UCAS code
W300
Our BA Music is a flexible course that enables you to shape your learning around the areas of music that interest and excite you.
The course draws on musics from a range of genres, styles, cultural and social contexts, and geographic locations to explore key concepts, theories and approaches. You’ll develop your skills as a creative, critical and reflective thinker, gaining the tools and experience needed to be an independent worker and musician, ready for life after university. You can personalise your course by choosing optional modules from a broad range of areas – including aesthetics, analysis, contemporary composition, film music, the music business, musicology, music psychology, music technology, performance (solo and collaborative) and popular music – enabling you to shape your degree to fit your interests and ambitions.
You’ll study with academics who are experts in their fields, receive support from a dedicated technical team, and take lessons with a visiting professional specialist if you study solo performance. Across your course, you’ll engage with the latest musical research, explore a range of theoretical, creative and practical aspects of music, and develop a set of valuable musical and transferrable skills. You’ll have opportunities to work independently and collaboratively, developing and applying your skills and knowledge in contexts that extend beyond the university environment. All these elements combine to provide you with an exciting and dynamic educational experience that’s unique to Leeds.
Why study at Leeds
We are one of the largest schools of music in the country, which means you’ll benefit from the impressive range of specialisms within our curriculum, reflecting our ethos that music is music, regardless of genre or style. We attract a diverse body of students from across the UK and internationally, which gives the School a vibrant community and culture. Decolonisation, equality and inclusivity are embedded within our curriculum, so all our students can feel a sense of belonging in the School and can thrive on their course, no matter what their background and musical experience.
In the recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) exercise, 93% of our research was considered to be ‘internationally excellent’ or better in terms of its originality, significance and rigour, with 56% rated as ‘world leading’ – the highest classification. Each of these measures places us within the top 10 Schools of Music in the country based on the REF 2021 results for the subject area. Our staff expertise feeds directly into our curriculum, with specialisms including:
- Applied music psychology
- Black, popular, independent and global musical cultures
- Contemporary and experimental composition
- Electronic and computer music
- Film music
- Historical musicology
- Music analysis
- Music and wellbeing
- Music industry and management
- Music technology in theory and practice
- Musical aesthetics and postcolonialism
- Opera
- Performance and performance practice
- Practice research in music and the arts
- Science and technology studies
Specialist facilities
The School of Music provides you with dedicated, purpose-built facilities complete with rehearsal, performance and practice spaces, computer clusters, a lab for studying the psychology of music, and dedicated learning and teaching spaces. There are also studios for sound recording, software development and computer-music composition, supplemented by a wide range of specialist software and recording equipment to help you with your studies.
At the heart of our School is the Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall, a beautiful performance space that hosts a large and varied programme of concerts in term time. As a student in the School, you can attend events in the International Concert Series programme free of charge. The spacious Clothworkers Foyer is the School’s social hub, and doubles as a venue for popular music and informal performances, including the LUUMS ‘Friday Feature’ series.
We were the first Russell Group university to have All-Steinway status. Over £700,000 was invested in the pianos – a combination of uprights, baby grands and concert grands – and all 29 pianos in the School are Steinways. Our instrument collection also includes a specially commissioned gamelan, historic and modern keyboard instruments and a large selection of orchestral and world percussion.
University of Leeds