Undergraduate Course
Music BA (Hons)
Studying music at York St John University, you will join a vibrant and welcoming musical community, where the emphasis is on practical engagement in music making.
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This course prepares you for professional music making: performing, composing, and facilitating. Through collaborating with your peers, staff members, and other creative practitioners, you will develop into the artist you want to be.
92% Music and Theatre students responded with a 92% positivity score for how often teaching staff make the subject engaging. (National Student Survey 2025)
64% of our Performance research has been rated as “world leading” or “internationally excellent”. (Research Excellence Framework, 2021)
York campus
- UCAS code – W300
- Duration – 3 years full time, 6 years part time
- Start date – September 2026, September 2027
- School – School of the Arts
Minimum entry requirements
104 UCAS Tariff points
3 GCSEs at grade C/4 (or equivalent) including English Language.
Tuition fees
UK 2026 entry £9,790 per year full time
International 2026 entry £12,100 per year full time
Discover Music
Dr Murphy McCaleb, Course Lead for Music, introduces us to Music at York St John University.
Course overview
When you join our music course, you choose to embrace the challenges of modern employment in music. In order to be prepared for whatever opportunities come your way, you will explore different ways of creating music, different instruments, different genres, different contexts of music making, and different ways of thinking about music. This course helps you explore how you can most effectively react to a rapidly-changing creative world.
You will take a practical approach to your learning, as we believe you learn best by doing. Receive one-on-one teaching in your specialist instrument, individual support in devising large-scale projects, and learn from your peers and external professionals through workshops. You will perform regularly in different venues across the city, from local pubs and independent venues, to York Minster and beyond.
Alongside your practical learning, you will also explore the theory of music - not just notes and chords, but also the many ways that music intersects with other fields such as psychology, philosophy, and cultural studies. Working alongside your classmates, postgraduate students, and your lecturers, you will develop skills in researching and critiquing ideas.
The course will introduce you to key areas of modern musical study, including topics such as:
- Music’s impact on society
- Advanced and experimental techniques of making music
- Techniques for leading ensembles
- Ethical dilemmas around music and justice
- Collaborating with creative practitioners across the arts
- How to best market yourself as a professional musician
Our enthusiastic and supportive team of experienced music tutors include performers, composers, teachers and community musicians. Their musical interests include everything from jazz and metal to choral music and brass bands. A large group of instrumental and vocal teachers who cover all instruments and musical styles will also support you through your studies.
Course structure
Year 1
Our academic year is split into 2 semesters. How many modules you take each semester will depend on whether you are studying full time or part time.
In your first year, if you are a full time student, you will study:
- 5 compulsory modules across semesters 1 and 2
If you are a part time student, the modules above will be split over 2 years.
You can find out which modules are available in each semester on the Course Specifications.
Modules
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
On this foundational module you will develop the fundamental skills for your future development as a composer and creative practitioner. Over the course of this module you will develop your:
- Understanding of core practical, technical and theoretical concepts of music composition
- Skills in analytical listening and notation
- Confidence and skills in composition, arrangement and production
- Collaborative skills
- Fluency in the creative application of music sequencing, notation and audio software.
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
Ensemble performance is an essential skill for musicians in all genres. On this module you will make music with fellow students across the entire music degree and develop your understanding of the key skills and approaches required for ensemble performance. Ensembles vary year-upon-year based on students' interests and specialisms. In recent years, ensembles have included:
- Soul band
- Percussion ensemble
- Free improvisation ensemble
- Ska band
- Videogame ensemble
- Chamber choir
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
On this module you will develop your vocal technique, both spoken and sung. The module consists practical workshops alongside seminars where you will explore the culture and context of vocal styles. You will work towards a day of vocal performance where you collaboratively devise and deliver both cover and original content with your fellow students. Across this module you will explore and practice topics such as:
- Breath and voice production techniques
- The spoken voice
- Production
- Song writing
- Vocal ensemble performance
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
This module is your introduction to all the different ways that music is academically researched. Through a series of short projects, you will:
- Develop your technical and theoretical understanding of music
- Develop a vocabulary with which to discuss music
- Explore a range of approaches to analysing music
- Delve into a wide range of musical styles and genres
- Build good practice in research: gathering information, developing ideas and presenting work
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
On this module we will support you to develop a healthy, holistic, self-aware musical practice. Through group work and individual lessons with professional specialist teachers, you will develop techniques of effective professional habits that allow you to learn in a way best-suited to your individual needs. Topics that may be covered in this module include:
- Performance anxiety
- Breathwork
- Body work – as an individual and as a group/with others
- Somatic practice and self-holding
- Learning styles and embodied ways of knowing
- Healthy practice strategies
- Effective time management and balance of activities
- Maintaining physical health: eating, sleeping, exercising
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
On this module you will explore the world of drums and percussion through a mix of styles and genres. You will listen to music, compare different styles, devise your own work and develop your rhythmic abilities. You will also learn basic skills of workshop leadership and facilitation. This module will see you explore and practise:
- West African djembe drumming
- Brazilian samba
- Javanese gamelan
- Japanese Taiko drumming
- Western contemporary percussion
Year 2
In your second year, if you are a full time student, you will study:
- 4 compulsory modules across semesters 1 and 2
- 2 optional modules across semesters 1 and 2
If you are a part time student, the modules above will be split over 2 years.
You can find out which modules are available in each semester on the Course Specifications.
Modules
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
This module focusses on musical improvisation and experimentation. You will be encouraged to take risks, stretch your abilities and develop your cultural understanding of improvisational techniques. Through improvisational and experimental methods, you will create compositions and performances which challenge you to explore music in a new light.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This specialist composition module builds on the musical and technical skills you will have gained in your first year. You will be introduced to a wide range of compositional strategies to extend and develop your work. On this module you will also get the opportunity to write for visiting professional performers through placements and workshops.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module you will delve into the vibrant, exciting field of community music in in educational contexts. You will take part in work-based learning in a community music setting with one of our local placement partners. Through this, you will learn strategies for encouraging inclusive environments for making music.
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
What is the relationship between a performer and the context they play in? How does your performance change depending on your audience and the setting? On this module you will consider how your practice will be impacted by audience, performance location, and repertoire. You will refine your instrumental technique, practice strategies and general performance skills. Through group work and one-to-one private lessons with professional vocalists and instrumentalists, we will support you to develop:
- An in-depth understanding of repertoire and programming
- Stage presence and public speaking
- Awareness of audience needs and expectations
- Contextually-appropriate interactions with audiences
- Awareness of the impact of physical space and context
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
This module builds on the teamwork and facilitation skills you developed in the first year of your degree. You will explore the wide range of strategies used within ensemble rehearsal and preparation, adapting your practice to suit the ensemble's needs and context.
Alongside ensemble rehearsal and performance, you will take part in sessions on project management in the arts. These range from small-scale management of individual rehearsals to large-scale management of complex performance such as musical theatre productions. This module focus will provide the context for your placements at university showcase events.
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
On this module you will hone your ability to research, explore, and present complex ideas related to music. The module comprises several projects that cover a wide range of research methods for small-scale research projects. Through these methods, you may explore musicological topics including:
- Film music analysis
- Music psychology
- Community music
- Performance analysis
- Symbolism in music
- Music therapy
- Music and politics
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module you will learn to design, deliver, and critically reflect on community music workshops specifically focused on wellbeing and social justice. Key topics you will explore on this module include:
- Singing and wellbeing
- Therapeutic music making (with a focus on practices that support positive mental/physical health and wellbeing)
- Trauma-informed practices
- Music and peacebuilding
- Music in post-war and conflict zones
- Music making with refuges and asylum seekers
- Music and disability
- Health musicking and boundaries of practice
Credits: 20
Optional module
This specialist composition module will develop your knowledge of songwriting and writing for the voice. You will conduct in-depth practice research into meaningful songwriting compositional topics. You will take part in a series of research projects with a key songwriting focus and get the opportunity to write for visiting professional performers. Alongside traditional songwriting and vocal techniques, you will explore:
- Music technologies
- Multimedia music applications (including musical theatre, opera, voice-over, game music design)
- Songwriting for educational/community contexts, non-traditional settings, and in local, national and global contexts.
Year 3
In your third year, if you are a full time student, you will study:
- 4 compulsory modules across semesters 1 and 2, including a Dissertation module
- 1 optional module worth 30 credits, or 2 optional modules worth 15 credits, across semesters 1 and 2
If you are a part time student, the modules above will be split over 2 years.
You can find out which modules are available in each semester on the Course Specifications.
Modules
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
On this module you will develop and refine your academic research skills and your critical understanding of scholarly discourse and how it relates to your own musical practice and society more broadly. The specific content of your research will be determined in consultation between you and your tutors. You will have the option of presenting your musical research in either a 4000 word essay or a 20-minute presentation.
Credits: 40
Compulsory module
This module embodies the culmination of your evolution as a musical professional at York St John University. It is an opportunity to showcase your significant skills in creativity, project management, and research.
You will engage in a large-scale creative project, collaborating with artists across a variety of disciplines. You might choose to work with a student from another course or discipline, (including Musical Theatre, Acting, Dance, Film, Creative Writing, Fine Art or Music Production), or with other musicians. You will be given freedom to devise and realise a significant collaborative artistic project which reflects your research interests and practical strengths.
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
On this module you will take a leading role in developing substantial performances at a professional standard. You will be assessed on a 10-minute performance of contemporary music practice and a 30-minute performance. Through support from academic staff and individual private lessons, you will decide the shape and content of your performance and you have the option of working as a soloist or within one or more ensembles.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module you will refine your ability to design and facilitate community music sessions, gaining in confidence as a professional musician. You will will take part in research and project development that focus your interests community music work in specific contexts, such as:
- Informal/nonformal learning and negotiated curriculum
- Intergenerational and lifelong learning
- Activism and social justice
- Health, wholeness, and wellbeing
- Collaboration and diverse perspectives
- Inclusion and empathetic processes
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module you will further develop your compositional skills through a series of explorative and analytical research projects. You will develop an advanced understanding of compositional techniques and strategies and will apply this to your own composition practice. Through this, you will refine your artistic voice as a professional composer. Your assessments mirror your personal aspirations, as your final portfolio could include large and small projects. You are supported in developing your professional relationships with other practitioners in the arts, collaborating on the creation of exciting new work.
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
This module supports you to consolidate all of the work-based learning you have taken part in through your degree. You will learn to identify and analyse professional opportunities and develop strategies for successfully taking advantage of them. In order to confidently propel you into professional music-making, you will:
- Reflect on your skills, qualities and experiences across the course
- Develop strategies for presenting yourself and your work effectively in professional contexts
- Strategize on current and new opportunities to continue your professional development beyond the course
- Network with fellow musicians and creatives
- Take part in mock interviews or business pitches
- Present your professional portfolio
Teaching and assessment
Teaching and learning
We keep our group sizes small so we can get to know your creative personality and support your aspirations. We deliver your modules through:
- Practical workshops
- Seminars
- Tutorials
- Rehearsals and concerts
- Individual instrumental or vocal lessons
- Lectures.
Each module has 2 to 4 hours of contact time a week. We schedule our taught sessions between 9:00am and 8:00pm, Monday to Friday. Beyond your contact time, there may be concerts, rehearsals and tutorials to attend.
You will need to conduct independent study outside of this time. This might include individual practice, listening to music, reading, researching and completing assignments. You can also arrange academic tutorials with your module tutors throughout the year to receive feedback on your work and discuss the course content.
Assessment
There are no exams on this course. Assessment types are based on practical coursework and vary from module to module. Some of your assessments might include:
- Performances
- Presentations
- Recordings
- Online portfolios
- Compositions
- Essays and supporting evidence.
For each assessment you will have the chance to talk to a tutor about your work before submission. Each assessment will be marked and returned with feedback so you can improve your work.
Career outcomes
Your future with a degree in Music
On this course you will gain the technical and creative skills you need for a career in music. You will also build skills in communication, planning and teamwork that can lead to a range of other creative roles.
This degree could be the first step toward your career as a:
- Music performer
- Touring musician
- Music educator or facilitator
- Community musician
- Musical director or conductor
- Composer
- Music therapist
- Radio producer
- Digital sound artist
Discover more career options on Prospects careers advice pages.
You could also progress onto a postgraduate degree and take your learning even further.
Postgraduate degrees at York St John University
PGCE at York St John University
Further your education and work towards a rewarding career in teaching by studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) after you graduate. For over 180 years, we have worked with enthusiastic individuals who want to shape the future of young people across both primary and secondary school settings. You'll spend a lot of time in schools, developing your practice by teaching. You will graduate with Qualified Teacher Status and become part of the well respected alumni of York St John educators.
Alumni stories
Visit our YSJ Snapshots blog to see what our past students from across the University have done with their York St John degrees.
Whatever your ambitions, we can help you get there.
Our careers support service, Future You, can provide career support tailored to your ambitions. Through this service you can access:
- Personalised career advice
- LinkedIn, CV and cover letter sessions
- Workshops on application writing and interview skills
- Work experience and volunteering opportunities
- Employer events
- Advice about internships, global opportunities and finding part time work while you study
This support doesn't end when you graduate. You can access our expert career advice for the rest of your life. We will help you gain experience and confidence to succeed.
Entry requirements
Qualifications
Minimum entry requirements
104 UCAS Tariff points
3 GCSEs at grade C/4 (or equivalent) including English Language.
Calculate your UCAS Tariff points
T Levels
All of our undergraduate offers are made using the UCAS tariff system. We accept T Level qualifications, and you can work out how many points they are worth using the UCAS calculator above.
International students
If you are an international student you will need to show that your qualifications match our entry requirements.
Information about international qualifications and entry requirements can be found on our International pages.
If English is not your first language you will need to show that you have English Language competence at IELTS level 6.0 (with no skill below 5.5) or equivalent.
Mature Learners Entry Scheme
If you have been out of education for 3 years or more and have a grade C GCSE in English Language or equivalent, you are eligible for our entry scheme for mature learners. It's a scheme that recognises non-traditional entry qualifications and experience for entry onto this course. Information on how to apply can be found on our dedicated page.
Terms and conditions
Our terms and conditions, policies and procedures contain important information about studying at York St John University. You can read them on our Admissions page.
Fees and funding
To study for an undergraduate degree with us, you will need to pay tuition fees for your course. How much you pay depends on whether you live inside the UK, or internationally (outside the UK).
Tuition fees are reviewed annually and may be increased in line with inflation, prior to the start of each academic year, and subject to the fee cap set by the UK government. Such increases to fees will be at the Retail Price Index (RPI) forecast rate, as advised by the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Office for Students. The only exception to this would be where government legislation deems otherwise.
If a rise in the tuition fee becomes necessary, we will endeavour to inform you as soon as possible and we will explain the reason(s) for the increase. Any tuition fee increase will only be applied from the start of the next academic year and will not be applied 'in year'.
UK 2026 entry
Subject to government approval, tuition fees for 2026 will be:
- £9,790 per year for full time study
- £4,895 per year for part time study
These prices apply to all UK, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man students
You can find out more about funding your degree by visiting our funding opportunities page:
Placement year funding
If you choose to take a placement year, and your course offers it, you can apply for the Tuition Fee and Maintenance Loan for your placement year. How much you are awarded is based on the type of placement being undertaken and whether it is a paid or unpaid placement. The tuition fee for your placement year will be reduced.
Tuition fees
UK 2026 entry £9,790 per year full time
International 2026 entry £12,100 per year full time
International 2026 entry
The tuition fee for 2026 entry to this course is £12,100 per year for full time study.
This price applies to all students living outside the UK.
Due to immigration laws, if you are an international student on a Student Visa, you must study full time. For more information about visa requirements and short-term study visas, please visit the International Visa pages.
Find out more about funding your degree:
Additional costs and financial support
There may also be some additional costs to take into account throughout your studies, including the cost of accommodation.
Course-related costs
While studying for your degree, there may be additional costs related to your course. This may include purchasing personal equipment and stationery, books and optional field trips.
Study Abroad
For more information on tuition fee reductions and additional costs for studying abroad, please visit our study abroad page.
Accommodation and living costs
For detailed information on accommodation and living costs, visit our Accommodation pages.
Financial help and support
Our Funding Advice team are here to help you with your finances throughout your degree. They offer a personal service that can help you with funding your studies and budgeting for living expenses.
For advice on everything from applying for scholarships to finding additional financial support email fundingadvice@yorksj.ac.uk.
Course highlights
Varied expertise
Your degree reflects your musical identity. Choose to cultivate a broad range of skills with Music BA (Hons), or alternatively, graduate with a more specialised degree in Community Music, Composition, or Performance.
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Perform in the city you love
Be a part of the music culture in York. Perform in venues across the city including York Minster, the National Centre for Early Music, The Crescent Club, York Theatre Royal, SPARK, and our state-of-the-art Creative Centre.
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Instruments to inspire
Access different musical instruments including a marimba, vibraphone, djembes, samba kit, balaikas, baritone sax, Javanese gamelan and many more.
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International Centre for Community Music
This course offers opportunities to work with the International Centre for Community Music (ICCM), which is based at York St John University.
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Festivals and events
Take part in exciting events. Recently we took part in the University Cathedrals Group choir festival in Chester, with students performing as part of a massed choir and singing a piece written by one of our staff members.
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Josh Music
The best thing about the music course at York St John is easily the community feeling. Everything about this course is built on the foundations of our music community and its willingness to collaborate on any project, big or small. The other best thing is the fact that the course doesn’t force you to stay in one genre or one role. It appreciates diverse musicians with a lot of skills and celebrates their students exploring new genres or ideas through getting involved in something they haven’t experienced before. We also have an module about preparing us for our future careers. Whether it be in a musical career or for some other profession.
Ewan Music
My own personal highlight was my final concert during my undergraduate degree, performing one of my own compositions. The opportunity to close my undergraduate degree with a performance of my own piece whilst performing with them is something I will never forget! Through the enterprise and employability module in my undergraduate degree I was able to gain experience in teaching music at secondary school, a career path I went on to explore before returning to York St John to undertake my Masters degree. The knowledge that the lecturers on the course provide is amazing, The support and guidance in the music department and university is one of the key factors in my choice to return to York St John University to study at postgraduate level.
Julie Music
I'm really enjoy the course here at York St John, as you can tailor it with your ensembles and by selecting modules to fit you. I love performing so undertook the module Solo Performance in my second and third year, and as a result I have even been asked to perform a solo in one of the university’s evening concerts. The best thing about York St John is its community spirit and small class sizes. Studying in York is a pleasant experience as the city has so many things on offer, whether it believe music or historical past there is always something for all. There is also very good support for the student community from the local people and businesses.
More to explore
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Join us in 2026
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Open Days
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