Music
    Duration1 year(s)
    Tuition Fee
    GBP 17,090 / Year
    Next IntakeSeptember 9, 2024

    Music

    About

    We're the top modern university in the UK for Music. (Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020)
    Overview

    This innovative new MA in Music puts your interests at the heart of your experience.

    Building on the success of our undergraduate Music programmes, this exciting new MA Music aims to provide a supportive and encouraging environment in which to develop your practice.

    We have flipped the traditional structure of a Masters, where taught modules are followed by a final project or dissertation, by enabling you to work on and develop your major project from the outset.

    This programme is ideal for musicians, composers, producers and artists who want to develop their practice, and for scholars who wish to take an academic approach to their study. There is no requirement for undergraduate music study and we welcome practitioners and scholars from all disciplines.

    To ensure there is sufficient time to process your application, we encourage you to submit your application by 30th of June.

    This programme is ideal for musicians, composers, producers and artists who want to develop their practice.
    We believe that exploration and experimentation are central to the postgraduate experience. You will develop practices and ways of working that are at the intersection of practice, reflection and the transmission of ideas, findings and creative outputs.

    This exciting new MA in music has been designed to foster and encourage: 
    • Exploration and experimentation
    • Criticality and reflection
    • Engagement with knowledge and practice

    This programme will facilitate an individualised experience in which you will develop your practice, knowledge and understanding of your place in the world through the development of critical reflection abilities. You will be encouraged and supported as you develop a deep understanding of the context of your work/practice and the work of others in a scholarly/artistic context.

    Five interrelated compulsory modules are specifically designed to allow students to achieve our programme aims which are to:
    • Engage creatively with your chosen field(s), challenging yourself to explore and innovate within your chosen area(s) of practice.
    • Develop and demonstrate your ability for critical and reflective thought and judgement.
    • Develop understanding(s) of research/practical methodologies and the use and application of method(s).
    • Explore/create a range of modes of artistic/scholarly communication.
    • Interrogate and respond to the context(s) in which your practice is articulated.

    This programme spans three trimesters (September to August). 
    Trimesters 1 and 2 are delivered through fortnightly lectures, seminars and workshops. 

    Trimester 3 is mainly supervised independent study, but with two intensive weeks of contact with staff and peers, including our exciting MA conference day which gives you the opportunity to share and showcase work with staff and peers, to receive feedback and to engage in critique sessions.

    Requirements

    Entry Requirements

    Entry requirements

    Postgraduate

    Students will be eligible to apply if they have gained a Bachelor degree with C+, GPA of 2.5/4.0 or Good or better

    English Requirements

    • PTEMin 56
    • IELTSMin 6
    • TOEFLMin 80

    Career

    This programme has been designed to develop practical, scholarly, and critical skills, preparing students for a wide range of career opportunities. This programme is also the ideal springboard for doctoral study.


    Potential opportunities include:
    • Doctoral study (research or practice-based)
    • Performance
    • Composition/Songwriting
    • Production
    • Audio Engineering
    • Musicology
    • Music Education
    • Arts Administration
    • Sound Design
    • Music Management or Promotion

    Fee Information

    How to Apply

    How to use the online application form

    Here’s some key information about the application form to keep in mind while you're completing it:

    • You don't need to complete your application in one session - you can save it and return to it later. You'll get an email with a link to continue your application
    • When you've completed a page, click on the proceed button at the base of the form
    • If you need to return to a previous page, click on the save button first
    • If you need to exit at any point, save your progress by clicking on the save button
    • Save your progress regularly, as the form will time out if there has been no activity on the page for four hours. You'll then be asked to re-enter your log in details to continue with your application
    • Refer to the help text at each section of the application if you need guidance about a particular section of the process.
    What to expect 

    We will typically be in touch within five days of your application submission. Here's what will happen once you have submitted your application:

    1. Application review

    When we receive your application we will: 

    • Check your qualifications against the minimum entry criteria
    • Check your references, once they've been submitted
    • Review your personal statement 
    • Check your evidence of English language proficiency, if applicable.

    If you want to find out what we'll be looking for in your personal statement, find out here. 

    2. Extra information

    For some courses, you need to provide examples of your work or attend an interview. If this is the case, we’ll get in touch to arrange this with you. You can find out if this applies to your course on the course page on our website.

    3. Application outcome

     We’ll let you know the outcome of your application by email. There are three possible outcomes:

    • Unconditional (meaning we don't need anything else from you) 
    • Conditional (meaning you'll need to provide us with some more information)
    • Unsuccessful.

    4. Your response 

    You can accept your offer by emailing [email protected]. If your offer is conditional and you need to submit any extra information, like your degree certificate or a reference, you should do this as soon as possible.

    Interviews and Portfolios

    Some of our postgraduate courses require you to attend an interview, or submit extra information or examples of your work. If this is the case, someone will be in touch to arrange this with you. You can find out if this applies to your course on the relevant course page on the website.

    Here are some of examples of courses which require an interview:

    • MSc Creative Advertising 
    • MSc Applied Criminology and Forensic Psychology 
    • MSc Data Science 

    Interview formats will vary by course, and can range from group interviews and discussions to a quick chat one-on-one with your programme leader. You will be given this information by email.

    Here are some examples of courses which require a portfolio or additional work: 

    • MA Creative Writing 
    • MA Motion Graphics
    • MFA Advanced Film Practice 

    What you are asked to present and in what format will vary by course. You might be asked to submit your work digitally, or in some cases you will be asked to bring a portfolio with you to an interview. You will be given this information by email.

    If you're an international student...

    If you're not in the country, Skype interviews can often be arranged by email after you have received your invitation. 

    Music

    Edinburgh Napier University

    Edinburgh Napier University

    United Kingdom

    United Kingdom, Edinburgh