The TOP-100 Best Universities in Performing Arts offer unparalleled opportunities for education abroad, particularly for those looking to study in the UK or Europe, renowned for its rich theatrical history and cutting-edge arts education.
We present a guide to the best universities in the field of performing arts. This direction does not accidentally attract thousands of foreign students: top universities give the opportunity to get in touch with a rich and unique culture, to master the necessary professional skills necessary for a future successful career.
In addition, students undergo internships and work on the best theater stages in the world, which will make valuable connections for the future.
Top 100 best universities in the world in 2026 QS: Performing Arts
| Rank | University | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal College of Music | 97,0 |
| 2 | Royal Academy of Music | 93,4 |
| 3 | Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris (CNSMDP) | 93,3 |
| 4 | Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien | 92,4 |
| 5 | Guildhall School of Music and Drama | 91,7 |
| 6 | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Formerly Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) | 90,2 |
| 7 | Juilliard School | 88,2 |
| 8 | Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) | 88,0 |
| 9 | New York University | 87,1 |
| 10 | The Gnesins Russian Academy of Music | 85,3 |
| 11 | Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory | 84,8 |
| 12 | Curtis Institute of Music | 83,7 |
| 13 | University of the Arts Helsinki | 83,3 |
| 14 | Royal Holloway University of London | 81,9 |
| =15 | Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory | 81,2 |
| =15 | University of Rochester | 81,2 |
| 17 | The Royal Danish Academy of Music | 80,8 |
| 18 | University of Cambridge | 80,7 |
| 19 | University of Oxford | 80,3 |
| 20 | Harvard University | 80,2 |
| 21 | Norwegian Academy of Music | 80,0 |
| 22 | The Liszt Academy of Music | 79,2 |
| 23 | Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon | 78,9 |
| 24 | McGill University | 78,5 |
| =25 | Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Leipzig | 78,4 |
| =25 | Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance | 78,4 |
| 27 | Yale University | 77,6 |
| 28 | Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts | 77,4 |
| 29 | Columbia University | 77,1 |
| =30 | King's College London | 76,9 |
| =30 | Shanghai Conservatory of Music (SHCM) | 76,9 |
| 32 | University of Huddersfield | 76,7 |
| =33 | University Mozarteum Salzburg | 76,4 |
| =33 | Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) | 76,4 |
| 35 | Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin | 76,2 |
| 36 | Central School of Speech & Drama | 76,0 |
| 37 | Stanford University | 75,6 |
| 38 | Northwestern University | 75,5 |
| 39 | Royal College of Music in Stockholm | 75,3 |
| 40 | Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin | 75,0 |
| 41 | National University of Singapore (NUS) | 74,9 |
| 42 | UCSI University | 74,8 |
| 43 | University of Southern California | 74,6 |
| 44 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 74,4 |
| 45 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | 74,3 |
| 46 | University of Toronto | 73,6 |
| 47 | The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music | 73,0 |
| 48 | Goldsmiths, University of London | 72,9 |
| 49 | University of Birmingham | 72,7 |
| 50 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | 72,5 |
| 51-100 | Academy of Performing Arts in Prague | |
| 51-100 | Boston University | |
| 51-100 | California Institute of the Arts | |
| 51-100 | Central Academy of Drama, China | |
| 51-100 | Chulalongkorn University | |
| 51-100 | City University of New York | |
| 51-100 | Conservatoire de Musique de Genève | |
| 51-100 | Conservatorio di Roma Santa Cecilia | |
| 51-100 | Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln | |
| 51-100 | Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg | |
| 51-100 | Hochschule für Musik und Theater München | |
| 51-100 | Indiana University Bloomington | |
| 51-100 | Korea National University of Arts | |
| 51-100 | Lasalle College of the Arts | |
| 51-100 | Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre | |
| 51-100 | Mahidol University | |
| 51-100 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | |
| 51-100 | Monash University | |
| 51-100 | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) | |
| 51-100 | Peking University | |
| 51-100 | Queen Mary University of London | |
| 51-100 | Queen's University Belfast | |
| 51-100 | Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus | |
| 51-100 | Royal Irish Academy of Music | |
| 51-100 | Seoul National University | |
| 51-100 | Sorbonne University | |
| 51-100 | The Russian Academy of Arts | |
| 51-100 | The University of Auckland | |
| 51-100 | University of Edinburgh | |
| 51-100 | University of Manchester | |
| 51-100 | University of Melbourne | |
| 51-100 | The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) | |
| 51-100 | The University of Sydney | |
| 51-100 | University of Warwick | |
| 51-100 | Universität der Knste Berlin | |
| 51-100 | Universiti Malaya (UM) | |
| 51-100 | University College Cork | |
| 51-100 | University College Dublin | |
| 51-100 | University of Basel | |
| 51-100 | University of British Columbia | |
| 51-100 | University of California, San Diego (UCSD) | |
| 51-100 | University of Chicago | |
| 51-100 | University of Galway | |
| 51-100 | University of Leeds | |
| 51-100 | University of Limerick | |
| 51-100 | University of North Texas | |
| 51-100 | University of Texas at Austin | |
| 51-100 | University of the Philippines | |
| 51-100 | University of York | |
| 51-100 | Victoria University of Wellington | |
| 101-120 | Cornell University |
