Originating in 1847 as the Glasgow Athenaeum, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) is Scotland's International Academy for Music and Drama. It offers a range of courses from undergraduate degrees through to practice-based PhDs in an artistic performing environment that is both supportive and challenging. All of its courses are designed around the needs and potential of each individual student and its expert staff provides the guidance and support necessary to assist students to fulfill their aspirations, realise their ambitions and find their metier, whether in the fields of drama, music or technical and production arts.

The highly vocational nature of RSAMD's courses combine with its intimate scale to create a very distinctive and supportive learning environment for its students. The Academy's approach to learning and teaching is based on an acknowledgement of each student's unique potential, creativity and talents. Above all else, the Academy seeks to nurture in its students a spirit of creativity, innovation, enterprise and excellence. All of its courses take account of the needs and potential of each individual student and learning, teaching and assessment take place in a challenging and vibrant artistic and academic environment. Performance is an essential aspect of what it has to offer and because the Academy is, in terms of the number of performances, the busiest performing arts venue in Scotland, it can offer our students an impressive range of performance opportunities.

Each course and/or Department forms a cohesive student group, which is further fostered by ensemble teaching. Teaching methods also mean that students are, without exception, personally known to their teachers and as a result student progress is monitored closely and carefully.

The Academy maintains a close relationship with the professions, which helps to ensure the continued vocational relevance of our courses. Significantly, the Academy employs a proportionately very high number of part-time teachers who are also active in the professions, thereby providing students with a direct and live link to those professions. In addition to the professional activities of part-time staff, many of the Academy's full-time staff are also distinguished practitioners in their own professional spheres.