Sacred Music (MLitt)

The MLitt in Sacred Music offers a unique interdisciplinary formation in Sacred Music for musicians, scholars, and leaders in artistic ministry. It is taught jointly by the School of Divinity’s Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts and the University of St Andrews Music Centre.

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Dr George Corbett: We’re very excited about this collaboration between our School of Divinity and the University of St Andrews Music Centre here in St Mary’s College where Theology has been taught for almost 500 years. Our MLitt presents a unique opportunity to reflect together about what makes music sacred, about why music is so important for the church and for wider society today, about some of those theological, pastoral, aesthetic considerations that have shaped – and that continue to shape – the extraordinary diversity of sacred music in different Christian worship traditions, denominations and cultures.

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Sir James MacMillan: They say that music is the most abstract of the arts, but we also know that music has deep roots in our culture, and especially our Judaeo-Christian culture, and it’s not just in the past its actually in the 20th and now the 21st centuries as well. You can find this search for the sacred at the heart of modernism, at the heart of modernity, composer after composer finding new ways to tease out the mysterious and the divine. It’s very exciting that a new course like this MLitt here at the University of St Andrews will allow scholars and artists and composers and theologians to explore that bigger context in a joint search for the sacred.

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Claire Innes-Hopkins: St Salvator’s Chapel Choir is our flagship choir here at the University of St Andrews. The Choir’s history extends back to the founding of the University in the early 15th century. Nowadays we sing three services per week including repertoire spanning the six centuries of the University’s history. We also regularly commission and perform new sacred music, including our recent premiere and recording of six new works as part of our Theoartistry composers’ scheme.

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Dr Michael Downes: If you decide to come and study sacred music here in St Andrews, you’ll instantly become part of a vibrant musical community. We have literally hundreds of concerts and performances each academic year, and represented in our programmes are some of the Uk’s leading artists. Ensembles in residence at the University include artists of the calibre of the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and The Wallace Collection. If you come and study here, you’ll have the chance not only to hear these artists and others like them but also to study with them, to make music with them, and to learn from their insights.

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Dr Michael Ferguson: one of the core aspects of our Masters is that those working on it are active in sacred music outside of the University walls. Our Masters retains close links with a variety of churches and worship traditions. Within that we’re open to the full range of approaches to sacred music making.

Dr George Corbett: Our MLitt is a stand-alone qualification but for some it will also be a stepping stone, a launch pad, for further doctoral research.

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Entry requirements

The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.

Application requirements

• CV
• personal statement (300 to 500 words)
• sample of your own, single-authored academic work in English (2000 words)
• two original signed academic references
• academic transcripts and degree certificates

For more guidance, see supporting documents and references for postgraduate taught programmes.

English language proficiency

If English is not your first language, you may need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. See approved English language tests and scores for this course.

After your degree

Careers

The MLitt in Sacred Music will benefit those wishing to pursue a career as a church musician, or who are already active as church music makers. 

Theology and Music, and Sacred Music, are growing fields of interdisciplinary scholarship, and this programme will also benefit those wishing to pursue doctoral study in the area. 

Previous graduates of the MLitt in Sacred Music have gone on to church music leadership and performing roles, active ministry, doctoral research at St Andrews and elsewhere, and positions in the wider field of music and the arts. 

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

Further study

In addition to the MLitt, the School of Divinity offers a two-year residential Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree option in Theology and the Arts. 

Many graduates continue their education by enrolling in PhD programmes at St Andrews or elsewhere.