Application Information and Guidance

Applicants who have already submitted their application can track the progress of their application, update their contact details, view details about their audition/interview, and access information about their course.

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Some programmes are able to consider applications submitted after the deadline. If the deadline has passed for the programme you are interested in, please contact the relevant department directly to see if there are audition/interview places still available.

Music: music_applications@gsmd.ac.uk  
Production Arts: pa_applications@gsmd.ac.uk  
Research: research_applications@gsmd.ac.uk  

The School is normally unable to defer applications.

The School does not accept applications for a repeat audition for the same year of entry.

Please note that from 2022 entry, there is no longer a limit on the maximum number of previous applications that an individual can make for the BA Acting programme.

The School encourages applications from students with a disability or a specific learning difficulty. Nearly 10% of our student population fall into this category.

If you would like to find out if the School’s support and environment are appropriate for you, you can contact the Student Affairs Department in confidence.

Please see our Disability Support page for more details of what we can offer.

Music applicants who meet the general programme entry requirements and additionally can demonstrate advanced standing through relevant prior study within a higher education institution and/or professional experience may be considered for direct entry into Year 2 of the BMus, Guildhall Artist Masters, and Artist Diploma programmes. Exceptionally, direct entry into Year 3 of the BMus programme may be permitted. Direct entry is not permitted for any other programmes.

Applicants wishing to apply for direct entry to the second or third year of the BMus programme are given ‘year of entry’ options on the online application form.

The audition panel will decide whether you are at the appropriate level from a performance standpoint and then our Academic Studies team will assess your suitability of advanced standing from an academic point of view. Applicants wishing to transfer from another university must seek written permission to audition from their current institution before applying. Applicants for direct entry that are not transferring from another institution will be required to complete a set of additional academic tasks and pay an additional assessment fee (please see our Fees & Funding page for more details).

For direct entry into the Guildhall Artist Masters or Artist Diploma programme please raise this at the time of audition; you may be required to submit additional evidence.

In exceptional circumstances, and subject to the approval of the relevant Programme Board, candidates whose abilities match the standards required for entry to a programme but who do not meet the standard academic entry criteria may still be considered. These applicants would be expected to provide alternative evidence of their ability to benefit from the programme.

Applicants for postgraduate Music programmes who will not have achieved a Bachelor of Music (Hons) qualification prior to entry should submit a detailed professional and academic CV with their application.

The School has a policy for the admission and support for students under the age of 18. Any student who has not yet reached the age of 18 on the first day of term will be admitted under this policy.

In order to be able to manage the long hours, intensive nature of the curriculum, and the adult content of the curriculum, applicants for the BA Acting programme should normally have reached the age of 18 by the first day of the programme.

There is no upper age limit for applicants.

As a condition of offer, all Leadership and Music Therapy applicants must submit a satisfactory DBS check (formerly CRB disclosure) by the start of the programme. Information on applying for a DBS check will be sent to these applicants before the start of term.

Guildhall School has a policy about Safeguarding the Welfare of Children which includes the process relating to admission of students with previous relevant criminal convictions. A previous criminal conviction will not normally debar the offer of a place unless issues relating to the nature of the programme or security of the School community apply. To help Guildhall School reduce the risk of harm or injury to their students all applicants must let us know if they have any unspent criminal convictions.

If you disclose that you have a criminal conviction you will be contacted in confidence by the Assistant Registrar (Admissions & Enrolment) and the implications and subsequent process will be explained in full. Offers of a place may be made but would be subject to engaging in the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checking process (formerly CRB).

Spent convictions are defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. For more information about our policy, please contact the Assistant Registrar (Admissions & Enrolment) at registry@gsmd.ac.uk

More information on the DBS checks can be found on the Gov.uk website.

Guildhall School shall process your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, meaning that we cannot discuss details of your application with anyone else unless you give your permission. When you apply you will be given a unique Reference Number to refer to in future correspondence.

If you wish to allow anyone else to talk to Guildhall School on your behalf you will need to contact Guildhall School via email quoting your Reference Number and state the name, contact details and relationship to you. Once this has been provided the agreed contact can speak to Guildhall School on your behalf.

If you are applying to one of the following programmes, your referees should be made aware that they will be contacted when the application is submitted and their references will be required within two weeks of the request:

• MA Music Therapy (at least one reference must be academic)
• All programmes within the Composition department (including MA in Opera Making & Writing)
• All programmes within the Wind, Brass and Percussion department
• All programmes within the Production Arts department
  (at least one reference must be academic)
• PGCert in Performance Teaching: We strongly encourage applicants to offer at least one reference from a line manager in their current or most recent role.
• All Research programmes

If you already have the reference document, please enter your own email address rather than your referee's address so you can upload the document yourself when the reference request email is sent.

You should choose suitable people to act as your referees and you should have discussed this with them before supplying their email addresses in the application form. Please provide your referee with information about the programme you are applying for so they can comment on your suitability.

If you have given consent to an applicant to name you as a referee, they will need to provide your contact details on their application form. If the applicant is applying for one of the courses listed in the ‘References’ section above, you should receive an automatic email from Guildhall School when the application is submitted. We ask that you provide a reference within two weeks of the request. Please note that we operate an open reference policy and the applicant may view their reference.

Guildhall School does not require references to be in a specific format but if you have not yet written a reference for the applicant, you may wish to use the below reference template. Please note, this is not a requirement; it has been provided for your convenience only.

The reference request email will provide you with a link that can be used to upload your reference directly to the applicant’s online application. Please note, these request emails are unique to each referee so should not reused or passed to colleagues, as the first reference uploaded will be overwritten.

If you have any problems with the online system you can simply post or email the reference to:

Registry (5th Floor Milton Court)
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Silk Street, Barbican
London, EC2Y 8DT
Email: registry@gsmd.ac.uk 

Please ensure your details and the applicant's details are marked clearly so the reference can be matched to the applicant’s record.

Postage:
In no circumstances should candidates send recorded materials or applications directly to individual professors. They should be sent to:

Production Arts:
Applications and Admissions
Production Arts and Drama Administration,
Guildhall School of Music & Drama,
Silk Street, Barbican,
London, EC2Y 8DT

Research:
Research Coordinator
Guildhall School of Music & Drama,
Silk Street, Barbican,
London, EC2Y 8DT

• Composition: BMus, Guildhall Artist Masters
  You will be required to upload three contrasting compositions in the Supporting Information section of the online application form. Scores should be provided in PDF format (Sibelius/Finale files are not accepted). Where possible, recordings of the scores submitted should also be included as online links on the score or as a separate document (any freely accessible online service is acceptable). In no circumstances will a recording of a purely instrumental work be accepted without a score, but purely electronic pieces may be accompanied by a short textual commentary. Please note that only candidates whose scores are of an appropriate standard will be invited to interview.

• MA Opera Making & Writing (Composition pathway)
  If you apply to the composition pathway, you will be expected to submit a portfolio of three compositions (with recordings) in the same manner as for BMus/Guildhall Artist applicants described above. At least one submitted composition should be for voice and instrument(s) and the portfolio will be expected to evidence a good general level of creative engagement with opera and theatre.

  Please note that only candidates whose overall application is of an appropriate standard will be invited to interview. All interviews for 2021 entry will be conducted online (e.g. via Zoom).

• MA Opera Making & Writing (Writing pathway)
  Candidates for the writer pathway will be expected to upload a portfolio of writing comprised of 15 poems or 5000 words of prose, or dramatic script (up to 30 pages). The portfolio will be expected to evidence a good general level of creative engagement with opera and theatre. The application process for writing candidates will be managed by Guildhall School’s Professor of Writing in conjunction with the Programme Director.

  If you apply for this pathway you will also need to submit personal statement (500-1000 words), which outlines your creative engagement with contemporary opera and the motivation that informs your application. 

  Please note that only candidates whose overall application is of an appropriate standard will be invited to interview. All interviews for 2021 entry will be conducted online (e.g. via Zoom).

• Electronic Music: all pathways
  Please submit a portfolio containing a résumé of your experience in Electronic Music to date and media examples of this experience. This is your main opportunity to ‘showcase’ your experience, ability and potential. Quality, creativity and diversity are more important than length so please avoid saturating your portfolio with material and concentrate on submitting a small selection of your best work.

  Portfolios should be submitted electronically via a current form of file transfer (e.g. wetransfer.com) to Mike Roberts (Head of Electronic Music) at mroberts@gsmd.ac.uk by no later than 22 January 2021. All portfolios will be reviewed in January. Please ensure that the link does not expire before March 2021. 

• Artist Diploma (All pathways)
  Applicants who are successful in the live audition round will be required to submit the below(you will be contacted following your audition):
   - an up-to-date Artistic CV
   - a recent recording (made within the last year). 
  These items will be reviewed by the Artist Diploma Panel as part of the second round of consideration.

• BA Production Arts & BA Digital Design & Production
  In addition to making an application by the deadline, applicants should prepare a portfolio of work relevant to their chosen pathway. Further information will be sent to applicants in advance of their interview.
   
• MA Collaborative Theatre Production and Design
  In addition to making an application by the deadline, applicants should prepare and submit a portfolio that demonstrates previous work related to their area of interest. This material can either be uploaded to the application at submission (maximum size 10MB in either doc/docx or pdf format) or sent (securely bound and marked clearly with the applicant’s name) to:

  Applications and Admissions
  Production Arts and Drama Administration,
  Guildhall School of Music & Drama,
  Silk Street, Barbican
  London, EC2Y 8DT

  All supporting material must be received by the application deadline of 4.30 pm on Wednesday 18 January 2023.

  Applicants sending additional documentation from overseas should ensure that for Customs purposes they indicate that they will pay any import tax charged.

MPhil / PhD / DMus
For more information on applying for an MPhil, PhD or DMus, visit the Research Degrees pages.