least one specialism from the 'primary' list. For those studying primary/secondary pathways, two instruments may be selected – one from the 'primary' list and one from the 'secondary' list. Joint pathway students may select any two instruments from either list.
More information about what the course entails can be found on our website: https://www.rcs.ac.uk/courses/bmus-composition/
*If you are an international applicant, or you are applying for a postgraduate course, or are choosing certain assessment locations, the 'on time' deadline may be later in the year - please contact the conservatoire directly.
This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.
The following entry points are available for this course:
Applications for direct entry beyond Year 1 will be considered on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the Royal Conservatoire’s Recognition of Prior (Experiential) Learning policy. Please email [email protected] for more information.
Currently around 20% of our students come from outside the UK. Between them, they represent over 60 different nationalities and add a rich diversity to the Conservatoire.
Portfolio
After making an application through UCAS , Composition applicants should submit at least two compositions (preferably recent examples) together with brief analytical notes, and recorded performances and software files wherever possible. Portfolios must be submitted online using Acceptd and must be received by 15 October 2021.
Test | Grade | Additional details |
---|---|---|
IELTS (Academic) | 6 | Applicants who first language is not English will be required to provide evidence of proficiency in English. An IELTS score of 6.0 in each component (with no component below 5.5) is required. |
In the event of a successful assessment, applicants may be invited for a further interview prior to being made an offer.
Remote assessment recordings may be accepted in the event that you cannot attend an assessment in person.
Location | On-time Fee | Late Fee |
---|---|---|
Recording | £65 | £65 |
RCS | £65 | £65 |
Location | On-time Fee | Late Fee |
---|---|---|
Recording | Not available at this location | |
RCS | Not available at this location |
Please note, there will be multiple audition rounds for this course, please visit our website for specific information. All first round submissions will be completed via our Acceptd platform, regardless of which audition location you choose. For more information on what to prepare for the audition and portfolio, please see our website - https://www.rcs.ac.uk/courses/bmus-with-honours/composition/.
The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.
Channel Islands | £9250* | Year 1 |
Republic of Ireland | £9250* | Year 1 |
England | £9250* | Year 1 |
Northern Ireland | £9250* | Year 1 |
Wales | £9250* | Year 1 |
Scotland | £1820* | Year 1 |
EU | £27968* | Year 1 |
International | £27968* | Year 1 |
*This is a provisional fee and subject to change.
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
The Royal Conservatoire is able to offer a number of entrance scholarships which are awarded as part of the audition/selection process on the basis of merit and financial need. Please see our website for more information - https://www.rcs.ac.uk/apply/finance/scholarships/.
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
100 Renfrew Street
Glasgow
G2 3DB
Please select a course option to view the information for the course