Music at University

Why Study Music at University?

A degree in music is a stepping stone to a diverse range of careers. Areas of work which it can lead to include performing, record companies, broadcasting, composing, teaching, therapy, administration, libraries, publishing, technology and instruments manufacturing. A degree in music is also recognised as a serious qualification which can lead on to a non-musical career in business, for example on a graduate training scheme.

A degree in music is fun, but hard work. You'll usually be able to take a broad range of subjects, ranging from history and analysis, to composition and music technology. You will learn a huge number of transferable skills including in-depth analysis, team-work, project realisation and working with computer software. In your final year you will normally specialise in whatever is your strength - whether it is peformance or composition, or musicology. You will have lots of opportunity to experiment with music, to take part in group ensembles both as part of your course and just for fun. You'll develop as a musician, and as a person, gaining expertise, confidence, knowledge, and experience.

Have you studied or are you studying music at university? Tell us what you think about your course!

Choosing a Music Course at University

Types of Course

UCAS is the place to start in searching for a university course in the UK. All applications must also be made via UCAS.

You will find a large number of different music courses available at universities. If you've already decided what career you want to follow, it's a good idea to choose a specialised music course. If you want to keep your options open, choose a general music course.

General Music Courses

Music BA or BMus? You might find that several universities offer both a BA and a BMus course. While both of them are general music courses, the BA course normally follows a broader range of subjects, including more academic subjects like music history or analysis.

BMus courses, on the other hand, tend to have a more practical emphasis. They usually contain more performance and composition elements. You should compare the course details at individual universities for an exact comparison.

If you want to focus completely on performance or composition, you should consider applying to a conservatoire.

Specialised Music Courses

There is a huge variety on offer. Some popular courses include

Popular Music
Commercial Music
Music Technology
Music Teaching
World Music
Music Theatre

Choosing a University

There are lots of factors which you need to consider when choosing a university. Do you want to stay near your family or move as far away as possible? Big city or small town? What grades do you need to get in? What's the social life like? Are the students happy with their courses there? How many of them get good jobs when they leave?

An excellent resource for comparing universities can be found at www.unistats.com. You can compare universities by number of UCAS points needed to get on the course, and see what the average level of student satisfaction is. Currently in the no.1 spot for student satisfaction for a music degree course, is Cardiff University (340 UCAS points), with 96% satisfaction.