Overview
If you want to take your musical knowledge to the highest level then our MMus is the place to start.
The course will develop your technical, conceptual and critical skills, allowing you to specialise in performance, composition, production and/or critical writing. You will guided by internationally-renowned staff and supported by stunning facilities. With the MMus under your belt you'll be perfectly placed to pursue PhD study if you wish, or to enter the world of professional music making.
What's more the MMus course is designed to fit within our MA Creative and Cultural Industries Suite, meaning you can share modules with our student sound designers, photographers, dancers, journalists, game designers and learn collaboratively from them as well as specialising in your chosen musical discipline.
The curriculum is designed to take your specialisms to an advanced level, including undertaking an extensive independent practical project or dissertation of your choosing, while developing a keen sense of context for those fields.
Situated halfway between London and mainland France, Canterbury is a UNESCO World Heritage City with a tradition of innovation in music. The choral tradition stretches back 1400 years; in the 1960s and 70s, the city became famous for the progressive rock of the Canterbury Scene, and trailblazing electronic composer Daphne Oram taught at Canterbury Christ Church University in the 1980s.
Music at Canterbury Christ Church University boasts a dynamic, internationally-active staff, who have performed all over the world, including The Sydney Opera House, The Hollywood Bowl, Abbey Road Studios, Tate Modern, The National Theatre and for the FA Cup Final. Our staff and students have gone onto work with Sam Smith, have won a BAFTA for innovative game sound, and won BASCA Composer of the Year for Sonic Art.
In addition to the dynamic music community, you will have the opportunity to work alongside students specialising in Game Design, Radio, Film and TV, Dance, Drama and Technical Theatre, amongst others. Canterbury is a small city with a huge potential for you to make your mark. In short: we are starting a new Canterbury Scene full of creative musicians and we’d like you to be part of it.
Canterbury Christ Church University's MMus was always top of the list for me. I can’t praise the flexibility highly enough - such as recording lectures, utilising online tutorials, seminars and materials. It was definitely the right decision for me.
Stuart Slater
Entry requirements
A good honours degree (2:2 or higher) in music, or equivalent academic or professional experience. Applicants must be able to show that their background in their chosen independent study is sufficient for development at postgraduate level.
The selection of entrants is normally based on audition or interview in the School of Creative Arts and Industries. Performance audition programmes should be approximately 20 minutes long, and demonstrate the breadth of your command of style and technique. Portfolios of creative or academic work should be of comparable scope and submitted in advance of interview.
If English is not your first language you require an IELTS overall score of 6.0 with no element below 5.5 for most standard undergraduate and postgraduate courses. There are some exceptions and if the IELTS requirement differs it will be specified on the course page.
2:2
Honours Degree
Module information
Core/optional modules
How you’ll learn
The Master of Music course aims to produce graduates who are accomplished and confident musicians and/or musicologists, who are able to work at a professional level within their specialist fields of study and who are prepared for further study at PhD level.
The course will develop your technical, conceptual and critical skills which will allow you to engage with music and musicology in a sophisticated and insightful way.
The curriculum is designed to allow you to pursue specialist fields of study to an advanced level, including undertaking an extensive independent practical project or dissertation of your choosing, while developing a keen sense of context for those fields within the broader discipline of music.
Your specialist field of study will be tackled primarily through independent learning, supported by either tutorials or instrumental or conducting lessons as appropriate. Students undertaking independent study in similar disciplines will meet for workshops and seminars during the year as they develop their work.
Supporting this, critical and contextual awareness will be explicitly developed through core modules, which are delivered through seminars that may be student-led. The option modules allow students to explore highly specific areas of music and musicology, through lecture- and seminar-based teaching, and to undertake projects within their own interests through seminars and workshop-based learning.
The music staff comprises resident and visiting specialists who contribute to the MMus through lectures, seminars, workshops and masterclasses. Performance and composition-based subjects are supported by a generous allowance of individual tuition. You'll also participate in a range of public performances and concert activity within the University and beyond.
The lectures usually take place on just one day of the week (normally a Thursday), and so the course is flexible for students wishing to continue working alongside their studies.
The course will develop your technical, conceptual and critical skills, allowing you to specialise in performance, composition and/or musicology, guided by internationally-renowned staff and supported by stunning facilities. Situated halfway between London and mainland France, Canterbury is a UNESCO World Heritage City with a tradition of innovation in music.
Matt WrightCourse Director
How you’ll be assessed
You will be assessed through a wide range of assignments throughout the programme. These include musical performance, composition portfolios, written work, research posters, presentations and learning journals, and will be specific to the disciplines and modules that you choose to study.
The Final Project module will be assessed through a major project, with performance assessed through a recital or portfolio, composition or production through a portfolio, and critical writing through a dissertation or collection of critical essays.
Within modules, you will undertake coursework assignments that assess skills and techniques that are central to research and professional work in music. There is an element of peer learning and support throughout the course, not just with fellow music students, but from the whole postgraduate community, including games designers, dancers, journalists and photographers.
The range of assessment tasks in the modules further reflects the range of subjects that you might study and assessment tasks may include learning journals, essays, portfolios, workshop presentations, compositions and performances.
Your future career
Graduates of the MMus course typically go on to a range of careers which have included portfolio careers in music, performance and composition, working in a professional studio, music education and music research at PhD level.
Fees
Government loans are available for some postgraduate Master’s courses for students. Loans are subject to both personal and course eligibility criteria.
The rules around course eligibility mean that in some cases it may depend on how you are studying (full-time or part-time) as to whether you can apply for a postgraduate loan. To check whether your course is eligible, you can email the Student Fees Team or call 01227 923 456.
Tuition fees for this course
| UK | Overseas | |
| Full-time | £9,545 | £15,500 |
20% Alumni Discount
We offer alumni discounts on CCCU Postgraduate Taught, PGCE Primary and Secondary, and Master's by Research courses for eligible students.
Find out if you're eligible for the discount.
Important Information on Tuition Fees
Tuition fees for all courses which last more than one academic year are payable on an annual basis, except where stated.
There will be an annual inflationary increase in tuition fees for this course where the course lasts more than one academic year. For further information read the Tuition fee statements and continuing fee information.
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