MLitt Sacred Music

A 2.1 undergraduate Honours degree and relevant experience in theology or music. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.

The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.

Application requirements

• CV 
• personal statement (300 to 500 words) 
• sample of your own, single-authored academic work in English (2000 words) 
• two original signed academic references 
• academic transcripts and degree certificates  

For fees and funding options, please visit website to find out more

The MLitt in Sacred Music will benefit those wishing to pursue a career as a church musician, or who are already active as church music makers. 

Theology and Music, and Sacred Music, are growing fields of interdisciplinary scholarship, and this programme will also benefit those wishing to pursue doctoral study in the area. 

Previous graduates of the MLitt in Sacred Music have gone on to church music leadership and performing roles, active ministry, doctoral research at St Andrews and elsewhere, and positions in the wider field of music and the arts. 

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

Compulsory

• Music and the Sacred in Theory and Practice: introduces students to the wide diversity of music in its relation to the sacred, in and outside different denominational church contexts.  
• Making Music in a Church Context: enables students to develop their skills in such roles as choir director, organist, composer, worship ensemble leader, and music journalism, through specialist small-group teaching.
• Sacred Music in the West: History and Context: invites students to explore when, where, and why Christians have made music in their worship, focusing on the history and development of sacred music-making in a variety of confessional traditions informed by Western musical practice.

Optional

In Semester 2, students must pick an optional module. This optional module can either be from the Theology and the Arts MLitt or from another Divinity MLitt.

An example of  a Theology and the Arts option: 

• Christian Doctrine and the Arts

Optional choices are subject to the approval of the course coordinator and subject to change each year. Some also may require a minimum number of participants or only allow limited numbers of students. Read more about curriculum development at the University of St Andrews.

Dissertation

The end-of-year assessment provides students with the opportunity to draw together the theoretical, philosophical, and professional practice strands of the course. Students may choose from either a research or practical assessment. 

Students choosing a research assessment must complete a 12,000-word dissertation on a topic in sacred music of their choice. Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise students in their choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. 

Those choosing a practical project have the choice of either a recital of sacred music with a written exegesis of research on the programme (5000 words) or a composition portfolio of sacred music with critical reflection (5000 words). 

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MLitt, an exit award is available that allows suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.