Music BA Honours

 

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Course overview

Study music at Newcastle and join a dynamic community of musicians and thinkers who are committed to valuing all music. Our community will help you embrace your individual creativity, expand your knowledge, and develop your critical thinking.

Study topics based on your interests such as performance, music history, analysis, audio production, composition and ethnomusicology. Many of our modules include vocation-oriented elements including music education and various work placement opportunities

You'll develop your performance skills through one-to-one tuition, group projects, and masterclasses with our specialist performance tutors who are leaders in their fields. 

Hear from our graduates about their Newcastle experience

Download information about this course as a PDF

Quality and ranking

Professional accreditation and recognition

Professional accreditation review and recognition of professional qualifications in Europe

Professional accreditations are reviewed regularly by professional bodies to ensure they meet the latest industry practices and regulatory standards. This keeps your degree rigorous, relevant, and highly valued by employers, providing a clear pathway into your chosen career.

If you are studying an accredited degree and considering a career in Europe after graduation, it is important to stay informed about international standards. The best resource for current information is the UK Government's guidance on recognition of UK professional qualifications in EU member states.

This official resource provides essential details on:

• whether your profession is regulated in another country.
• the specific steps you need to take to practice abroad.
• which organisations you should contact to begin the process.

Modules and learning

Modules

The information below is intended to provide an example of what you will study.

Most degrees are divided into stages. Each stage lasts for one academic year, and you'll complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each stage. 

Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May.

Our teaching is informed by research. Course content may change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.

You'll take the following compulsory modules:

Compulsory modules	Credits
Understanding Music: Concepts, Skills and Methods	20
Challenges in Musicology: Music, People and Place	20
Studio Production – Audio Production Skills	20
Performance Studies 1	20
Creative Projects	20
Musicianship	20

Candidates may take modules, totalling 20 or 40 credits, in a foreign language. Please note that:

• This must be approved by the Degree Programme Director, who will also agree on an appropriate module or modules to drop from the Music degree provision to maintain the 120-credit total for the year.
• some modules at stage 2 have Musicianship, Audio Production Skills, or Creative Projects as prerequisites.
• opting out of Performance Studies 1 at this stage will disqualify you from taking Performance Studies at a later stage in the degree programme.   

 

Choose from a range of historical, cultural and practical options, and have the freedom to determine the balance between these different strands. Module choices include historical and cultural options such as topics in Western music history, and practical options such as composition and performance.

Compulsory Modules

You take the following module:

Compulsory modules	Credits
Music and Cultural Theory	20

Optional Modules

You take at least one of the following Historical/Cultural modules:

Optional modules	Credits
Themes in Musical Modernism	20
Popular Music and Media	20

You take at least one of the following Applied or Practical modules:

Optional modules	Credits
Composing for Spaces and Places	20
DJing Skills and Turntablism	20
Contemporary Musical Materials and Technologies	20
Songwriting	20
Translation for Singing	20
Performance Studies 2	20
Creative Performance in Music, Film & Media	20
Orchestration	20
Folk Ensemble 2*	20

* Students will need to take an audition if they wish to take Folk Ensemble 2

You'll conduct independent work in two specialities of your choice. For each of these you'll receive 1-to-1 supervision. 

The specialities are categorised as a major specialist study and a minor specialist study in a second area. 

You'll choose your other modules using the remainder of your module credit balance. These modules cover historical, cultural and practical material and are offered by our world-leading research-active staff in Music. 

Modules

Compulsory modules

You must take one Major Specialist Study from this list:

Compulsory modules	Credits
Major Specialist Study: Composition	40
Major Specialist Study: Dissertation	40
Major Specialist Study: Performance	40
Major Specialist Study: Project	40

Optional modules

You may (but are not required to) choose a Minor Specialist Study module from the following list. This must be in a subject area that is substantially different to your major specialist study.

Optional modules	Credits
Minor Specialist Study: Composition	20
Minor Specialist Study: Dissertation	20
Minor Specialist Study: Performance	20
Minor Specialist Study: Project	20

You choose modules from the list below so that the total credits for the year adds up to 120:

Optional modules	Credits
Case Studies in 21st Century Music	20
Richard Wagner, Wagnerism and the Musical Stage	20
Jazz Studies	20
Salsa, AfroBeat, Reggae and Rhythms of the World	20
Music, Gender and Sexuality	20
Folk Ensemble 3*	20

*Students need to have passed Folk Ensemble 2 in Stage 2 in order to take Folk Ensemble 3.

You may, with the discretion of the Degree Programme Director, take one module from the list below, if not taken already at Stage 2, in place of a module selected in the list above.

Optional modules	Credits
Themes in Musical Modernism	20
Composing for Spaces and Places	20
DJing Skills and Turntablism	20
CContemporary Musical Materials and Technologies	20
Songwriting	20
Translation for Singing	20
Popular Music and Media	20
Folk Ensemble 2	20

Information about these graphs

We base these figures and graphs on the most up-to-date information available to us. They are based on the modules chosen by our students in 2025-26.

Teaching time is made up of:

• scheduled learning and teaching activities. These are timetabled activities with a member of staff present.
• structured guided learning. These are activities developed by staff to support engagement with module learning. Students or groups of students undertake these activities without direct staff participation or supervision

Teaching and assessment

Teaching methods

To bring out the best in you, we use different forms of teaching for the range of approaches to music we cover.

Some modules are based around lectures and seminars, with reading or listening assignments. Other modules involve smaller specialised study groups.

Performance modules offer a combination of one-to-one tuition, group workshops and specialist masterclasses.

Assessment methods

You'll be assessed through a combination of:

• 

  Assignments – written or fieldwork

• 

  Coursework

• 

  Dissertation or research project

• 

  Essays

• 

  Examinations – practical or online

• 

  Group work

• 

  Interviews

• 

  Musical performance

• 

  Portfolio submission

• 

  Practical sessions

• 

  Presentations

• 

  Projects

• 

  Reflective report/journal

• 

  Reports

• 

  Seminar tasks/exercises

Skills and experience

Support

You'll have an academic adviser throughout your degree. They will provide academic and pastoral support.

Peer mentors will help you in your first year. They are fellow students who can help you settle in and answer any questions you have when starting university.

Opportunities

Study abroad

Experience life in another country by choosing to study abroad as part of your degree. You’ll be encouraged to embrace fun and challenging experiences, make connections with new communities and graduate as a globally aware professional, ready for your future.

You may choose to spend a year abroad as part of your degree in one of our partner institutions. You can do so in consultation with the Degree Programme Director. In order to qualify, you must have attained at least 60% in the first three semesters of study.

Find out more about study abroad

Work placement

Get career ready with a work placement and leave as a confident professional in your field. You can apply to spend 9 to 12 months working in any organisation in the world, and receive University support from our dedicated team to secure your dream placement. Work placements take place between stages 2 and 3.

You'll gain first-hand experience of working in the sector, putting your learning into practice and developing your professional expertise.

If you choose to take a work placement, it will extend your degree by a year. Work placement is not available if you're spending a year abroad. Placements are subject to availability.

Find out more about work placements

Additional information

Interviews and auditions

We don't usually invite applicants to interview or audition. However, we might ask you to attend an online audition and/or interview if we are considering a contextual offer. 

This is an opportunity for you to tell us about your music studies, particularly if you don't have any standard academic music qualifications.

Your future

Join our network of confident and successful graduates who benefit from our well-established ties with arts institutions in the city, in the wider region and beyond. These include:

• Royal Northern Sinfonia
• Samling Academy
• Opera North

Preparing you for career success

We work with a range of partners across the Music sector, providing you with professional development and networking opportunities. 

We're the only North-East Music Academic Partner of UK Music, the collective voice of the UK’s world-leading music industry, which represents all sectors of the music industry to champion Music.

Through this partnership we provide a range of sector-leading opportunities, including:

• engaging with the industry
• providing research and networking opportunities
• a range of career development support

We also work closely with a broad range of regional cultural organisations, including strategic partnerships with the Glasshouse, so you can engage with the professional music sector and give back to the region in which you will be studying.

Find out more about the careers our graduates choose

Careers support

We'll help enhance your employability through access to career-related training, both as part of the course and through extra-curricular activities. Modules in teaching music help build skills needed for your future career.

We work with a range of arts, music and creative organisations and businesses including artist management and development, music production, community arts, festival and event management, and music therapy. These provide our students with guest lectures, masterclasses and placement opportunities. Examples include:

• Nordoff Robbins
• PRS for Music
• Generator
• Seven Stories
• Side by Side Arts
• Blank Studios
• Harambee Pasadia

Read more about careers with a Music degree

Hear from our graduates

Our Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers. We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through our ncl+ initiative.

Visit our Careers Service website

Facilities and environment

Facilities

You'll be based in the School of Arts and Cultures, in the University's main campus.

Our department is based in the Armstrong Building, which overlooks the university's beautiful main quadrangle.

You'll have access to outstanding specialist music facilities, including state-of-the-art recording studios, rehearsal spaces, specialist tuition rooms, flexible study spaces, and the music skills suite.

The impressive King's Hall is used for orchestral and choral concerts, our professional lunchtime concert series, and student performance workshops.

Studios

Our professional recording and music production suites provide a space for:

• full band multi-track recording
• electro-acoustic composition multimedia work
• sound art installations

We have a range of portable recording equipment and tools designed for live electronics and technologically mediated live performance. These are accessible to all music students.

Rehearsal spaces

You'll have access to a range of rehearsal spaces, including:

• 25 acoustically treated practice rooms
• five instrumental teaching rooms
• a large, acoustically isolated, ensemble/band practice room
• two large performance/rehearsal spaces (each seats up to 50 people)
• the University's King's Hall (seats 400 people)

Read more about our Music facilities

Opportunities to perform

We offer a free professional concert series every Thursday lunchtime during term time, followed by a student performance where you have the chance to perform for, and listen to, your colleagues from all of our music degrees.

Newcastle University Symphony Orchestra rehearses weekly and usually gives 3 or 4 performances each year in the King's Hall and in the Great North Museum.

There is also a student-organised annual Summer Music Festival, showcasing our students' talents and giving you the chance to gain real-world experience of event management.

Our music students immerse themselves in Newcastle's thriving music scene which includes everything from high-profile venues like the O2 Academy and the City Hall, to more intimate local spots such as The Cluny, The Cumberland Arms and Bar Loco. It’s also home to the UK’s first co-operatively owned music venue, The Globe.

Watch some of our student performances

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Tuition fees and scholarships

Tuition fees for academic year 2026-2027

Qualification: BA Honours
Home students full time 3 years	Tuition fees (Year 1) £9,790
International students full time 3 years	Tuition fees (Year 1) 25,100

Home Fee Students

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course. These fee limits can change each academic year and are set by the government.  

Our full-time undergraduate fees for home-fee paying students are: 

• £9,790 in 2026/27 
• £10,050 in 2027/28 

These fees apply to new and continuing students in each academic year. 

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

International Fee Students

Depending on your residency history, if you’re a student from the EU, other EEA or a Swiss national, with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you’ll normally pay the ‘Home’ tuition fee rate and may be eligible for Student Finance England support.

EU students without settled or pre-settled status will normally be charged fees at the ‘International’ rate and will not be eligible for Student Finance England support.

If you are unsure of your fee status, check out the latest guidance here.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

Scholarships

We support our EU and international students by providing a generous range of Vice-Chancellor's automatic and merit-based scholarships. See our undergraduate scholarship page for more information.

Year abroad and additional costs

For programmes where you can spend a year on a work placement or studying abroad, you will receive a significant fee reduction for that year. 

Some of our degrees involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees.

Scholarships

Find out more about:

• scholarships for UK, EU and international students
• Student Loans and Government financial support for UK and EU students

How to apply

Apply through UCAS

To apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle University, you must use the online application system managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). All UK schools and colleges, and a small number of EU and international establishments, are registered with UCAS. You will need:

• the UCAS name and institution codes for Newcastle University (NEWC/N21)
• the UCAS code for the course you want to apply for
• the UCAS 'buzzword' for your school or college

If you are applying independently, or are applying from a school or college which is not registered to manage applications, you will still use the Apply system. You will not need a buzzword.

Apply through UCAS

International students can apply through an agent

International students often apply to us through an agent. Have a look at our recommended agents and get in touch with them.

Visit our International pages