What are the best music colleges and conservatoires in the world?

The 2021 QS World University Rankings have released their list of the top 50 institutions for performing arts across the world. These rankings are updated each year and are predominantly based on the academic reputation of the university, college or conservatoire.

Other factors include students' preparation for the employment market, the ratio of faculty members to students, the amount of research undertaken by faculty members and the ratio of international faculty members and students.

The top 50 music colleges, conservatoires and universities for performing arts:

1. The Juilliard School
2. Royal College of Music
3. Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
4. Royal Academy of Music
5. Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse en Paris
6. New York University
7. Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien
8. Norwegian Academy of Music
9. Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki
10. Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
11. University Mozarteum Salzburg
12. Harvard University (tied with University of Oxford)
13. University of Oxford (tied with Harvard University)
14. University of Cambridge
15. Guildhall School of Music and Drama
16. University of Rochester
17. Indiana University Bloomington
18. Royal Holloway University of London
19. The University of Melbourne
20. Royal College of Music in Stockholm
21. Yale University
22. Columbia University
23. The Royal Danish Academy of Music
24. University of California, Berkeley (tied with University of California, Los Angeles)
25. University of California, Los Angeles (tied with University of California, Berkeley)
26. Curtis Institute of Music
27. University of Huddersfield
28. University of Southern California
29. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
30. The University of Sydney
31. Universität der Künste Berlin
32. The Central Academy of Drama, China
33. The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
34. Moscow State Conservatory P.I. Tchaikovsky
35. Monash University
36. Korea National University of Arts
37. Stanford University
38. Queen Mary University of London
39. McGill University
40. National University of Singapore
41. Northwestern University
42. Goldsmiths, University of London
43. Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin
44. Royal Northern College of Music
45. UCSI University
46. University of Toronto
47. The University of Auckland
48. Conservatoire de Musique de Genève
49. The University of Warwick
50. Griffith University