Overview

Our MA in Music offers advanced training in either musicology or composition. The modular structure allows you to pursue a broad generalist programme or to specialise in a particular area of your choice.

Within the field of musicology, you can direct your studies towards one or several of the following:

• music in nineteenth-century culture
• opera studies
• popular music studies
• film music.

The composition pathway provides a practice-based contemporary composition curriculum. It encourages you to push the boundaries of your practice and develop a voice as an engaged and creative composer.

This course is unusual in combining a rigorous academic education with the opportunity to acquire vocational skills through our innovative Professional Experience module. You take up work placements with a wide range of external arts organisations. Or undertake a project with one of our specialist research units. This gives you rich opportunities for career development and can pave the way for further study at PhD level.

Career prospects

Having an MA will make you stand out from the crowd, whether you are joining the course straight after graduating from undergraduate study or returning to study after a break of several years.

Our MA will provide you with the skills and knowledge to embark upon a career in music or to improve your current position. The transferable skills you acquire through studying for an MA in Music can also lead to careers in many other sectors, including management, law, journalism, media and the heritage industry.

Career destinations of our recent graduates include:

• professional composition
• performance
• sound engineering
• arts administration
• HE administration
• teaching (secondary and FE)
• retail management
• youth work.

Our programme provides the necessary research training for doctoral work and many MA students continue on into further research and pursue careers in academia. Our students have an excellent success rate in securing funded PhD places.

Students can also exit with Pgdip/PgCert awards.