Music and Music Psychology BA

Course overview

Our unique Music and Music Psychology degrees are the only courses of their type in the country. You can choose between two options for studying music and music psychology with us:

If you choose to take the BA in Music and Music Psychology you’ll study for three years and receive a Bachelor of Arts qualification on graduation.

Alternatively, our Integrated Masters degree in Music and Music Psychology combines undergraduate and postgraduate study. Choosing this option means you’ll study for four years and graduate with both a masters (MArts) and bachelors (BA) qualification in music and music psychology.

The core of the BA in Music and Music Psychology balances modules focused on music psychology with those drawing on musics from a range of genres, styles, cultural and social contexts, and geographic locations to explore key concepts, theories and approaches. You’ll develop your skills as a creative, critical and reflective thinker, gaining the tools and experience needed to be an independent worker, musician and music psychologist, ready for life after university. Across all three years, you'll maintain a dual core of music and music psychology. You can personalise your course in all years by choosing optional modules from a broad range of areas – including aesthetics, analysis, contemporary composition, film music, the music business, musicology, music technology, performance (solo and collaborative) and popular music – enabling you to shape your degree to fit your interests and ambitions.

You’ll study with academics who are experts in their fields, receive support from a dedicated technical team, and take lessons with a visiting professional specialist if you study solo performance. Across your course you’ll engage with the latest research, explore a range of theoretical, creative and applied aspects of music and music psychology, and develop a set of valuable subject-specific and transferrable skills. You’ll have opportunities to work independently and collaboratively, developing your skills and knowledge in contexts that extend beyond the University environment. All these elements combine to provide you with an exciting and dynamic educational experience that is unique to Leeds.

Entry requirements

A-level: AAB. We also welcome BTEC applicants with DDD normally including Music and/or Psychology.

If these don't include A level Music, we would normally expect an essay/discursive subject and evidence of Musical Literacy.

GCSE: usually 5 at A-C, including English at Grade C/4 or above

Other course specific tests:

If you have taken Music, practical grades are not a requirement for this programme. However, if you want to study performance, you’ll need a minimum of ABRSM, Trinity Guildhall or Rockschool Grade 8 merit/grade 7 distinction (or demonstrate that you are of equivalent standard, by the time you arrive in Leeds).

Students taking the EPQ may also be made an alternative offer. This would typically be ABB + A in the EPQ for students taking A-levels, for example.

We typically interview all eligible applicants for this programme; this is typically an online interview.

GCSE: usually 5 at A-C, including English at Grade C/4 or above

Other course specific tests:

If you have taken Music, practical grades are not a requirement for this programme. However, if you want to study performance, you’ll need a minimum of ABRSM, Trinity Guildhall or Rockschool Grade 8 merit/grade 7 distinction (or demonstrate that you are of equivalent standard, by the time you arrive in Leeds).

Students taking the EPQ may also be made an alternative offer. This would typically be ABB + A in the EPQ for students taking A-levels, for example.

We typically interview all eligible applicants for this programme; this is typically an online interview.

International Baccalaureate

Career opportunities

A degree in Music and Music Psychology from the University of Leeds equips you with valuable subject knowledge, cultural and social awareness, and a strong balance of musical, psychological and transferrable skills. We worked with our undergraduate students to identify a skillset that all our graduates will develop across their courses, and we continue to review these attributes with the student body and our Industrial Advisory Board to ensure they meet the needs of students as they leave university.

Skills such as communication, leadership, time and resource management, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively are particularly attractive to employers, and you’ll also be able to demonstrate the flexibility, resilience and confidence needed to adapt to new situations and environments. Your musical knowledge will bring your critical, creative, research and problem-solving abilities to the fore, and you’ll be able to articulate how the experience gained through your degree has prepared you for whatever comes next, be that work or further study.

Our courses equip our graduates to work in a wide range of areas within the music industry, including:

• Performing
• Composing
• Teaching, lecturing and coaching
• Music therapy
• Arts research
• Arts, artist, project and event management
• PR
• Creative production
• Theatrical stage direction and musical direction
• Music supervision
• Music publishing and copyright
• Marketing and digital marketing

Our graduates also use the skills developed through their Music degree to pursue careers in other sectors, including business, chartered surveying, data management, healthcare, law, management and media, and many progress to postgraduate study in Music or a related discipline, including continuing to Masters study here at Leeds.