The Royal Academy of Music - Aarhus/Aalborg

The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg is a conservatoire and a state institution under the Danish Ministry of Culture. Its job is the higher education courses in music, and more broadly contributing to musical culture in Denmark. It sits under the patronage of King Frederik X. The main base is in Aarhus, with a second home in Aalborg, so you study in two of Scandinavia's biggest university cities.

The Aarhus headquarters is a building by C. F. Møller Architects, built as an extension of Musikhuset Aarhus, the city concert hall. The Aalborg base, Musikkens Hus, was partly designed by the Scandinavian branch of Coop Himmelb(l)au. Both are modern buildings with teaching and rehearsal rooms, recording studios and concert halls, open around the clock.

Teaching puts solo work with an instrument or the voice at the centre. Around that you get ensemble playing and supplementary subjects. If you are training as a music teacher, music pedagogy and communicative subjects carry particular weight. Programmes run at bachelor's, master's and soloist or advanced postgraduate level, and cover classical, jazz and pop, and electronic music. Students come out as musicians, composers, solo performers or music teachers. The academy keeps an active international profile, with exchanges and a global outlook among students and staff.

The Study in Denmark register lists 10 English-taught degree programmes here: 2 at bachelor's level and 8 at master's level, all in performing arts.

For an international student, the practical side is standard Danish. Bachelor's applications go through optagelse.dk, while master's applications go direct to the academy. Students from outside the EU/EEA, and from outside Switzerland, need a residence permit through SIRI. Study is free for EU/EEA and Swiss students; others pay an institutional fee set by the academy.