The normal period of study for the degrees are as follows:
MSc: One year full-time or two years part-time
MPhil: Two years full-time or four years part-time
PhD: Three years full-time or six years part-time
For the MPhil and PhD in Composition degrees students are allocated principal and second supervisors who oversee and guide the development of their work.
Students submit a portfolio of original compositions in place of a thesis. The MPhil portfolio should include one work suitable to form the major item in a concert program.
For the PhD the portfolio should normally include one major work, the performance of which would occupy an entire evening (i.e. an opera). Part or all of the portfolio may consist of computer-based or electronic fixed-media works, interactive work or work involving new media.
There is no requirement for an additional thesis or commentary to accompany the portfolio, but students are required to develop an understanding of the cultural context of their work.
All research degrees require students to work closely with a supervision team. Please browse staff profiles to learn about the research specialisms and outputs of Music staff. If your research is interdisciplinary, look at staff profiles in other subject areas, too. We encourage you to approach staff directly to gauge their availability and suitability as a prospective supervisor.
When making first contact with either a prospective supervisor or the Programme Director, please introduce yourself and mention your research intentions as a composer. If you maintain a professional website or online portfolio, please include a link.
This helps potential supervisors to understand your vision of the scope of a PhD or MScR project, and your understanding of the type of practical - as well as intellectual - matters that postgraduate research entails. This early contact with staff should also be helpful to you, for decisions you will need to make about how to develop your proposal, and with whom you would like to work.
Our BMus is unrivalled in its flexibility, enabling you to tailor a programme that best fits your musical interests and strengths.
We offer a distinctive and rigorous core curriculum in the first two years that will develop your musicianship and critical thinking skills and introduce you to the history of both popular and western art music. You can specialise in performance and composition, and choose from a diverse range of subjects that includes acoustics, music psychology and music technology.
In years three and four this choice is expanded further, enabling you to specialise in particular areas and to benefit from the research expertise of Reid School of Music staff. We currently offer options in performance, composition, music in the community, Scottish traditional music, music technology, music and multimedia, and music psychology, as well as a range of courses exploring the theoretical, historical and political contexts of music. In addition, and subject to availability, you can also select to study subjects from elsewhere in the Edinburgh College of Art or across the University in all four years of your degree.
As a student in the Reid School of Music, you will be part of a vibrant musical community. You will study with scholars, composers, and performers of international renown who are passionate about teaching. You can join one or more of the many orchestras, ensembles, and choirs available at the University, enjoy our varied concert series, and take advantage of the School’s location in the centre of Edinburgh, a city with a rich musical life. You will have the opportunity to work with ensembles such as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Edinburgh String Quartet. You can immerse yourself in our unparalleled Musical Instrument Museum, and you can also apply to participate in our Music in the Community projects, which in recent years have involved student visits to the Gambia and Greece.
The PhD in Creative Music Practice provides an opportunity for candidates to pursue practice-led research in the field of music at the highest level.
The PhD in Creative Music Practice involves research that combines textual and musical outputs. For example:
Composition
Performance (either of original or pre-existing repertoire)
Installation
Sound design
Interactive music software, etc.
The outputs take the form of a portfolio, performance, and/or recording, as well as theoretical work and documentation of the processes by which the music was made (e.g. video, photographs, recordings, sketches, studies, web pages).
The musical outputs are explicitly linked to the textual material. This linkage may take various forms: musical material might exemplify, contextualize, and/or expand an idea elaborated in the text, and vice versa.
The programme requires candidates to critically evaluate and articulate the relationship of textual to extra-textual media in the formation of musical knowledge. The format of the PhD thesis consists of a text of not more than 50,000 words and a comprehensive record of the musical material (recordings, scores, software etc.) contained in a coherent and archive-able format (bound thesis and/or CD/DVD). In the case of theses relating to live musical performances, documentation in the form of high quality audio and video recordings is central to the submitted materials.
Performing, composing, writing, debating – this course is geared towards the needs of the contemporary musician. There’s an emphasis on being able to thrive in different professional and industry contexts.
At Sussex, Music focuses on performance, composition and critical thinking. Designed to be expansive, this BA cuts across genres such as popular, classical, film, global and avant-garde. You’ll:
You’ll learn from composers, performers and musicologists. There’s an emphasis on creativity and challenging assumptions. Our faculty combine practical musicianship skills with performing and writing music, arranging and music history.
You’ll also benefit from our connections with local music organisations. These include Glyndebourne, the world-class opera venue in the Sussex Downs near Lewes, and The Rose Hill, an independent music venue and creative hub run by artists and musicians in Brighton.
Some of our recent graduates have been signed to labels, made the BBC Radio 6 Music A-list, toured professionally, played at SXSW, released albums or composed music for advertising. Others have gone on to record labels, to Nordoff Robbins music therapy, or to jobs in film and game composition.
Acoustics and music technology sit at the exciting crossroads between science and the arts. In this rewarding programme you will combine aspects of both worlds to gain insight into the science of sound, and progress towards further research or a career in acoustics and music related technology.
What you will study
The MSc/Dip in Acoustics and Music Technology is led by the Reid School of Music. Taking the science of sound as your focus, you’ll work in a cross-disciplinary environment, using theoretical and experimental work to explore the musical, technical and multimedia applications of acoustics and audio technology. You’ll have access to a comprehensive suite of facilities – from up-to-date recording studios and sound desks, to an anechoic chamber, reverberation room and historic concert halls, with availability subject to COVID-19 restrictions.
This is a unique degree programme, combining both technical and creative subjects. You will gain a solid platform in the essential technical aspects of acoustics, signal processing and computer programming for audio, while at the same time have the opportunity to undertake more artistically creative study in the fields of music and sound design. It is also possible to tailor your course choices to take in subjects in mathematics, informatics, physics, electronic engineering and speech recognition and synthesis technologies, for a more technical overall slant. Whatever path you choose to take, you will have a unique opportunity to engage with and learn from world-class academics in the fields of acoustics, music and audio technology, in an environment of active, international-quality research.
As a musical theatre performer, you must be passionate and creative, and able to form a deep connection with your story, character and audience.
Guildford School of Acting (GSA) is one of the most highly regarded musical theatre schools in the world, and our two-year MFA in Musical Theatre will provide you with the very best conservatoire training in a top UK university environment.
Building on our international reputation in musical theatre, this is the only two-year postgraduate programme in Europe and is unique in the way it combines training to enhance your skills with professional opportunities and chances to launch your career.
On our Musical Theatre MFA, you’ll gain a broad range of musical theatre knowledge and skills while performing in a variety of outstanding productions.
Supported by first-class teaching, your learning will involve a working knowledge of historical, critical and theoretical content, and the creation of performances that will be presented to agents and professionals for maximum industry exposure.
A high percentage of GSA alumni appear in the cast lists of West End shows and national tours. Last year, more than 95 per cent of GSA graduates gained professional representation or professional contracts within the first year of graduating.
This exciting new programme brings together the core scientific and creative subjects that underpin the field of Acoustics and Music Technology. Physics, computer programming, and audio signal processing are taken alongside studies in the creative use of sound, hosted within a dynamic, multi-disciplinary music department. The programme is unique in combining study in both the Sciences and the Arts within an integrated single Honours degree programme that will equip you to invent the future of acoustics, audio, and music technology. If you have interests in both science and engineering, and music, then this programme is for you.
Acoustics and Music Technology are driving a revolution in the way that sound is created, manipulated, transmitted, and replayed. They enable an expanding range of creative applications, from music production to the design of concert halls, from the emerging field of immersive virtual reality to new modalities of musical expression. Continued growth in computer power, in particular, is allowing for remarkable innovation, from next generation methods for sound synthesis, to a transformation in the way we design and experience the built environment, to the emergence of wholly new forms of media.
Such a fast-moving field demands graduates with both deep technical knowledge, and creative mind-sets, able to work across a range of disciplines. The programme emphasises excellence in the core subjects of physics, computer programming, and audio signal processing and combines them with contemporary studies in sound recording, architectural acoustics, creative music technology, sound design, and a range of further options in music and beyond.
You may follow one of two distinct pathways through the programme, in Physical Acoustics, or Computer Music Systems, or you may combine aspects of both pathways to tailor the programme to your specific interests.
The primary objectives of the programme are to provide students with solid skills in science and mathematics, experience in the creative applications of sound and music technology, and industrially-relevant understanding of how these interconnected subjects are shaping the role of sound and music in human society. The diverse and challenging nature of the programme will equip you to work at the fast moving interface between the latest scientific research and the newest forms of musical expression.
Our Music MMus offers you the highest level of training in contemporary music. We’ll teach you the necessary skills, techniques and methodologies to work at an advanced level with a critical awareness of relevant music disciplines.
Our award-winning staff are eminent practitioners and scholars in their respective fields. Operating over the widest range of style and practice, we’ll work closely with you in your musical development.
You’ll graduate from our course as an independent and relevant contemporary musician with the fullest knowledge of theory, practical skill, critical reflection and creativity.
On this course, you will learn the creative, re-creative, technical, critical, vocational and academic areas of contemporary music practice.
You’ll study a range of interlinked practices, including performance, composition, musicology and relevant skills in music technology. You will be able to specialise in any or several of these areas, preparing you for a future career in music and also providing a foundation for PhD study.
You’ll learn about the current developments within the contemporary theory and practice of music, so that you can work confidently and constructively within the musical culture of the present.
If you’re looking to progress onto a PhD research project after you graduate, this course will help to prepare you for doctoral level study in music-related areas.
What sets our Music MA apart? Not only is it the sheer range of musical genres and styles you’ll be exposed to, but also the hands-on experience you’ll be able to gain during your time with us.
Designed to excite and inspire, our course draws upon everything from rock and pop, to classical and electronic music. Exploring music from around the globe, you’ll be encouraged to deepen your understanding of the fundamentals of music, while developing your own playing and composition styles.
Whether you choose to study full-time or part-time, you’ll complete modules that offer an insight into the worlds of composition, performance and musical text across diverse cultures, generations and contexts. You’ll then choose your chosen specialist pathway, giving you the opportunity to deep dive into the practical aspects of performance, composition or music technology.
The variety of optional modules we offer will provide the theoretical framework for you to develop your final project contextualizing practice in your area of specialism as a research project.
