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.