The Diploma in Music Performance at UCT is a three-year qualification offered by the South African College of Music (SACM), providing a focused practical curriculum for students who wish to develop as professional performing musicians without completing all the academic requirements of the full Bachelor of Music degree. Available in five streams — African Music, Jazz Studies, Opera, Classical, and World Music — the programme trains students on the full range of instruments and voices offered by SACM, including orchestral strings, brass, woodwind, piano, organ, voice, African percussion, and jazz instruments. Students participate in SACM's renowned ensembles, choirs, orchestras, and the Jazz Big Band, performing regularly at professional venues across Cape Town. An audition, music theory test, and interview are the primary admission criteria and carry more weight than the APS. Students who do not receive an offer for the BMus but demonstrate strong audition performance may be offered a place on the Diploma instead.
English Home Language or English First Additional Language: 50% (HL) / 60% (FAL)
NSC endorsed for diploma studies
NBT Academic Literacy: Intermediate or above
Audition, interview and music theory test: satisfactory
