Scotland’s centre for music and drama has slipped down international rankings – but has still been placed in the top ten in the world.
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) has been named in ninth place for Performing Arts, after being placed in the sixth spot last year by the QS World University Rankings.
The RCS was also placed seventh for music, and was joined in the top ten by Glasgow School of Art (GSA) – which was globally ranked eighth for Art and Design.
RCS has now made the top ten a total of ten times since the Performing Arts category was introduced in 2016. GSA has been consistently ranked in the top 20 institutions internationally for 11 years, re‑entering the top ten for the first time since 2021.
The neighbouring institutions, based yards apart on Glasgow’s Renfrew Street, form what has been described as a creative “super‑cluster”, strengthening Scotland’s reputation as a world‑leading centre for artistic education.
Their graduates – including Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Turner Prize winners – contribute to creative industries worth more than £5 billion a year to Scotland’s economy and play a key role in shaping the nation’s cultural presence globally.
The 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject assessed more than 18,300 programmes across 1,700 universities worldwide, analysing 55 disciplines.
Professor Jeffrey Sharkey, Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, said: “To be recognised in the global top ten for 2026, and for the tenth time since the QS World Rankings for Performing Arts were established, is a remarkable achievement that reflects the strength and quality of the learning and teaching at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
“I’m delighted too to be sharing a top ten billing with our friends and neighbours at The Glasgow School of Art and congratulate Penny and the whole GSA community warmly for their recognition as world leading in Art and Design.
“It’s wonderful to have Scotland’s two small specialist institutions recognised and celebrated internationally for their global excellence in arts education. GSA and RCS have long shared a positive creative energy, which enriches both of our communities and our city, and reaches far beyond it."
He added: “This is worthy of celebration and is a proud moment for Glasgow and Scotland. It is a testament to the students, staff and alumni who continue to push boundaries and drive the arts forward and to all who support us.”
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Established in 1847, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is one of few institutions offering degree programmes across the full range of performing and production arts.
Students from around 60 countries study disciplines including classical and traditional music, opera, jazz, musical theatre, acting, ballet, film, education, production arts, management and technology.
Recent highlights include accordionist Sofía Ros being named BBC Radio Scotland Young Classical Musician of the Year 2025. Pianist Ethan Loch and composition lecturer David Fennessy also received Royal Philharmonic Society Award nominations.
Actor and RCS graduate James McAvoy returned to the conservatoire to meet students, including recipients of his drama scholarship.
RCS marked 75 years of stage and screen training this year, noting the contributions of alumni working across film, theatre, television and the wider creative industries.
The conservatoire also awarded honorary doctorates to theatre designer Bunny Christie, singer Lulu, jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, actor and alumnus Jack Lowden, and theatre director Philip Howard.
Founded in 1845, the Glasgow School of Art is regarded as a major institution for education and research in visual creative disciplines. Its studio-based, practice-led teaching attracts students from around the world.
The school has international academic partnerships with institutions including the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, the University of Central Asia, Stuttgart Media University and the University of Rwanda. It also received the Ladislav Sutnar Award in the Czech Republic in 2024.
Over the past year, the GSA secured investment through the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council’s 2025 Doctoral Focal Awards programme. Its Silversmithing and Jewellery course won the College Trophy at the Goldsmiths’ Craftsmanship & Design Awards, while Emelie Christina Fraser, a graduate of the Mackintosh School of Architecture, received the RIAS Rowand Anderson Silver Medal for Best 5th Year Student in Scotland.
The school’s annual Degree Show, billed as Glasgow’s largest public art exhibition, draws around 25,000 visitors each year.
Penny Macbeth, Director and Principal of The Glasgow School of Art, said: “Entering the world’s top ten is a significant achievement for The Glasgow School of Art and reflects the strength of our students, staff and global creative network community in the visual creative arts.
“It is particularly important that our neighbours at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland are also ranked among the world’s best in their specialisms.
“Together, this highlights the extraordinary strength of Glasgow’s creative education ecosystem and the depth of creative talent being developed here. International recognition of our institutions reinforces Glasgow’s reputation as one of Europe’s leading creative cities and underlines the critical contribution our graduates make to the city’s cultural life.”
Scotland’s Higher Education Minister, Ben Macpherson, said: “The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and The Glasgow School of Art are cherished Scottish institutions, which this outstanding global achievement rightly recognises.
“The success of so many alumni on the world stage speaks for itself and is testament to the great work of all the staff and students at these institutions, over many years.
“The creative arts make such a significant contribution to the Scottish economy, as well as enriching our culture and society. Both of these institutions are so important to enabling and encouraging that remarkable impact. The Scottish Government is continuing to support our university sector with investment of more than £1.4 billion in 2026‑27.”
