Advanced Certificate

Discover Guildhall

Music Tour

Explore our Music facilities with Guildhall students

Guildhall has a unique buzz and vibe to it…a great sense of community and friendliness

Rebecca Carson
BMus Flute

Guildhall has prepared me for a career in music therapy from searching for jobs to having brilliant work experience from the placements they chose for me

Emma Barber
MA Music Therapy

Guildhall had a crucial role in my success. The very high quality orchestral projects and masterclasses prepared me for professional life

Joao Seara
BMus Double Bass

Studying at the Guildhall School has been a life-changing and unforgettable adventure

Rebekah Carpio
MMus Clarinet (Orchestral Artistry)

Such incredible musicians and inspiring teachers and the opportunity to hear from world-class visiting artists has been invaluable

Vijay Prakash
MMus Jazz Trombone

In my first year, I was given the opportunity to play with the Britten-Pears Orchestra. We performed a number of concerts and our CD, recorded at one of those concerts, went on to win the BBC Music Magazine Award for Best Opera Recording.

Andrew McCoy
BMus Tenor Trombone

Working in pairs during the MA has helped me developer a deeper understanding of how opera composers work and how to spark their imaginations with a libretto.

Zoe Palmer (writer)
MA Opera Making and Writing

The relationship between the Barbican, BBC, and Guildhall is absolutely invaluable as it provides opportunities for students that cannot be found elsewhere.

Emiko Edwards
MPerf Piano

I feel that the people here really make the institution. I found Guildhall to be a really supportive environment that gave me room to explore, take risks, and mature as a musician, and as a human being.

Francesca Chiejina
MPerf Vocal Studies

Writing music for theatre has been a highlight of my time at Guildhall, as it has allowed me to explore an art form in which I have a great amount of interest and to work towards a professional finished product.

Alexander Hall
BMus Composition

Barbican is a key partner of Guildhall, and we can often get artists who perform there to do a masterclass or project with us, and we often do performances at Barbican events.

Ieva Vaitiekunaite
BMus Electronic Music

Whether it is in sit-in rehearsals, side-by-side projects or chamber orchestra sessions, the LSO players offer invaluable guidance and provide a glimpse of the exceptional standards we aspire towards.

Rees Webster
MPerf Oboe (Orchestral Artistry)

I was excited to cover a role in the UK premiere of Andrew Norman's 'A Trip to the Moon' in the Barbican, have a solo recital at LSO St Luke's and also to sing on the stage of Wigmore Hall.

Mirjam Mesak
MPerf Vocal Studies

I knew about the fantastic tutoring and resources, but the friendly and stimulating environment clinched it for me.

Eden Lonsdale
BMus Composition

I had the opportunity to play percussion with the Guildhall Studio Orchestra which gave me the chance to learn from, and play alongside, amazing senior players, as well as to perform with the incredible Liane Carroll.

Dave Adsett
BMus Jazz Drums

Guildhall is an institution that knows it has to be connected to the outside world - that's the key thing. It's not a bubble. It has roots in the city and in the world.

Jonathan Ferrucci
Artist Diploma Piano

One minute you could be playing in the Guildhall Studio Orchestra with jazz musicians, the next you could be playing in the opera pit, then the next minute you'll b e with actors doing the musical and then playing a symphony in the orchestra.

Millie Ashton
BMus Violin

The departmental philosophy of returning opera back to something that is essentially produced as part of a company is a really great thing.

Klara Kofen (writer)
MA Opera Making and Writing

The quality of teaching is amazingly high. With the guidance and help that I've been given, I feel my work has got dramatically better over a short space of time.

Lucy Armstrong (composer)
MA Opera Making and Writing

I set up a piano trio when I arrived, and we have weekly coaching with members of the Endellion Quartet and the faculty. It has been very rewarding.

Leo Popplewell
MMus Cello

It seemed like this was a place to go and experience a complete world of art and performance and see what happened - a place that really encouraged you to make things that you want to make.

Vittorio Angelone
BMus Percussion

Advanced Certificate

Opera Studies – 2 years full time only

All other study – 1 year full time or 2 years part time

This programme is not eligible for students who require a Tier 4 Visa

About the programme

The emphasis of this programme is on your individual growth as a practical musicians and artist, through the principal study module. The module consists of one-to-one lessons, coaching, masterclasses and other activities which will develop your technical preparation, repertoire and stylistic knowledge, artistic insight and individual imagination. Students are also involved in solo and ensemble experiential learning opportunities, usually by intensive projects.

Additionally, elective modules (from the BMus or Guildhall Artist programmes) are available, for an additional fee, so that you can broaden or deepen your musical expertise in a variety of specialisms, developing specific skills and understanding in relation to areas of defined specialism. These electives are taught in small groups and involve a combination of academic and experiential learning approaches. In addition, students are involved in regular extra-curricular performances that are vital to the training of musicians. These are initiated both by the School and by the students themselves.

You will follow a programme of principal study from September to July, either full-time or part-time (full-time only for Opera students). There are no formal assessment points; assessment is conducted informally throughout the programme on the basis of participation and engagement.

The Advanced Certificate is a non-credit bearing programme so is not suitable for those wishing to obtain a degree qualification; students who have completed this programme are not eligible to attend graduation.

Entrance Requirements

Students who apply for the Advanced Certificate Programme will be assessed, at audition, on their potential to benefit from principal study teaching at Masters level. The minimum standard of entry will be commensurate with the performance standard expected at the end of four years of undergraduate conservatoire principal study.

Fees & Funding

For more information on fees and funding for the Advanced Certificate, visit the Fees and Funding page.

Please note if you require a Tier 4 (general) student visa to study in the UK, this is not an eligible programme. Students from outside of the EU must be able to study in the UK on an alternative immigration status.

Please note that applicants to this programme are not eligible for UK or US Government backed Postgraduate loans.

Application Deadlines

For application deadlines and more information on applying for this programme, visit the How to Apply page.