NMH is Still Top of the Nordics

This year’s QS Ranking in Performing Arts was released on 6 April, and we have defended our position from last year. This year we are also the only Nordic music conservatoire in the top 10.

A leap in 2021

Last year the Norwegian Academy of Music made a giant leap in the rankings. We had previously been ranked between 35th and 29th before climbing 21 places into eighth in 2021. The fact that we have retained our ranking this year confirms that last year’s surge was not a flash in the pan.

Students often use an excellent QS ranking when deciding where to apply. The attention we are gaining can therefore have a positive effect on recruitment.

“I’m very proud and delighted about this international recognition and that we have retained our place in the ranking,” says principal Astrid Kvalbein. “I want to stress that this is the result of the efforts made by all our staff, and I would like to thank them for that. I also want to thank the previous principal Petter Tornquist, because the ranking is also due to his extensive international work.”

At the top of the ranking, we find the Royal College of Music in London, the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and the Juilliard School in New York. And not far behind: the Norwegian Academy of Music.

The Sibelius Academy, which ranked one place behind the NMH last year, has fallen to 22nd place. Copenhagen's Royal Danish Academy of Music leapt to 14th place, followed by the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 15th.

Every year, the QS World University Rankings evaluate the world’s universities and give them points like a Michelin guide for higher education. The HES – QS World University Rankings are published annually by Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds. The ranking has been published every year since 2004. Peer assessment is the main criterion used in the rankings, and leaders complete the survey at universities and institutions in the arts sector.