Music (BMus)

at Cardiff University

Course structure

 

We are currently working with our students to update and improve the content of this course. The information shown below reflects the current curriculum and is likely to change. The review of the course is expected to be completed by August 2022 and this page will be updated by end of October 2022 to reflect the changes.

 

Our undergraduate programmes allow you to specialise and develop your own musical interests

 

This is a three-year full-time degree, consisting of 120 credits a year. Each year is divided into an autumn and a spring semester and has a modular structure. Most modules are worth 10 or 20 credits.  

 

The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2017/18 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2017.

 

The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2022/2023 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2022.

 

Year one

Year one provides the foundations for you to take advantage of the creative and intellectual benefits of higher education.

 

The five core modules focus on basic skills of literate musicianship: harmony and counterpoint, practical musicianship, historical and stylistic awareness of musical genres and traditions, and skills in research and writing about music. There is also opportunity to select optional modules in composition, music history, and ethnomusicology.

 

Note that some modules are prerequisites, providing essential preparation for more advanced modules if you wish to pursue them in later years.

 

To complement your academic study, you are actively encouraged to join the many ensembles run by the School of Music or led by students. School ensembles explore a variety of classical, jazz, contemporary, and non-Western repertoires and traditions.

 

Year two

In year two, the course is more advanced and focuses on more specialist topics, encouraging a greater level of concentration on areas of particular interest to you.

 

You will have the opportunity to consolidate your strengths while maintaining activity in a breadth of disciplines, choosing your modules from at least three of four groups: composition and electroacoustic studies, written and practical musicianship, analytical and critical skills, and historical studies.

 

Our year two Business of Music modules are designed to help you better understand different branches of the music profession and give an opportunity for a short placement in an area related to music or the arts, either in one block or as a series of regular workplace visits.

 

Year three

You choose again from at least three of the four subject groups, and may pursue up to two of the five 30-credit major academic projects in musicology, ethnomusicology, analysis, composition, or performance. The 30-credit options in performance (Recital) and composition (Composition III) are only open to students on BMus pathways.

GCSE
Grade C or grade 4 in GCSE English Language.

 

IELTS (academic)
At least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subskill.

 

TOEFL iBT
At least 90 overall with minimum scores of 17 for writing, 17 for listening, 18 for reading and 20 for speaking.

 

PTE Academic
At least 62 overall with a minimum of 59 in all communicative skills.

 

Trinity ISE II/III
II: at least two Distinctions and two Merits.
III: at least a Pass in all components.

Tuition fees for 2022 entry

Fees for home status

• £9,000    

 

Fees for overseas status

• £19,200

In 2016/17, 100% of the School of Music’s graduates who were available for work reported they were in employment and/or further study within six months of graduation (DLHE 2016/17).

 

The skills developed within a music degree help our students to progress to a wide range of careers, both within and beyond the music profession.

 

Graduates have gone on to careers with the BBC, Arts Councils, Glyndebourne Opera, English National Opera, universities, Oxford University Press, the National Trust, and London Symphony Orchestra, along with a range of other industrial, commercial, educational, and charitable organisations.

 

Employability skills are embedded in our modules so that you will learn both music-specific and academic skills that are transferable to other domains, especially the workplace. Our second-year modules on the Business of Music are designed to help you better understand different branches of the music profession and provide an opportunity to undertake a short placement in a music-related or arts-related area.

 

Our annual series of talks on Careers in Music offer a great chance to meet professionals active in a range of fields such as performance, music education, music journalism, arts and artist management, production and licensing, and composing for media.

 

Graduate careers

• Musician
• Teacher
• Producer
• Arts Administrator
• Music Librarian