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The overall ranking is decided by students from this institution rating them in a 2026 Whatuni review. This forms the basis of the Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCAs for short).
4.03.43.820 Student reviews
Sort:Latest reviewsThe facilities at ACM are incredible, especially in the production and live production courses. There are some amazing people to meet and projects to be a part of, such as Studio Lounge, the best musical livestream in the world.
ACM has been great to study in and has put me in a really great position to start my career in music production. All of the lecturers teaching my course are really knowledgeable and give you so much information to take into the studio and put into practice. The most useful thing has definitely been the access to the recording studios, as I've been able to book in multiple times a week and record with people in proper recording studios. It's such an easy place to find people to work with because all of the people on the performance courses are constantly writing and wanting to release. The equipment is all studio-standard stuff, so it's been a perfect place to practice while looking for studio work. The campus itself and the staff are all really great and just overall a very good experience!
I’ve been going to ACM since 2023, at first for my diploma, and currently on it for my degree. The facilities have continued to improve over time with rooms constantly getting refurbished with more facilities and options, studio rooms getting new and improved speakers, 5.1 and atmos sound systems and new gear getting brought in. Recently ACM has also partnered with Nord which have me the chance to use their top of the line synths such as the Grand 4, Piano 6 and Electro 3 which were absolutely insane to use.
Impossible to book room space, tutors barely understand the briefs, takes months to hear back from support staff at times, terrible facilities, misleading about their connection with metropolis studios and the industry link department
ACM has enormous potential to be a leading institution for music education. Programs like the postgraduate course in Creative Industries Futures demonstrate its ability to inspire and empower students. However, the institution must address its weaknesses in academic rigour, communication, facilities, and career support to ensure students receive the education and opportunities they deserve. While my time at ACM was a mix of rewarding and challenging experiences, I hope that sharing this feedback will contribute to meaningful improvements for future students.
Awful uni, no attention from tutors, high turnover of staff, can never book a room, facilities are in an absolute state, the industry link only applies if you want to sing on a cruise rarely are there any other opportunities, there partnership with metropolis is hugely overstated
It has amazing facilities for recording and rehearsing and is open all year round through summer and holidays if you want to work on anything for yourself or for the courses. It has two studios, lots of mac suites with access to logic pro and production software. It has an amazing community of people and everyone gets along with everyone including the staff who are great to talk to. Staff all have a wide range of experience in the music industry and can give valuable advice and support with your studies and futures outside of ACM. They help with opportunities and live performances and are always happy to help with mental health and well being if you are struggling with their wellbeing team!
I have spent the past 4 years of my life at ACM and I am so grateful for all the skills gained and experiences I have had while here. I did my undergraduate degree and Masters's at ACM. For my undergraduate degree, I achieved a 1st class and for my Masters, I received a distinction. ACM have helped support me throughout my time at university and I am very happy with the overall experience I had there. I would recommend this awesome institution to anyone looking to get into the creative arts. ACM is a real game-changer!
The school is rooted in money making, lies and sexism. Avoid this school if you want a proper education or/are a women. Course Leaders speak to students (and female team members), particularly women disgustingly. Huge waste of time and money.
No administration, highly unorganised in their manner of working. When asking about next term schedule/societies/graduation/exams no one ever knows anything. Lecturers are great, but university seems to have no admin working there. My dissertation supervisor quit due to serious personal reasons in the middle of the term, university did nothing to replace him. I had one proof read of my dissertation before submission. Most of my classes were hardware based and throughout covid had no experience with hardware. 2022 spring term was moved fully online as well. What was scheduled as 3h lecture turned into "everyone gets 20 minutes 1:1 time". University doesn't provide necessary software to your personal laptop, so it's only going to university to use software or buying it yourself. There is no proper library or study area, everywhere is really noisy and if you need to go to uni to study/have one to ones outside of your lecture time, it is nearly impossible to find a quiet space. There's definitely better things to do with that £9000 a year, BIMM has a similar pathway, with a lot more included. ACM does not introduce you to live sound at all, BIMM has separate course for that. YouTube is free, network on Facebook and at music events, get a degree in something else, that helps your career.
One of the worst “learning” experiences I’ve ever had. Most of the facilities are broken or In disrepair, the learning syllabus is outdated and not taught well. The faculty show little interest in their fields and never go out of their way to help and student to to offer support. Reconsider going to ACM. A broken learning institution that will most likely be gone in a few years from how many students drop out.
Firstly I’d like to say the tutors are amazing and you can learn a lot by asking the right questions, but it’s a shame how the place is setup by overlord excecs at the top that control everything, I’ve spoke to countless tutors and employees from a multitude of specialisms and they all confirm my suspicions that the acm bosses do not know what is in the best interest for the students (or do not care). Acm has a fantastic foundation having lots of recording spaces, over qualified tutors, student support hub etc and I can not forget sue. Unfortunately the execution is poor, students and tutors all agree on the same things that need to be put in place to improve acm not just for the students but also for the longevity of the place, if acm genuinely want to produce the best in the business and actually live up to the motto (I’ll let you look that up) then the execs need to get their heads out of their temporary money printers and look to the future. I have so many examples of area of improvement that it will take me too long to write here. I’m told there are some significant changes coming but I’m afraid they will be implemented to late. If you are a person who is not afraid to ask questions 1 to 1 then this place will get you a long way but with all lectures being power points on zoom, assignment briefs loosely related to the modules, half of classes being online and no clear reinvestment into the gaff 11ish bags A YEAR and no real specialised modules for the different pathways being afraid to ask questions will definitely hold you back. Time will tell
18-24 years
First gen student
I was dreaming about becoming the uni student, the life, the friends, the vibes, the knowledge! It al seemed like a dream come true, unfortunately all I got is lecturers who possess incredible knowledge and experience but don’t really know how to pass it to students so students are ending up learning from YouTube videos and paying crazy money for tuition.
The pandemic has definitely hindered the experience, and having online classes for such a physical subject has been a disappointment. However; the uni are still providing access to their facilities. I still think it is over priced to pay £9,000+ a year, like it is for all unis.
As someone who is serious about a career in music as a singer I have found ACM to be supportive in every area I need them to be. Inside and outside of the classroom they give us plenty to be getting on with. I have been here for just over four years and have felt positive change in the time I have been here. It keeps getting better and better.
First year student studying cmp been a great year so far learnt so much more than I ever have. This is the only educational course I've ever properly enjoyed this is due to the high standard of teaching and facility's ! It's a great place to learn.
I studied Music Production at the Academy of Contemporary Music in 2010 for their higher diploma course and then continued my studies for the two year accelerated degree program. Overall, I found my time at ACM to be thoroughly enjoyable and a really valuable experience. The lecture formats were well suited to my learning style as they involved a large practical element. The tutors always went above and beyond for me, and I felt like I was pushed to achieve my potential throughout ACM, particularly during my dissertation. Whilst at ACM I was assessed for dyslexia and I was given support for this in the form of weekly tutorials – this experience was invaluable, as not only did it help me to complete my essays but it has also informed the work I have gained in the music PR industry since leaving ACM. For me ACM was the first choice for a university, as being a music college, there will never be a shortage of musicians to record. I was also attracted by the facilities and connections to the music industry for work opportunities. I was not disappointed in any of these elements of the ACM experience, as I made full use of the recording facilities, creating a large portfolio for myself and gaining many work experience placements whilst at ACM. Since leaving ACM I have undertaken several jobs at the heart of the music industry. To be honest ACM is not like other universities, and whilst there is now, when I studied there, there wasn’t an SU in place. The lectures are much more practical, at least in my experience, and the campus is small. However if you want a qualification, the best chance at making it in the music business and are willing to put in the work, ACM is the way forward.
For me, ACM came to feel like home. It's a specialist environment where all kinds of people interested in a career in music come together. If music is your thing, you won't I far wrong, here. The best part for me was that ACM prepared me for the real world. i got a job before I graduated and the breadth of knowledge I gained at ACM has meant I've never been out of employment. I'm really proud of that.
ACM's lecture's, facilities and links to industry are what separates this university from others. Instead of sticking to a rigid standard syllabus, learning from those who are working successfully in industry means your course is shaped to current and future trends in the music industry, allowing you to be right on the pulse when you graduate - I also used them to establish a solid database of influential contacts. Regardless of what course you are on, make use of all the facilities on offer. I was a business student, but could book tutorials with performance tutors to further my guitar skills. I wish I made use of Teaching Control and the SSL Studio - a professional working studio could charge a fortune to hire out that standard of gear!
3.7
ACM is a vibrant community of budding musicians, who could become your next best industry contacts in the future. If you are looking for opportunities to collaborate, learn more about industry or expand on your current musical ability, ACM provides the best facilities to explore these and more. The tutors all come with relevant experience behind them to help guide and cater to your musical interests and journey. Furthermore, they are always open to questions and providing feedback to ensure you are progressing in the best manner. I am currently a second year undergrad songwriting student and can confidently say that my songwriting ability and confidence, from when I started as a foundation student at ACM, has significantly improved over the course of three years. I think something that is still being improved upon at ACM is it's social media presence and outreach to provide more exposure for this incredible uni as well as the talented and hard-working student community. My best advice for anyone considering studying here is to fully take advantage of everything that is available to you because as with anything in life - action gives you results. Ultimately, ACM is an amazing platform to get your foot into the industry environment but you won't get the results you may be looking for without your contribution to your learning and the community. Overall, my experience at ACM has been wonderful and I would definitely recommend this uni to anyone that is looking for a foothold and growth in the music industry!
Our course follows a hybrid structure of learning - one day is online lectures and the rest of the days are on campus. The purpose of this is so there can be more focus put on practical aspects of the module on campus as the online lecture covers the theoretical content. We also have access to all our course content online on Canvas, so if you want to refer back to slides or read ahead, you have the option to. Usually, online content is only one hour and on campus modules are 1.5-2 hours long. These are a mix of core modules and skills units - extra content from different courses you can select to learn from a different discipline/specialism and expand your skillset. Sometimes, lecturers are not always aligned on content i.e. sometimes different lecturers contradict others on what needs to be done, so you need to make sure any questions are being asked directly to the module leader, but other than that tutors are always open and ready to guide you and answer any questions you have whether physically or through email correspondence.