MA Musicology

This course offers a foundation in musicological thought and practice, opportunities to develop specialised applied, editorial, archival, critical and theoretical skills, and the chance to produce a significant piece of work in a musicological area of your choice, whatever your musical tastes and preferences.

Through core modules, you’ll explore a broad range of theoretical and methodological approaches to musicology, applied research methods, and issues that affect our understanding, reception and interpretation of music. You may also choose (provided you have the necessary prior knowledge and experience) an optional module that will enable you to focus on a specific area of music in depth, such performance, electronic music, or music psychology. Together, the core and optional modules will provide you with the knowledge and skills to develop musicological projects according to your own interests.

Your major project will take the form of a dissertation with a specific musicological focus, or a piece of applied or practice-led work such as an editing or transcription project, or an archival or fieldwork study, defining your topic in consultation with one of our expert staff. In addition to this, you may optionally choose to undertake a second, smaller musicological project on a topic of your own choice (a Short Dissertation, an Individual Project or, subject to approval, an International Research Project).