The Poor School Competitors

Founded in 1905, The Juilliard School is a world leader in performing arts education. The school’s mission is to provide the highest caliber of artistic education for gifted musicians, dancers, and actors, composers, choreographers, and playwrights from around the world so that they may achieve their fullest potential as artists, leaders, and global citizens. Led by President Damian Woetzel since 2018, Juilliard is guided in all its work by the core values of excellence; creativity; and equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDIB). Juilliard is committed to enrolling the most talented students regardless of their financial background. Located at Lincoln Center in New York City, Juilliard offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, drama (acting and playwriting), and music (classical, jazz, historical performance, and vocal arts). Currently more than 800 artists from 43 states and 44 countries and regions are enrolled in Juilliard’s College Division, where they appear in more than 700 annual performances in the school’s five theaters; at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully and David Geffen halls and at Carnegie Hall; as well as at other venues around New York City, the country, and the world. The continuum of learning at Juilliard also includes nearly 400 students from elementary through high school enrolled in the Preparatory Division, including its Music Advancement Program (MAP), which serves students from diverse backgrounds often underrepresented in the classical music field. More than 800 students are enrolled in Juilliard Extension, the flagship continuing education program taught both in person and remotely by a dedicated faculty of performers, creators, and scholars. Beyond its New York campus, Juilliard is defining new directions in performing arts education for a range of learners and enthusiasts through a global K-12 educational curricula and graduate studies at The Tianjin Juilliard School in China.

We’re the top university for working with business through Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, ranked 14th for international outlook in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 and ranked 12th in the UK In the Guardian University Guide 2026. We’re also in the top 100 universities worldwide for action on poverty, tackling inequalities, promoting responsible consumption, protecting marine environments and climate action in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2025. And we’re in the UK top 10 for research power in five subjects according to Times Higher Education. University of Essex Alumni and Friends Our alumni are invited to join our University of Essex Alumni and Friends official group for professional networking opportunities.

Guildhall School is a vibrant, international community of young musicians, actors and production artists in the heart of the City of London. Ranked as one of the top ten performing arts institutions in the world (QS World University Rankings 2019), and recently awarded top conservatoire in the Complete University Guide Music League Table 2020, the School is a global leader of creative and professional practice which promotes innovation, experiment and research, with over 1,000 students in higher education, drawn from over 70 countries around the world. The School is also the UK’s leading provider of specialist music training at the under-18 level with nearly 2,500 students in Junior Guildhall and the Centre for Young Musicians. Our diversity extends to the art forms that we cover. We are one of the few major European conservatoires to combine schools of music, drama and production arts. Working across disciplines frees us to break down boundaries across traditional art forms, to nurture invention, and to cross-fertilise ideas and methods. Since its founding in 1880, Guildhall School has stood as a vibrant showcase of the City of London Corporation's commitment to education and the arts. Situated in the heart of the City, the School moved to its present premises in the Barbican in 1977, solidifying a unique performance and learning partnership with Europe's largest arts and conference venue, the Barbican Centre, and its resident orchestra, the world-class London Symphony Orchestra. Collaboration is central to what we do. Our partnerships – between departments and with external organisations – create outstanding opportunities to learn from the leading edge of creative practice. Our professional partners include the Barbican Centre, the London Symphony Orchestra, the the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Opera House and the Academy of Ancient Music.