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Popular Music (Joint Honours) BA/BSc (Hons)

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Key Facts

  • UCAS Code:

    093W

  • Level:

    Undergraduate

  • Duration:

    3 years full time
    4-6 years part time

  • Starting:

    September

  • Fees UK:

    Full Time: £9,250
    Part Time: £1,465 per 20 credit module

  • Fees International:

    Full Time: £13,000

Get in touch

For questions regarding study and admissions please contact us:

UK/EU Students enquiries

study@northampton.ac.uk
0300 303 2772

International Students enquiries

international@northampton.ac.uk
+44 (0)1604 894503

Overview

The Popular Music (Joint Honours) BA/BSc (Hons) is intended to prepare you for a growing, and ever-evolving industry which contributed £4.5 billion to the economy in 2018. The course is specifically designed to ready you for a range of potential avenues of music creation, for example working as a freelance musician, working in the video game industry or in the world of live music, or working as an educator.

We aim to provide you with the broad range of transferable skills required to be a self-producing Artist. You will develop a breadth of musical skills and skills within the digital domain, the studio environment, and – perhaps most importantly – academically.

We will support you to achieve your career and study ambitions, which is why if you complete our Employability Plus Gold programme or Changemaker Gold certificate alongside your studies and if you haven’t secured full-time employment 12 months after graduating* we will secure a three – six month paid internship for you, or support you into postgraduate study.

*with a 2:2 degree classification or higher

Updated 08/09/2021

Highlights

  • Accredited by Joint Audio Media Education Support (JAMES)
  • Flexible study, combine with another discipline to create your own degree
  • Supportive and dedicated teaching staff with industry experience.
  • Guaranteed paid internship with the Northampton Employment Promise.

Course Content

  • Popular Music Joint Honours at the University of Northampton is split into three stages. In the first stage you’ll develop proficiencies across all three domains of the music: production, performance and critical analysis.

    In the second and third stages you’ll have the opportunity to specialise; choosing from a range of areas, including music production, composition, performance and sound for media and gaming industry, sound design, and music education.

    Partnerships and Accreditation

    This programme is accredited by Joint Audio Media Education Support (JAMES)

    Our modules are informed by staff actively researching, composing, performing and publishing in their specialist areas within the music industry. These modules introduce you to music principles and techniques which will help you develop the necessary analytical and creative skills, to aid you when evaluating and implementing real-life practise.

    Music’s role in culture is critically and philosophically examined throughout this course. Using musical examples, you will learn to engage with esoteric and difficult concepts around inter alia genre, gender, race, politics, capitalism, culture, power, evolution, and science.

    The first year focuses on fundamental principles across our three areas of music production, performance and academic study, critical listening skills, and reasoning, writing and debating. In the second and third year you are able to specialise and focus on areas that you are particularly interested in.

    Methods of Learning

    You will be taught through lectures, seminars, workshops and practice sessions.

    Assessments

    Assessment includes practical project work, seminar presentations and essays, as well as examinations. Final year performance assessments take place in a public venue in Northampton in front of a live audience.

  • Our Popular Music Joint Honours has some great combinations so you can tailor your degree to your ambitions. Here are the following course combinations available to you:

  • 21/22 Tuition Fees

    Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 21/22 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

    • UK – Full Time: £9,250
    • UK – Part Time: £1,465 per 20 credit module
    • International – Full Time: £13,000
    Additional Costs
    • 1TB portable hard drive (approximately £50)
    • a good pair of closed back headphones (approximately £60-100)
    • core texts for first year modules:Bennett et al. The Popular Music Studies Reader – £28.99
      John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction – £27.99
    • consumables for individual instruments (jack leads, capos, plectrums, drum skins, drum sticks, reeds, strings etc.)
    • USB Flash drives (data sticks) for submitting coursework (£10-20 for two)
    • £50 towards travel costs across three years
    2020/21 Tuition Fees

    Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 20/21 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

    • UK and EU – Full Time: £9,250
    • UK and EU – Part Time: £1,450 per 20 credit module
    • International – Full Time: £12,900
    Additional Costs
    • 1TB portable hard drive (approximately £50)
    • a good pair of closed back headphones (approximately £60-100)
    • core texts for first year modules:Bennett et al. The Popular Music Studies Reader – £28.99
    • John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction – £27.99
    • consumables for individual instruments (jack leads, capos, plectrums, drum skins, drum sticks, reeds, strings etc.)
    • USB Flash drives (data sticks) for submitting coursework (£10-20 for two)
    • £50 towards travel costs across three years

    For information on the scholarships available to you, please see our scholarships page.

  • Since 2013 we have invited creative industry guest speakers to share invaluable knowledge and insights with our students about the reality of working life after University. See below the 2016 Subject Futures Week video, which highlights just some of the creative industry guests who visited.

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