Associate of the Royal College of Music

Associate of the Royal College of Music (ARCM) is a diploma qualification of the Royal College of Music, equivalent to a university first degree. Like the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music diploma (LRAM), it was offered in teaching or performing, however unlike the latter it is no longer available.[1]

There is no obvious successor to the ARCM diploma, since the college's undergraduates now follow a BMus(Hons) course accredited by the college itself; although in 2012 approximately a quarter of the academic staff included ARCM in their lists of qualifications.

[2] When the basic Graduate course led to the Graduate of the Royal Schools of Music (GRSM) diploma, a condition of graduating was an ARCM pass in Teaching or Performing, achieved no later than a year before graduation.

Those awarded the diploma are entitled to use the post-nominal letters ARCM and to wear the appropriate academic dress: black bachelors' gown with a royal blue silk hood of simple shape, the cowl part-lined 3 inches and bound 1/4 inch with old gold silk, the neckband fully lined and bound 1/4 inch of old gold silk.

Holders of the ARCM diploma were able to obtain fully qualified teacher status following successful completion of a one year's post graduate study at a college of education in the UK.