About

Introduction

In a nutshell

From exciting collaborations with your fellow students to learning from professional musicians, this Music master's course is about much more than studying and playing music. It’s about expanding your horizons, working together and immersing yourself in the training you need to establish a successful career in the music industry.

Do you have a clear idea about where you want to take your musical career? We offer three specialist pathways focusing on composition, performance, or interactive music and advanced studio production. If more than one of these options appeals to you, the part time mode of studies offers options to combine modules from different pathways to create the postgraduate music course that best suits your future aspirations.

Our New Adelphi Campus in Salford houses state-of-the-art facilities, including six recording studios, well-appointed rehearsal facilities and our 350-seater public theatre. And with easy access to Manchester, you’ll be able to experience the city’s exciting musical heritage.

Please note that for the full-time route the start date is September, and for the part-time route the start date is January.

Why not sign up to our Open Day to learn more about studying MA Music at Salford.

International applicants: Please check the international intakes page for the latest information and application dates.

You will:

Learn from professional musicians and gain hands-on experience in performing
Study different musical genres, including rock, pop, classical, jazz, and electronic
Have the opportunity to compete for a variety of prizes
Develop a portfolio of work

International

students accepted

This is for you if...

1.

You are a committed musician wishing to develop your skills to a professional standard

2.

You have a bachelor’s degree in music or a related subject, or evidence of professional practice experience.

3.

You understand the benefit and importance of studying a wide range of genres to influence your own performance and style.

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Requirements

What you need to know

To gain a place on the MA Music, you’ll have to submit a personal statement and meet our entry requirements when you apply.

Within your personal statement (up to 500 words), we’ll want to understand:

Why you would like to study the programme and what skills and attributes you would bring
Any prior experience and where this programme fits in your personal development

For some applicants, you’ll be asked to provide us with a portfolio of work and potentially take part in an informal group seminar discussion – either live or on camera – to demonstrate your skills.

Portfolio requirements:

MA Music: Performance

Portfolio showing examples of you performing suitable musical pieces. Please choose the genre/style where your performance skills are at their strongest. Please provide video evidence, the quality of the audio is of lesser importance - a straight capture from a mobile phone is fine.

MA Music: Composition

Submit examples of composition work. Please submit audio recordings, examples of composing to picture. If your training is in western notation please also submit scores, lead sheets. You may also submit other forms of notations as appropriate to your style and training.

MA Music: Interactive Music and Adv Studio Prod

Submit examples of ensemble recordings (overdub or live) and studio composition work. Please submit release quality audio recordings. Please also submit a technical CV giving details of music software packages used, training received, and works produced.

Once you’ve made your application to study with us, we’ll contact you and let you know the next steps.

Please note that for the full-time route the start date is September, and for the part-time route the start date is January.

Standard entry requirements

A good honours degree preferably in Music or a related subject and/or evidence of industry/professional practice experience.

International students

If you are an international student and not from a majority English speaking country, you will need IELTS 6.5 with no element below 5.5. We accept qualifications from all around the world. Find your country to see a full list of entry requirements.

We also accept a range of other English language qualifications. If you do not have the English language requirements, you could take our Pre-Sessional English course.

Alternative entry requirements

Accreditation of Prior Learning

The Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) process could help you to make your work and life experience count. The APL process can be used for entry onto courses or to give you exemptions from parts of your course.

Two forms of APL may be used for entry: the Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL) or the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL).

How Much?

Type of study	Year	Fees
Full-time home	2024/25	£8,820.00per year
Full-time international	2024/25	£16,380.00per year
Part-time	2024/25	Part time fees are calculated on a pro rata basis
Full-time home	2025/26	£9,100.00per year
Full-time international	2025/26	£17,000.00per year
Part-time	2025/26	Part time fees are calculated on a pro rata basis

Additional costs

You should also consider further costs which may include books, stationery, printing, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits.

Scholarships for International Students

If you are a high-achieving international student, you may be eligible for one of our scholarships. Explore our international scholarships.

English Requirements

IELTSMin 6

English Program Requirements

Equivalent qualifications

English language requirements are shown on individual course pages. Generally, this is shown as an IELTS grade, however we accept a range of equivalent qualifications.

As a general guide:

For undergraduate courses we require IELTS 6.0 (with a minimum 5.5 in each component) or equivalent

For postgraduate courses, we require IELTS 6.0 (with a minimum 5.5 in each component) or equivalent

For the International Foundation Year, we require IELTS 4.5 (with a minimum 4.0 in each component) in UKVI IELTS for UKVI (Academic)

The approved equivalent qualifications list includes the following:

Secure English Language Tests (SELTs)

University of Salford English language courses

Regional-based qualifications

Majority English Speaking Countries as deemed by UKVI

Medium of English Institutions

Applicants who require a Student Route visa to study in the UK may require evidence of a Secure English Language test rather than an examination or qualification due to visa requirements, as deemed by the UK Government Home Office, Visa and Immigration (UKVI).

Career

Employment and stats

What about after uni?

Employment

This master’s degree focuses on sharpening your practical and professional music skills to apply within a range of related careers. Not only will you be well-positioned to find employment as a freelance composer or performer, your skills will lend themselves perfectly to music education, lecturing and arts administration.

The depth of material covered on this course enables you to pursue further study in the areas of composition, performance, technology and musicology. What’s more, if you want to perform professionally, you’ll be able to benefit from the professional links we have with local and national music organisations, orchestras and bands.

Further study

Graduates showing strong academic and research skills can pursue a further academic research path through our doctoral (PhD) programmes on a full-time or part-time basis subject to a satisfactory proposal.

A taste of what you could become

a freelance performer

a composer

a music lecturer

an arts administrator

a musicology researcher

and more

Career Links

Our music courses have direct links with professional institutions such the BBC Philharmonic, Halle Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain as well as the 'Sounds from the Other City' festival. We have a good working relationship with many venues in the local area.

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Fee Information

Tuition Fee

23,654 / years