New fully funded Foundation Year at the Royal Academy of Music
‘We are looking for motivated students from a state school background who love music and are keen to hone their performance and composition skills in our environment, with a view to applying to conservatoire or to university music degrees. The course is free to access, subject to means testing. It is designed to bridge the opportunity gap between students who have had a lot of prior training and musical opportunity, and those who have had less experience until this point in their musical journey.’
Overview
The Royal Academy of Music Foundation Year is a fully funded one year programme supporting state educated musicians aged 18–20 who’ve experienced financial or other barriers to opportunity. It is designed to support talented students who demonstrate the potential to succeed at undergraduate conservatoire level but would benefit from an additional year of intensive musical and academic preparation before auditioning.
From July 2026, up to five students each year will receive one-to-one tuition, ensemble training, mentoring, academic study and structured guidance for undergraduate applications and auditions.
The programme aims to widen access to advanced music study by supporting musicians who may not yet have had access to specialist training or preparation for conservatoire auditions.
The programme is generously supported by the Clore Duffield Foundation, enabling it to be fee-free and to provide substantial financial support to participating students.
How to apply
To apply, please create an account on Acceptd. Once registered, visit the Royal Academy of Music Acceptd page and follow the steps to submit an application for the Foundation Year.
Please read our Application Guidelines before applying.