Unique campus
The campus is located on the Antwerp ring road and was designed in the 1960s as a conservatoire by Leon Stynen, a well-known Belgian architect. The original campus included two large concert halls/theatres around a large courtyard. Over the last fifty years, this building has developed into a major international arts campus where music, theatre, dance and architecture are created, practised and studied.
The City of Antwerp, the second largest in Belgium, is but a stone’s throw from Brussels, Paris, London and Amsterdam (app.2 hours). Owing to its world port, fashion, art, culture and history, Antwerp is one of Europe’s most attractive student cities.
- 5 in-house concert/theatre halls, 72 classrooms/ study rooms, a recording studio, a heritage library with a modern reading room, a physical therapist, a foyer and a grand café … all in the international cultural heart of Antwerp, Flanders.
- Rehearsal opportunities from 8 am to 11 pm + at the weekend between 12 noon and 6 pm. The possibility to make an online reservation of a rehearsal space.
- Easily accessible by train, car, bus, tram and city bikes. Parking in front of the building (free of charge for the first 45 minutes), and free parking on the street in the vicinity of the campus.
- A student restaurant with sandwiches, salad bar, homemade soup, warm meals, fruit, coffee, and candy.
Having the following professional, leading ensembles and cultural institutions together on one campus ensures a vibrant artistic dynamic: Arts campus DE SINGEL, I Solisti del Vento, Spiegel String Quartet, Eastman, Champ d’Action, Study centre for Flemish music, Youth and Music Antwerp, Sabbattini and the Flemish Architecture Institute.
Yearly renewal of collaborations with foreign training programmes and conservatories including DE SINGEL, Toneelhuis, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, De Tijd, Opera Flanders, Eastman Dance Company, Piano’s Maene, Jazz Middelheim, VRT, International Opera Academy and Rataplan, among others.
Read more about our location and accessibility
Venues
The conservatoire has 5 concert- and theatre halls.
White hall
Yellow hall
Black hall
Topstudio
Apart from that our students and teachers often use the other, larger venues on the campus.
An overview
Library
The extensive collection of our library comprises approximately 650,000 volumes and items and is the largest music library in Flanders. It goes without saying that the three training programmes are well represented in the collection. The library is initially a college library, but thanks to its exceptionally rich historical music collection, it became the first recognized heritage library in Flanders.
Expertise in physical therapy and prevention
For many years, the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp has developed expertise in medical guidance for Dance and Music students.
It should come as no surprise that professional dancing presents challenges to dancers’ bodies. But musicians also have to deal with strain injuries more often than you think. They always occur at inopportune moments and during busy periods such as just before or during exams, concerts or performances. It is therefore very important that our students learn how to deal with the physical strain on their bodies.
An investigation into ‘the prevention and treatment of strain injuries’ among our dance and music students led to the adjustment of our training programmes, raising awareness, providing advice and specialised guidance to students.
In other words, forewarned is forearmed. And what if something happens to go wrong? Thanks to our in-house physical therapy centre, help is close at hand. You can even go there in your socks. Furthermore, you are monitored throughout your studies.
Reception and secretariat
The Conservatoire reception 'onthaal' on the first floor is the place to go for all practical information on the organisation of the Conservatoire. The reception is open Monday to Thursday from 8 am to 8 pm and on Fridays until 6 pm. It is located on the first floor in Stynen West, at the top of the main staircase.
The secretariat is the place to go for all your questions about your registration, study certificates and more. The secretariat is on the ground floor. You can find the opening hours and contact details in the section Organisation Conservatoire.
Production team
The production team is responsible for the artistic planning and support of productions. The team consists of specialists in sound, lighting, video and scenography. They provide students and teachers with advice and physically technical support. For example, they stand for your scores and the lights above the stage, the dance floor and the lighting design, and the sound during your live performance. They welcome the audience and help you to compile a technical sheet for the performance you bring on location. They prepare your hall and stage, take care of the technical buildup of your performance and afterwards, they store everything neatly and receive the next one. The production team is also responsible for the instruments of the Conservatoire.
ICT and e-mail
There are computers with Internet access installed in the computer classroom, Stynen West (beside the student counselling room) and in the alcove by the staff room (1st floor, Stynen Oost) and in the reading room. The computers are free for use if there are no courses going on. In the multimedia room, there are about ten computers available for students and externals. Large parts of the building are equipped with WIFI. Students can practice aural training individually through Earmaster. The programme can be found on the desktop of all computers in the school.
As a student at AP University College, you can buy a laptop tailored to your needs, for a discount price.
Via AP Intranet students get access to a range of online platforms:
- E-campus: log in from home to the school's network with all the available software
- Digitap: the electronic learning environment of AP University College.
- Myarts: class schedules and reservations of study rooms
- AP-Webmail: Your AP-mail is considered to be an official means of communication between administration, teachers and students, so all important information will be sent via this e-mail address.
- iBamaflex: re-enrol, sign your re-enrollment (e-postbus) and admission agreement (e-mailbox), consult your study credit, compose your study programme, and consult your exam results.
- Library and databases: all information about the use of the services of the libraries and access to the digital databases
- ICTpedia: manual and articles on the use of ICT
- ECTS: All official information on the various programmes as concerns subjects, teaching methods, final qualifications, credits, evaluation formats, examinations, etc. may be found in the digital study guide
Student Counselling
Because the conservatoire offers tailor-made education, each student’s individual progress is closely monitored and auxiliary facilities are provided when required. If you need assistance, speak with your teacher or consult a student counsellor. Through proactive and intensive counselling, the Royal Conservatoire aims at ensuring that all students choose the right programme, at reducing student drop-out rates, and at enhancing all students’ academic and artistic performance.
This counselling is characterized by:
- an individual approach;
- a better match between each student and their programme;
- inclusion of each student's individual characteristics and circumstances, that may positively or negatively influence his/her performance.
The Royal Conservatoire offers assistance in programme advice and student counselling:
- assistance in composing the individual study programme and in applying for exemptions information,
- remedial teaching,
- counselling and individual coaching on efficient learning,
- language coaching,
- specific aid for foreign students and non-native speakers,
- physiotherapy and classes on physical awareness, in order to prevent and/or treat injuries,
- referring students with personal problems to STUVA AP and other services,
- trimester or semester evaluation of study results,
- programmes for independent learning,
- an ombudsperson for mediation in disputes between students and other parties,
- information on employment, social statutes, etc.
Students can apply for special facilities for reasons of exceptional individual circumstances (professional athletes, functional limitations, exceptional performances at home or abroad, tours, exhibitions, a mandate in one of the governing boards at AP ...). Special facilities must be applied for on a yearly basis and will be granted for one academic year. Both students who for the first time consider themselves eligible for special facilities and students who were granted such facilities in previous years must contact the academic counsellor.
The Student Center provides various facilities for students of AP University College. Contact Student Center when you encounter financial and social difficulties, for a student job, culture and sports facilities, help for housing,… You can find their contact information on our website and on the intranet for students.
Students council and Sphinx
The conservatoire’s student council is the council that represents the interests of students of all disciplines. The council has a delegation in the School of Arts’ council and in STUVO AP.
The SPHINX Students’ Party committee brings together students from all sections of the conservatoire and organises parties, concerts, BBQ’s and the like. Sphinx also runs the White foyer. You can sign up with them as a volunteer. Follow Sphinx on Facebook.
Housing
Antwerp is an international student city that is bustling 7/7. Students live all over this historic city and enjoy the many opportunities for culture and leisure during their studies. The busy port city on the Scheldt offers historical and modern architecture, countless cultural institutions, (pop-up) shops, interesting museums, fashion houses, galleries, cosy restaurants and bars, jam sessions and wonderful places to relax. GATE15, a physical and online platform for and by students, tells you all about Antwerp's student life.
Antwerp has about 10,000 (largely privately owned) student rooms scattered in and around the city. If you need a student room, Kotweb is the best place for you to start looking. The platform is an initiative between the city of Antwerp, higher education institutions in Antwerp and GATE15, Antwerp's student portal. Together they strive for high-quality student accommodation in Antwerp and provide neutral information for both students and owners.
