Music (Musicology)

Entry requirements

You should have (or expect to be awarded) an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class standard in Music or an equivalent subject.

Your qualification should comprise a substantial academic element relevant to the selected MA pathway and option choices. For the generic MA Music award you should write a detailed proposal explaining the rationale for your option course choices and how these provide a coherent programme of study leading to dissertation. A detailed transcript of your degree is preferred.

Students who have completed up to 90 credits (not including final 60-credit projects or dissertations) of a comparable degree at another university can apply for recognition of prior learning status as part of their application for a place on the programme, where such credits are carried forward into your study at Goldsmiths.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The Musicology pathway in the MA Music programme qualifies graduates to embark upon their own research. While honing specialist skills, this pathway teaches students bold approaches to music as a practice and an academic discipline.

Taking up current debates and formative ideas, the Musicology pathway prepares students for advanced-level teaching, research, music editing, criticism, broadcasting, librarianship or historically aware performance. Rigorous training, for instance in working with primary sources, is combined with a radical interrogation of musicology’s future in the twenty-first century.

Two core options deliver fundamental knowledge, and you choose two options from those offered across MA and MMus pathways. The knowledge acquired from your coursework underpins your dissertation, supervised throughout the year in one-to-one tutorials with a leading academic.

Private tours to archives and other relevant institutions in and around London complement onsite teaching.

Goldsmiths is ranked in the 42nd in the world for Performing Arts (QS World University Subject Rankings 2021).

Information for international students

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study.

Fees and funding

Find out more about postgraduate fees and explore funding opportunities. If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an application deadline.