Popular Music

Entry requirements

Applicants will normally hold a 1st or 2:1 honours degree in a related subject. Consideration will be given to those who hold a lower classification who can demonstrate they are capable of performing at the level required to complete the course successfully. Where applicants are not progressing directly from a degree, professional experience and expertise may be taken into account.

Applicants will be expected to attend an audition and/or interview in order to demonstrate their suitability for the course.

Months of entry

October

Course content

Course overview

This is a modular course leading to the award of MA in Popular Music. The course will be of interest to those concerned with the exploration of all aspects of performance. Our course is designed to develop your creative skills and theoretical understanding to an advanced level.

Why study Popular Music with us?

Our MA in Popular Music has pathways in: performance; songwriting and composition; and music studies.

Initially, you will follow a core curriculum that seeks to contextualise your own practice and start an engagement with the general field of study.

Our course offers you the opportunity to shape your learning through a series of modules that will enable you to integrate scholarly work with your own practice as a musician, composer or musicologist. Our modules consider current theoretical and practical debates in the subject area, and will guide you through the kind of research methodologies required at Master's level. You will be given the opportunity to negotiate the most effective means of approaching your subject, with a view to producing an intensive study of your specialism.

How will I be taught?

Teaching is by lectures, tutorials, seminars and workshops. Contact time is 3-4 hours (full-time) or 1.5-2 hours (part-time) per week. Workload is 40 hours (full-time) or 20 hours (part-time) per week.

How will I be assessed?

Assessment can take the form of performances, essays, practical presentations, lecture demonstrations, oral assessments, and the submission of portfolios of original music.

Fees and funding