Course overview

Study music at Newcastle and join a dynamic and pro-active community of music makers who are committed to valuing all music. This community will help you embrace your individual creativity, and develop your critical thinking about music.

Study topics based on your interests such as music history, cultural theory and essentials of music theory. We also offer optional vocationally oriented modules in music education and music enterprise.

If you wish to specialise in performance, your skills will be nurtured by our specialist performance tutors, who are experts in their craft and run one-to-one tuition and group lessons.

Sorry, you need JavaScript to view this video

Download information about this course as a PDF

Your course during COVID-19
Please rest assured we make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the programmes, services and facilities described. However, it may be necessary to make changes due to significant disruption.

Given the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the commitments outlined are subject to guidelines that may be in place from time to time.

View our COVID-19 Study page, which gives information about your Newcastle University study experience for the academic year 2021-22.

See our terms and conditions and student complaints information

Quality and ranking

• top 20 in the UK – The Complete University Guide 2022 (Music)
• top 20 in the UK - The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021 (Music)
• top 20 in the UK - The Guardian University Guide 2021 (Music)

Teaching excellence

TEF Gold

A ringing endorsement of Newcastle University’s long tradition of excellence in teaching.

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. 

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.

Featured module

MUS1058: Performance Studies

Develop performance skills on your chosen instrument or your voice.

Optional module availability
Student demand for optional modules may affect availability.

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.

To find out more please see our terms and conditions.

You'll study a range of modules that cover historical, cultural, theoretical and creative approaches. Modules range across music history, world musics, music theory, performance and composition (notated and studio-based).

You’ll also take one compulsory cross-disciplinary module on writing about music, and developing academic and professional skills.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Understanding Music History	20

Optional Modules	Credits
Essentials of Music Theory	10
Applications of Music Theory (Sem2)	10
Applications of Music Theory (Sem1)	10
Understanding World Music	20
Introduction to Popular Music Studies	20
Composing and Analysing Music	10
Performance Studies 1	20
Traditions of These Islands	20
Creative Projects	20

Applicants intending to take modules in performance should have passed Associated Board Grade 8 or the equivalent or be of a similar standard.

Choose from a broad 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 Western music history, and practical options such as composition and performance.

Modules

Optional Modules	Credits
Themes in Musical Modernism	20
Performing Baroque Opera	20
Contemporary Musical Materials	20
Composing for Voices and Instruments	20
Practising Music Analysis	20
Indian Music in Practice	20
Composition and Arrangement in Folk and Modal Musics	20
Case Studies in Early Music	20
Music and Cultural Theory	20
Translation for Singing	20
Performance Studies 2	20
Contemporary Music Practice 2	20
Ethnomusicology	20
Orchestration	20
Jazz Today: Tomorrow Is The Question	20
Conducting Studies	20
Popular Music and Media	20
Composing with Technologies	20
Folk Music Studies: Resources and Research Materials	20
Folk Ensemble 2	20
Music Enterprise	20
Teaching Music in Community Contexts	20

You'll have opportunities to conduct independent work in two specialised areas of your choice. Complete a major specialist study and also a minor specialist study in a second area. You'll choose the remaining balance of modules from a range of historical, cultural and practical options offered by the world-leading research-active staff at our International Centre for Music Studies (ICMuS).

Modules

Optional Modules	Credits
Themes in Musical Modernism	20
Performing Baroque Opera	20
Contemporary Musical Materials	20
Composing for Voices and Instruments	20
Practising Music Analysis	20
Indian Music in Practice	20
Composition and Arrangement in Folk and Modal Musics	20
Case Studies in Early Music	20
Music and Cultural Theory	20
Translation for Singing	20
Ethnomusicology	20
Orchestration	20
Jazz Today: Tomorrow Is The Question	20
Conducting Studies	20
Popular Music and Media	20
Composing with Technologies	20
Folk Music Studies: Resources and Research Materials	20
Folk Ensemble 2	20
Music Enterprise	20
Teaching Music in Community Contexts	20
Global Pop	20
Major Specialist Study: Composition	40
Major Specialist Study: Dissertation	40
Major Specialist Study: Performance	40
Major Specialist Study: Project	40
Minor Specialist Study: Composition	20
Minor Specialist Study: Dissertation	20
Minor Specialist Study: Performance	20
Minor Specialist Study: Project	20
Music, Politics and Policy	20
Musics & Nationalisms	20
Richard Wagner and Wagnerism	20
Indian Music in Practice 2	20
Jazz Studies	20
Folk Music, Gender and Identity	20
Folk Ensemble 3	20
Teaching Music in Schools - socio-cultural contexts and approaches to practice	20
Music and Creative Industries Placement	20

Information about these graphs

We base these figures and graphs on the most up-to-date information available to us. They combine data on the planned delivery and assessments of our courses in 2021-22 with data on the modules chosen by our students in 2020-21.

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 are often 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

• 

  Dissertation or research project

• 

  Examinations – practical or online

• 

  Musical performance

• 

  Portfolio submission

Skills and experience

Practical skills

If you want to study performance, you can showcase your skills as a solo performer or collaborate with fellow students and industry professionals in ensembles, concerts, recitals, gigs and our student-led Summer Music Festival. The city also has a great music scene.

Our outstanding rehearsal, performance and studio spaces are available 24/7, allowing your artistic talents to flourish.

Business skills

You're able to develop business skills through:

• placements in arts administration and education
• opportunities to study abroad. We have links with universities and conservatoires in Europe, Canada, North America and Australia

You'll benefit from tuition by practising musicians with invaluable professional and industry experience.

Research skills

Our research is at the heart of what we do, informing our teaching and shaping our creative and scholarly community. You'll complete a major specialist study in your final year, which could be:

• an original composition
• a dissertation or project on an area of interest
• an instrumental or vocal performance

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. If you follow this route, you will transfer to BMus (Hons) Music, W304. 

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

Facilities and environment

Facilities

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

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

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.

The spaces are accessible 24 hours a day and can be hired for private use.

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)

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.

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 Sage Gateshead, 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.

Videos of student performance on our website

Sorry, you need JavaScript to view this video

Support

You'll have the support of an academic member of staff as a personal tutor throughout your degree to help with academic and personal issues.

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.

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, including:

• Sage Gateshead
• Royal Northern Sinfonia
• Samling Academy
• Opera North

100% of our BA Hons Music graduates were employed or in further study within 6 months of graduating.*

*Destinations of (undergraduate, UK and EU) Leavers from Higher Education Survey 2016/2017

Preparing you for career success

As well as academic excellence, we cultivate the highest professional and intellectual skills, preparing our graduates to succeed in whichever careers they choose.

Our graduates often become professional musicians, performers, composers, teachers, academics, music therapists, studio managers or sound engineers. Other opportunities include:

• arts administration
• music production
• music journalism
• music librarianship
• music publishing

The wide range of transferable skills music graduates develop means that you can easily move into other professions and graduate training routes. These include teaching, management, marketing, accountancy, law, events management, journalism, healthcare and IT.

Find out more about the careers our graduates choose

Sorry, you need JavaScript to view this video

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 music enterprise and 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

Our award-winning 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

Recognition of professional qualifications outside of the UK

From 1 January 2021 there is an update to the way professional qualifications are recognised by countries outside of the UK.

Read our detailed explanation

Tuition fees and scholarships

Tuition fees for 2021 entry (per year)

Home Fee Students

£9250

International Fee Students

£19200

The maximum fee that we are permitted to charge for home fee-paying students is set by the UK government.

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

You will be charged tuition fees for each year of your degree programme (unless you are on a shorter exchange programme). 

The tuition fee amount you will pay may increase slightly year on year as a result of inflation.

For courses commencing from September 2021 and beyond, EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for home fees or Student Finance England support.

If you are from the EU you will pay international tuition fees.

Read more about fees and funding

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.

Find out more about:

• different tuition fees
• additional costs

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

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