Piano – Professional Diploma

Apply now

Overview

The Academy’s Professional Diploma (ProfDip) is a one-of-a-kind programme for students who are looking for a specially tailored extra year of study to provide a competitive edge in building a career. The course is for performance candidates who wish to follow a particular area of focus within or connected to their Principal Study. It is a one-year specialist and intensive Diploma at Level 7 within the UK Qualifications and Credit Framework (post-Masters).

Candidates should have the potential and aspiration to succeed at the highest international standard. Applicants must normally hold a postgraduate degree and put forward a project proposal outlining what they hope to achieve.

It is a highly focused combination of one-to-one tuition and professional development activity built around the needs of each individual student in consultation with the ProfDip Programme Tutor and the relevant Head of Department. Applicants will normally have completed a master’s degree but the programme is available to all applicants of the appropriate standard.

A note on assessments

The Professional Diploma and Advanced Professional Diploma are designed for musicians who already hold a Master's degree or equivalent professional experience. You will be asked within your Acceptd profile to state if you also wish to be considered for alternative postgraduate courses and your ultimate course placement remains flexible; the panel may discuss and recommend a different postgraduate pathway (such as the MMus or MA) during your assessment if they feel it better matches your academic needs.

Applying for both the Professional Diploma and Advanced Professional Diploma pathways

Students completing the Professional Diploma (ProfDip) in June will also be eligible to apply to the Advanced Professional Diploma (Adv ProfDip) as a nine-month enrolment starting the following September in Year 2 of the course.

The first year of the Adv ProfDip is identical to the ProfDip, meaning that the ProfDip will be a potential exit award for students unable to continue into, or complete, the second year of the Adv ProfDip.

If you want to apply for either of these courses alongside your main application, you do not need to create a second profile or submit a new application on UCAS Conservatoires. Instead, just:

  1. Opt-in: When prompted in Acceptd, indicate that you would like to be considered.
  2. Upload your documents: Add the required specialist proposal document (for the Prof Dip) or written requirements (for the Adv Prof Dip) directly to your existing Acceptd profile.

Training

In addition to the 45 hours of one-to-one tuition, all postgraduate students undertake an extensive programme of departmental activity targeted to their specialist focus.

Examples of ProfDip Specialisms

Examples of specialisms include:

  • Opera repetiteurship
  • Historical Performance for modern instrumentalists
  • Preparation for opera studies
  • Orchestral Doubling specialisms (eg contrabassoon or piccolo)
  • Collaborative piano
  • Composition for television, film and media
  • Flute and piano duo repertoire from the first half of the twentieth century
  • Extended techniques on the cello
  • The German school of tuba playing, with an emphasis upon orchestral performance
  • The study of poets: lieder with texts by Shakespeare and Goethe
  • The role of the principal viola in an orchestra

Examples of Adv.ProfDip Specialisms

  • Side-by-side activity alongside internal and/or visiting professors. (Workshops and rehearsals as well as concert activity.)
  • Developing critical and verbal skills for teaching and/or entrepreneurship and/or public communication, choosing from a range of PG electives as appropriate; minimum class attendance will be required.
  • Chamber music – either as member of an existing ensemble(s), or with the aim of establishing new collaborations.
  • Leadership: ensemble direction, principal roles in orchestra, other aspects of mentoring.
  • Recording focus – enrolment on Self-recording and Self-editing elective mandatory.
  • Performer embedded in Composition and Contemporary Music Department (where applicable).
  • A specific project (or projects) resulting in live performance(s) and/or a recording.
  • Ensemble piano partnership development
  • HiP specialisms (repertoire and/or instruments)
  • Extended instrument family specialisms (bass clarinet, etc.)
  • Any compositional specialism (where applicable)

The Piano Department: What to expect

We aim to develop you into a complete, individual artist equipped with all the essential skills for a great modern career.

Masterclasses & Visiting Professors

  • Dedicated Mentorship: Every student is assigned a world-class piano professor, chamber music professor, and academic tutor, alongside weekly informal repertoire classes.
  • Dynamic Visiting Faculty: Benefit from termly classes and one-to-one tuition from distinguished visiting professors, including Dame Imogen Cooper, Leif Ove Andsnes, Yevgeny Sudbin, Pascal Rogé, Steven Osborne, Neil Brand (improvising to film), and Adrian Brendel (chamber music).
  • Celebrated Masterclasses: Regular guest tuition from world-renowned artists such as Igor Levit, Alfred Brendel, Garrick Ohlsson, Inon Barnatan, and Gabriela Montero.

Developing your career

  • Concerto & Conducting Skills: Receive expert coaching in conducting from the keyboard from Timothy Redmond, collaborate with Head of Conducting Sian Edwards and her students, and access concerto exams and performance opportunities.
  • Early Keyboards: Access training on harpsichord, fortepiano, and early piano with Carole Cerasi, Steven Devine, and Jane Chapman, utilizing the Academy Museum's Piano Gallery.
  • Chamber & Lieder Coaching: Participate in regular coaching sessions with Adrian Brendel, James Baillieu, and other acclaimed chamber musicians.
  • Cross-Arts & Contemporary Music: Engage in groundbreaking cross-arts and multimedia collaborations, public speaking classes, composition lessons, transcription training, and the contemporary-focused 'Piano Lab' series.
  • Improvisation & Digital Skills: Expand your versatility with jazz classes from Dominic Alldis, film improvisation with Neil Brand, and digital skills training with Sofia Sacco to build websites, manage social media, and edit recordings.
  • Professional Career Sessions: Attend termly sessions led by Joanna MacGregor covering essential industry business skills, including finding an agent, securing performance work, creating recordings, diary management, and establishing independent festivals or ensembles.

Concerts, recordings and festivals

  • Prestige Venues & Broadcasting: Perform in the year-round Academy Piano Series at Wigmore Hall, alongside opportunities at Steinway Hall, Southbank Centre, King’s Place, St James’s Piccadilly, UK festivals, music clubs, and broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4.
  • Recording Debuts & Competitions: Receive annual support and marketing guidance to produce a debut recording, alongside active encouragement to enter international piano competitions.
  • On-Site Festivals: Showcase your work in the exuberant, student-driven Autumn and Summer Piano Festivals, which featured over 60 student pianists performing to large public audiences this year.

Guides & Specifications

Entry Requirements

  • Academic: A Master’s qualification or equivalent (in a relevant subject), but the Academy welcomes applications from students who may not meet the usual academic requirements.
  • Performance/Composition: A performance (or compositional, where applicable) standard at least equivalent to recognised postgraduate degrees and a clear sense of a direction (specialism) for further study.

Professional Diploma Auditions & Assessments

Auditions at this level are evaluated against a high professional benchmark. The panel is looking for artistic maturity, stylistic authority, and a clearly defined vision.

Candidates are assessed through a combination of a written submission and an audition process. Your digital application profile on the Acceptd portal must contain:

  • Specialist Proposal Document:
    • You must complete a proposal document if you wish to be considered for a Diploma pathway. Your proposal should be included in your Acceptd profile.
    • Using the template below, please provide a one-page proposal outlining your chosen particular specialism and your intended individual learning outcomes for the course.
    • Specialist proposal document (word document)
    • Specialist proposal document (PDF)
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV) & Performance History: A comprehensive professional resume detailing soloist history, orchestral experience, masterclasses, and major achievements.
  • Spoken English Introduction (video application, or international centres): A short recorded verbal introduction introducing yourself, your musical background, and your professional goals to the faculty panel.
  • Video recordings (video application, or international centres): You must upload one unedited video containing your complete audition performance programme. Your recording must be captured under clear audio and visual conditions.

What to Expect on Audition Day

Delivery Options & Practical Assessment

  • In-Person (London): You will perform your repertoire live for our panel. As live audition time is strictly limited, the panel may choose to hear selected sections or movements of your pieces rather than the full programme. This is standard procedure to ensure they experience a balanced overview of your technical skills and repertoire.
  • International centres: If you are selected from your video recordings to perform in person at one of our international audition centres, you should take the same audition repertoire items you uploaded into your Acceptd profile. As live audition time is strictly limited, the panel may choose to hear selected sections or movements of your pieces rather than the full programme. This is standard procedure to ensure they experience a balanced overview of your technical skills and repertoire.

Interview

You may participate in a structured conversation with a postgraduate programme tutor, which may take place in person or online. This interview is designed to explore your future study plans, your artistic direction, and the specific details of your written project proposal.

For more information see auditions.

Audition Repertoire Guidelines

You must present a substantial, self-curated recital programme that reflects your readiness for a high-level specialist or pre-professional performance career:

  • Duration: Your selected performance programme must be a minimum of 40 minutes long.
  • Selection and Structure: You must offer a free-choice programme of solo piano music consisting of a minimum of two works. Concerto repertoire is not acceptable.
  • Stylistic Contrast: Your programme should show a wide diversity of character and style, as well as clear evidence of technical accomplishment. It can include individual movements rather than complete works (for instance, a single movement of a sonata). We suggest including music in a classical or Baroque style, a Romantic work, and something 20th-century or contemporary.
  • Performance from Memory: All items must be performed from memory, except for highly complex contemporary works which may be played from the score.

Part of the prestigious University of London federation since 1999, the Academy is one of 17 institutions committed to world-class education and research.