COURSE CURRICULUM

The Music BA provides a comprehensive and flexible curriculum that balances theoretical, practical, and research-based learning across three years. In the first year, compulsory modules such as Music and Society, Materials of Music, and Collaborative Performance introduce students to music’s cultural, social, and historical contexts while developing academic, listening, and group-working skills. Students can also choose from a range of optional modules, including contemporary composition, film music, music business, music psychology, music technology, performance, and popular music, allowing them to tailor their learning to their interests. In the second year, students build on these foundations with compulsory modules such as Researching Music, which develops musicological, practice-based, and empirical research skills, and Towards the Future: Skills in Context, which encourages application of knowledge beyond the university environment. Students also select a module in a defined area of musicological study, including topics like music and cultural identities, music and politics, opera studies, and postcolonialism, alongside optional modules in areas such as aesthetics, performance, composition, and technology. The final year focuses on independent research and professional preparation, with the Independent Research Project allowing students to explore a self-chosen topic through practice or dissertation, supported by a supervisor, and Music Beyond Graduation, which develops skills for applying music expertise in real-world contexts. Optional modules in the third year include performance, composition, analysis, critical theory, and musicology, enabling students to specialise further and prepare for careers or advanced study in music.