Welcome to the Department of Music.

For general enquiries, please contact the office of the School of Performing and Digital Arts:

Phone: +44 (0)1784 276 885

Email: pda-school@rhul.ac.uk

The Department of Music is one of the largest in the UK, offering a very broad and diverse range of modules, all taught by expert scholars. We are ranked among the top Music departments in the UK for our teaching (placed 2nd in the Good University Guide 2024, and 6th in the Complete University Guide, 2022–23) and our research (ranked 1st in the UK for research including Music in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework). We also benefit from a vibrant creative campus community rated 17th in the world for Performing Arts (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019).

Diverse courses

Our courses span the world, from European classical, popular and folk traditions to music from across Asia and the Americas. We study music across a thousand years of history but also explore the changing nature of music in the contemporary world. Through performance, composition and academic study, we’ll challenge you to think about what music is today and why it matters.

Teaching excellence

Our friendly academic staff are always willing to help you with your studies, and our team also includes some 31 instrumental and vocal teachers, offering specialist coaching in classical, jazz, early music and music theatre genres.

Performance

The fantastic array of performance opportunities open to you includes choirs, orchestras, bands, music theatre, world music and much more. Practice rooms, electronic studio facilities and some stunning performance spaces are all on site. Royal Holloway is also an All-Steinway Institution and owns primarily Steinway and Steinway-designed instruments. With London on your doorstep, some of the world’s most famous music venues are only a short train ride away.

Employability

Studying music offers a uniquely rich experience which is highly valued by employers. In your three years here, you will not only develop a range of musical skills and deep subject knowledge, but also build up your self-confidence in working independently and with others.

We hope that you will join us soon, where you can see and hear for yourself why Royal Holloway is such a special place to be a musician.

Prof Stephen Rose

Head of Department