MA Music and Cultural History

at University College Cork

The MA in Music and Cultural History offers a well-rounded but focused introduction to methodologies and issues in contemporary musicology. It presents you with an opportunity to expand your familiarity with musical repertoire, deepen your engagement with key critical concepts and acquire valuable research skills.
 

Students take 90 credits as follows:
 

Part I

• MU6030 Research Skills (5 credits)
• MU6050 Performance Studies (10 credits)
• MU6031 Sound Studies & Musicology (5 credits)
• MU6034 Multidisciplinary Debates in Musicology and Ethnomusicology (5 credits)
• MU6036 Music and Popular Culture (10 credits)
• MU6037 Music and Cinema (10 credits)
• MU6046 Musicology: History and Trends (10 credits)
• One further module in Music or a related area as appropriate to the student's research specialization (5 credits)
   

Part II

• MU6012 Research Project in Music and Cultural History (30 credits)
   

Course Practicalities
Each of the modules in Part A runs for twelve weeks (either September to December or January to March) and consists of three weekly hours of seminars as well as an additional hour of self-directed study.
 

You will also be encouraged to form peer-learning groups and you will be provided with study facilities for these groups.
 

The average weekly commitment is approximately 10 hours of formal instruction, but you will also spend time in individual preparation, reading, study and research.
 

You will be required to attend selected live performances and screenings, and to engage with live streams and other mediatised forms of performance.
 

The dissertation (approximately 12,000 words) is submitted in September.
 

Assessment
You will be assessed through a combination of coursework (essays, portfolios of short assignments, learning journals), in-class presentations and viva voce examinations. There are no written examinations.

In order to be permitted to proceed to the MA Degree in Music and Cultural History, a candidate must hold a minimum of Second Class Honours, Grader II in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in Music (or one in which Music is a major subject). 
 

Applicants with an appropriate professional equivalent will also be considered under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Final acceptance is subject to approval by the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, UCC.
 

Minimum Requirements and Accepted English Language Tests & Examinations The minimum English language entry requirements for admission onto a postgraduate programme at UCC are outlined below. These requirements are for postgraduate applicants whose first language is not English. If Gaeilge (Irish) is your first language these requirements do not apply to you.There are a small number of programmes with a higher minimum English language entry requirement and we list these below under Programmes with a Higher Minimum English Language Requirement.IELTS*  
 

• 6.5 Overall
• 6.0 Individual Skills (academic version)
   

TOEFL iBT  

• 90 Overall
• Listening 20
• Reading 19
• Speaking 21
• Writing 20

The EU fee for this course is €6,130; €3,130 (Year 1 Part-time); €3,130 (Year 2 Part-time).
 

The Non-EU fee for this course is €16,400.
 

Deposits

If your course required a deposit, that figure will be deducted from your second semester fee payment in January.
 

EU student fee payment

Fees for EU students are payable in two equal instalments. First payment at registration in August and the second in January.
 

International student fee payment

International Students can pay in two equal instalments once they have paid the appropriate deposit. The initial payment is due on registration and the balance usually by the end of January.

What can I do after I graduate with an MA in Music and Cultural History?

UCC Musicology graduates develop a wide range of skills that are invaluable to our cultural industries and information economy, including: critical, historical, and global thinking, advanced media literacy and media savvy, cultural analysis, and professional writing. By participating in MCH Seminars and events such as the FUAIM Music Research Seminar Series, graduates will gain experience in formal presentation and broaden their professional network before leaving UCC. Graduates leave with transferable skills that are extremely important in our global cultural economy and its proliferation of cultural and information-based career fields.
 

Occupations associated with Music and Cultural History degrees:

• Tourism and Cultural Industries: Tourism, Arts Venues.
• Media: Radio, TV, and Online Platforms, Cultural Journalism.
• Information Technology: Online Music Platforms (Google, YouTube, Spotify, WhoSampled.com), Librarian, Archives, Information Officer.
• Teaching: Universities, EU Cultural Commission, NGO Research Consortia, Secondary Schools.
• Performance: Music Performance and Production, Historically Informed Performance, Singer-Songwriter.
• Public Sector: Arts Administrator, Outreach Officer, Communications Officer, Media Officer
• Advertising: Advertising Copywriter, Demographic Analysis, Account Executive.
• Public Relations & Communications: Music Management and PR.
• Writer: Freelance, Culture and Style Columnist, Blogger, Magazine Editor, Music Editor.
• Marketing: Music Marketing Executive, Marketing Analysis.
• Or Further your Skill Set with Advanced PhD Research
• Remember, in many advertised job vacancies a postgraduate degree is required. A Master’s Degree in Music and Cultural History is an excellent qualification to prepare you for a diverse range of professional fields. The degree exhibits your dedication to history and an informed view of the past, but with an eye to the future information economy and its multi-media cultural industries.