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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
| # | University | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Juilliard School | 100 |
| 2 | Royal College of Music | 94.5 |
| =3 | Curtis Institute of Music | 91.2 |
| =3 | Guildhall School of Music and Drama | 91.2 |
| 5 | Royal Academy of Music | 88.2 |
| =6 | Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris (CNSMDP) | 87.3 |
| =6 | Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien | 87.3 |
| 8 | New York University (NYU) | 83.5 |
| 9 | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | 82.3 |
| 10 | The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) | 81.2 |
| 11 | Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) | 79.2 |
| 12 | Shanghai Conservatory of Music | 79 |
| 13 | Trinity Laban | 78.4 |
| 14 | Moscow State Conservatory P. I. Tchaikovsky | 78 |
| 15 | McGill University | 77.5 |
| 16 | The Royal Danish Academy of Music | 77.3 |
| 17 | University Mozarteum Salzburg | 77 |
| 18 | University of Oxford | 76.8 |
| 19 | University of Rochester | 76.4 |
| 20 | Harvard University | 75.9 |
| =21 | Korea National University of Arts | 75.6 |
| =21 | Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki | 75.6 |
| 23 | University of Cambridge | 75.4 |
| 24 | UCSI University | 74.9 |
| 25 | Indiana University Bloomington | 74.8 |
| 26 | Northwestern University | 74.4 |
| 27 | National University of Singapore (NUS) | 74.3 |
| 28 | The University of Melbourne | 73.3 |
| 29 | Yale University | 73.2 |
| =30 | Norwegian Academy of Music | 72.6 |
| =30 | University of Southern California | 72.6 |
| 32 | Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music | 72.3 |
| 33 | Stanford University | 72.1 |
| 34 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 72 |
| =35 | The Gnesins Russian Academy of Music | 71.9 |
| =35 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | 71.9 |
| 37 | Royal Holloway, University of London | 71.7 |
| 38 | Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin | 71 |
| 39 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | 70.7 |
| 40 | Columbia University | 70.6 |
| =41 | Royal Irish Academy of Music | 70.5 |
| =41 | The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama | 70.5 |
| =43 | Goldsmiths, University of London | 70.3 |
| =43 | Zurich University of the Arts | 70.3 |
| 45 | University of Toronto | 69.9 |
| =46 | Chopin University of Music | 68.6 |
| =46 | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art | 68.6 |
| 48 | King's College London | 68.5 |
| 49 | St. Petersburg Conservatory | 67.4 |
| 50 | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) | 67.3 |
| 51-100 | Academy of Performing Arts in Prague | n/a |
| 51-100 | Boston University | n/a |
| 51-100 | Brown University | n/a |
| 51-100 | Central Conservatory of Music | n/a |
| 51-100 | Chulalongkorn University | n/a |
| 51-100 | City University of New York | n/a |
| 51-100 | Conservatoire for Dance and Drama (CDD) | n/a |
| 51-100 | Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon | n/a |
| 51-100 | Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique de Paris (CNSAD) | n/a |
| 51-100 | Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles | n/a |
| 51-100 | Conservatorium van Amsterdam | n/a |
| 51-100 | Cornell University | n/a |
| 51-100 | Coventry University | n/a |
| 51-100 | Durham University | n/a |
| 51-100 | Freie Universitaet Berlin | n/a |
| 51-100 | Griffith University | n/a |
| 51-100 | Hochschule fr Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Leipzig | n/a |
| 51-100 | Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln | n/a |
| 51-100 | Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg | n/a |
| 51-100 | Hochschule für Musik und Theater München | n/a |
| 51-100 | Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory | n/a |
| 51-100 | LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore | n/a |
| 51-100 | Mahidol University | n/a |
| 51-100 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | n/a |
| 51-100 | Princeton University | n/a |
| 51-100 | Queen Mary University of London | n/a |
| 51-100 | Queen's University Belfast | n/a |
| 51-100 | Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus | n/a |
| 51-100 | Royal College of Music in Stockholm | n/a |
| 51-100 | Seoul National University | n/a |
| 51-100 | The University of Hong Kong | n/a |
| 51-100 | The University of Manchester | n/a |
| 51-100 | The University of Sheffield | n/a |
| 51-100 | The University of Sydney | n/a |
| 51-100 | The University of Warwick | n/a |
| 51-100 | Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin | n/a |
| 51-100 | Tsinghua University | n/a |
| 51-100 | University College Cork | n/a |
| 51-100 | University College Dublin | n/a |
| 51-100 | University of Bristol | n/a |
| 51-100 | University of British Columbia | n/a |
| 51-100 | University of California, San Diego (UCSD) | n/a |
| 51-100 | University of Chicago | n/a |
| 51-100 | University of Exeter | n/a |
| 51-100 | University of Glasgow | n/a |
| 51-100 | University of Huddersfield | n/a |
| 51-100 | University of Leeds | n/a |
| 51-100 | University of Miami | n/a |
| 51-100 | University of York | n/a |
| 51-100 | Universität der Künste Berlin | n/a |
