MA in Music
On this page you will find:
- An introduction to this degree
- A list of the thematic pathways under which you can take this degree
- A course structure summary
- A list of our current entry requirements for this degree
Introduction
The MA can be studied over 12 months full-time or over 24 months part-time. The MA can be taken under one of five pathways each of which deals with a musical repertory or a set of methodological approaches (or, occasionally, may be taken as a general musicology programme).
This flexible and challenging musicology programme is for graduates of music (or, where appropriate, graduates of any discipline with an interest in, and aptitude for, the advanced study of music). There are taught modules in all the areas of musicology, and the MA can be taken under one of five themed pathways of study listed below. Practical and/or creative modules from the MMus may also be available if you are suitably qualified.
Although the MA provides an excellent foundation for students going on to a study for a PhD in music, it is also a valuable qualification in its own right and, for some students, may be regarded as adding a further dimension to their undergraduate degree, in a 3+1 model. Indeed, as the standard three-year undergraduate degree becomes ever more ubiquitous in the UK, more and more students are treating masters degrees as a way of adding value to their first degree. This practice is also in line with the so-called Bologna Accord.
- To read more about musicology at ICMuS, click here.
MA pathways
The MA can be taken under one of the following pathways, each of which reflects strengths in staff research and teaching:
- Theoretical and cultural musicologies
- Popular music
- Ethnomusicology
- Medieval and early modern music
- Folk and traditional musics
Under certain circumstances, the degree may also be taken as a general degree in musicology. If you take the MA as a general programme, you have full range of modules available to you and you take the usual research training and dissertation (see below).
It is also possible to take modules from the MMus programme and from other disciplines in the University.
Entry Requirements
Normally a good undergraduate degree (2:1 Honours or higher) or equivalent in Music or a related area. However, we may take other qualifications and experience into account. For the pathways of theoretical and cultural musicologies and ethnomusicology, popular music and folk and traditional musics, we are also happy to consider applicants with good undergraduate degrees in other arts-based fields (English, History, Modern Languages, philosophy, popular culture, media studies, cultural studies, film studies, and so on). For the medieval and early modern music pathway, we are also happy to consider applications from candidates with a good undergraduate degree in History, Art History or a related field.
For international students, if your first language is not English we require IELTS 6.5 with 6.5 in writing, or equivalent. If you need extra tuition to meet English language requirements the University provides a Pre-Sessional Intensive English programme