BA Arts with Community
Please note, this programme is subject to validation.
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Overview
BA Arts with Community is a three-year programme for artists who want to explore performing and/or production arts in community contexts. Whether you are a performer, writer, musician, dancer, storyteller, production artist or filmmaker, this programme will encourage you to develop your own artform, facilitation practice and voice, as a socially engaged practitioner.
It is ideal for self-determined learners who are motivated by the positive impact that that the arts can have. Students will investigate the performing and/or production arts creatively, collaboratively, and ethically, with a range of people and settings, all underpinned by practice, theory and research.
We will continue to update this page as more information becomes available. In the meantime if you would like to know more about studying this programme, please email our Recruitment & Admissions Team: hello@rcs.ac.uk
The important details
UK Applicant Deadline:
31 March 2025
International (including EU) Applicant Deadline:
31 March 2025
Institution Code:
R58
Programme Code:
205F
Audition Fee:
TBC
Application Fee:
£28.50
Welcome to BA Arts with Community
Watch our Head of Fair Access and BA Arts with Community Programme Leader, Jesse Paul, introduce this new degree programme.
You’ll find out more about who the programme is for and what you might be doing as a student on the course.
Programme Content
- Overview
- Learning to be a Community Artist
- Explore, Evolve and Express
- Storytelling
- A Playful Practice
BA Arts with Community is a practical course underpinned by theory and full of playful experimentation. Over 3 years, you will broaden and deepen your understanding of what it is to become a community-arts focused practitioner.
Graduate Destinations
Potential graduate pathways for BA Arts with Community students are wide-ranging across multiple artforms and include, but are not limited to:
- Independent Community Artist
- Arts Worker/Facilitator/Community Producer
- Community Arts Director (setting up own company)
- Teacher/Lecturer in formal contexts (schools, colleges, universities)
- Community Educator
- Arts/Education Worker for an organisation (cultural, social, museums, historical)
- Post-graduate study in a variety of contexts at RCS, across Scotland and beyond
- Researcher
- Hospital Play Worker
- Health Arts Worker (e.g. for social prescribing)
- Arts Therapist (art, music, dance, drama)
- Play Therapist
- Life Coach
- Youth or Community worker
- Arts in Social Justice worker
- Arts in Criminal Justice worker
- Social Worker
- International Development Worker (e.g. using storytelling as a tool to work with specific communities)
Community Artist Case Studies
Through our Fair Access programme, RCS works with a variety of Community Artists across Scotland. Their work is representative of the potential pathways for graduates of our BA Arts with Community programme.
You can find out more about their work and read their advice for aspiring community artists on their profiles below:
How to Apply
Apply via UCAS Conservatoires
Applications are made through UCAS Conservatoires website. The UCAS Conservatoires application system is separate from the main UCAS undergraduate application system. You can read our guidance about using UCAS Conservatoires on our dedicated How to Apply page.
Applicants will also be required to create an Acceptd account when they apply, which will be used for scheduling interviews. More information about this process will be available soon.
We do not offer deferred entry. If you wish to commence in 2026, you must apply next year.
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland institution code is R58. You will also require the following programme code to apply: 205F
The closing date for all on-time BA Arts with Community applications is 31 March 2025. If you submit your application after this date, we cannot guarantee that your application will be reviewed by the audition panel. If you do want to submit a late application, you must contact admissions@rcs.ac.uk in the first instance to check we are accepting late applications
Application/Audition fees
There is a UCAS Conservatoires application fee of £28.50. In addition to the application fee, each conservatoire charges an audition/interview assessment administration fee. The interview assessment administration fee is £55 for this programme. Fees are not refundable. The fees are paid via the UCAS Conservatoires website and not directly to RCS.
We recognise that auditioning and interviewing for conservatoires, drama and ballet schools can be costly. The audition assessment administration fee charge allows us to offer a thorough and positive experience to all applicants and we encourage you to get in touch to ask the panel questions and find out more about the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to see if it is the best place for you.
We are committed to ensuring fair access to a conservatoire education for students who have the talent and potential to benefit from it, regardless of their background. In support of this, audition fee waivers are offered to applicants whose financial hardship may be a barrier to auditioning. Please note you can only apply for a fee waiver request once you have completed and submitted your UCAS application. Please see the audition fee waiver form for more information.
Audition/Interview Process
If you have applied for BA Arts with Community, you will be invited to attend an in-person audition/interview at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
The audition/interview process is designed to help the interview panel find out more about you and your interest in and suitability for the programme. Although places at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland are competitive, we hope that the whole audition/interview process is an enjoyable experience for you.
You will need to allow a half day for the in-person audition/interview. This allows for both individual and group activities.
The audition/interview process consists of three parts:
- Pre-Interview
- At the audition/interview
- After the audition/interview
Setting up an Acceptd account
Before you attend your interview, please set up an Acceptd account.
You will also use the Acceptd account to send us your your digital creative task.
We can only accept your digital creative task via the Acceptd account.
You will have an opportunity to let us know about any adjustments we need to consider for the audition/interview via Acceptd.
Sending us your digital creative task
Please read the creative task guidance carefully and complete all sections before you upload it to Acceptd. Your creative task is as follows:
- Please write a letter to us, outlining why you are interested in learning about community arts.
- We encourage you take a creative approach that plays to your own strengths. For example, you may wish to include sketches, musical notation, poems, scripted elements or even photos of your artwork or practice
- The letter will help us understand more about you, the way you think and learn, your arts practice and your intention to study BA Arts with Community. It will also help us to understand how you communicate in written and creative ways.
- It is up to you how you balance the words in your letter with your creative approach. Every applicant will take a different approach to this task – so please be free to do it in your own style.
The letter must be between two and four A4 pages, inclusive of any creative material such as images, poems or scripts.
The creative task must be completed 10 days prior to your audition/interview.
Telling us about your audition/interview material via Acceptd
As part of the audition/interview, you will be asked to either perform or show us something you have created/made. On Acceptd, you will be asked a series of questions related to your audition/interview choices* (See ‘At the audition/interview’)
References
It is your responsibility to ask two separate referees to write references and ensure that these are sent to RCS.
The references must be written by two different people and we will not accept references from family, other relatives or close friends. You can submit your UCAS Conservatoires application form and send your references at a later date, but they must be received prior to your audition date.
UCAS Conservatoires provides reference forms for you to download and send to your referees for completion.
Policy
We have a number of policies and pages which you should read when applying to study at the Royal Conservatoire:
Entry Requirements
Academic Requirements
- Scottish Higher: 3 passes (grade C or above) –
- A Levels: 2 A Levels (grade C or above)
- International Baccalaureate: minimum score of 24 with 3 subjects at Higher Level)
- Recognised equivalences
Non-standard entry is considered on a case-by-case basis.
English Language Requirements
The language of study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) is English. All applicants whose first language is not English will be required to provide evidence that their English language level meets the entrance requirements.
The required IELTS level for this programme is 7.5 overall, with a 7.5 speaking score and a minimum score of 5.5 in each component. Full details of all the English tests we can accept can be found on our English Language Requirements page.
Fees & Funding
Tuition fees
For academic year 2025/26:
- Scottish full-time: £1,820 (for most full-time, Scottish-domiciled undergraduate students, this will be paid by SAAS)
- RUK (including ROI*) full-time: £9,535
- International (including EU) full-time: £28,919
Please note these fees are subject to change.
Funding & Scholarships
You can find out about the funding and scholarships available for studying at RCS by visiting our dedicated page:
Cost of Living & Programme Costs
In addition to tuition fees, it is estimated that you will need between £11,200 and £15,300 per year to live in Glasgow, plus programme costs. Much will depend on your lifestyle and whether your course runs for three or four terms.
Arts with Community Access Course
Our brand-new Access Courses are designed to support people who intend to apply to study at RCS and offer 40 credits at SCQF Level 6. They provide high-quality training for students interested in certain RCS programmes, including BA Arts with Community.
On the course, you will develop practical skills to improve your artform, take part in regular training and audition and interview preparation, and receive expert advice which helps you navigate the UCAS system, personal statement writing and the audition/interview process. The courses are structured to sit alongside school, college or work and are delivered using a mixture of in person and online teaching.
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Why RCS?
We are the only place in Europe where you can study all of the performing arts on the one campus. There is a distinctive creative energy at RCS and you’ll be made to feel part of our inclusive and diverse environment from the very beginning of your studies.
Our graduates are resourceful, highly employable and members of a dynamic community of artists who make a significant impact across the globe.
At RCS, students develop not just their art but their power to use it.
World Top Ten
We were voted one of the world’s Top Ten destinations to study the performing arts (QS Rankings) in 2025, the ninth time we have been placed in the top ten since the ranking was established in 2016.
Perform & Collaborate
Our curriculum is built around performance and collaboration and we hold professional partnerships with all of Scotland’s National Companies. Join forces across artforms and be part of the 500+ performances we give each year.
Outstanding Alumni
Our graduates are employed across the world and we take pride in the impact they have on their art forms. We’ll equip you with the skills to thrive as a professional and join their ranks.
Learn from the Best
More than 1,000 lecturers, tutors, artists, technicians, co-ordinators and support staff work at RCS across all our art forms. Study with some of the finest educators and performing and production artists in the UK.
A Campus Built for You
Our facilities are world-class. From rehearsal rooms and recording studios to our five professional performance venues, we have a campus to showcase and develop emerging artists to the highest standards.
