MMus Music

Course information

1 year full-time or 2 years part-time

Course overview

The MMus degree advances your exploration of today’s creative music practice in all its complexity. From a range of stimulating pathways, you choose one that best suits your interests. Modules are shared across pathways, and are rooted in academic and practice-based research.

The MMus degree allows students to advance in performance and composition in the broadest sense, while acquiring academic knowledge.

The pathways available are:

The programme’s modules explore music as an evolving subject and cover repertories from Western art music through to electronic, popular, audio-visual, non-Western, and contemporary repertories.

You develop systematic, critical and creative approaches, exploring musical practice, discourses, and contexts
You develop an independent and original approach to creative practice
You explore interrelationships between music and other subjects, between theory and practice, and between performance and structural interpretation

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact the Department of Music.

What you'll study

Overview

Each Masters degree is awarded after the accumulation of 180 credits. You take:

Compulsory module(s) (30 credits each)
Optional modules (30 credits each)
Dissertation or Major Project (60 credits)

The options provide you with a choice of modules relevant to your chosen pathway, please refer to the individual pathway pages for more detail. We will offer advice at interview and/or enrolment about your options. Please note that the availability of options may depend upon the department timetable.

Download the programme specification. If you would like an earlier version of the programme specification, please contact the Quality Office.

Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.

For 2021-22 and 2020–21, we have made some changes to how the teaching and assessment of certain programmes are delivered. To check what changes affect this programme, please visit the programme changes page.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements vary depending on your chosen pathway. Please refer to the individual programme and pathway pages for more information.

Students who have completed up to 90 credits (not including final 60-credit projects or dissertations) of a comparable degree at another university can apply for recognition of prior learning status as part of their application for a place on the programme, where such credits are carried forward into your study at Goldsmiths.

International qualifications

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study.

Fees, funding & scholarships

To find out more about your fees, please check our postgraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.

Additional costs

In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page.

There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments. Please check the programme specification for more information.

Funding opportunities

Find out more about postgraduate fees and explore funding opportunities. If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an application deadline.

How to apply

You apply directly to Goldsmiths using our online application system.

Before submitting your application you’ll need to have:

Details of your academic qualifications
The email address of your referee who we can request a reference from, or alternatively a copy of your academic reference
Copies of your educational transcripts or certificates
A personal statement – this can either be uploaded as a Word Document or PDF, or completed online. Please see our guidance on writing a postgraduate statement

You'll be able to save your progress at any point and return to your application by logging in using your username/email and password.

Find out more about applying.

Similar programmes

MA Arts Administration & Cultural Policy: Music Pathway

This programme builds on London's position as one of the most important musical centres in the world, with a diverse range of concert halls, theatres, cultural institutions and arts events that reflect its cosmopolitan and multicultural society.

MA Music

The MA Music advances your exploration of today’s music in all its complexity. From a range of stimulating pathways, you choose one that best suits your interests. Modules are shared across pathways, and are rooted in academic and practice-based research.

MA Music (Audiovisual Cultures)

The MA Music (Audiovisual Cultures) offers you a unique opportunity to engage with cutting-edge interdisciplinary research on music and the moving image.

MA Music (Ethnomusicology)

The MA Music (Ethnomusicology) introduces a range of methodologies in relation to the study of music in its cultural contexts.

View more programmes