Music BMus (Hons) - 2025/6

Awarding body

University of Surrey

Teaching institute

University of Surrey

Framework

FHEQ Level 6

Final award and programme/pathway title

BMus (Hons) Music

Subsidiary award(s)

Award Title
Ord Music
DipHE Music
CertHE Music

Modes of study

Route code Credits and ECTS Credits
Full-time URB14001 360 credits and 180 ECTS credits
Full-time with PTY URB14008 480 credits and 240 ECTS credits

QAA Subject benchmark statement (if applicable)

Music

Other internal and / or external reference points

N/A

Faculty and Department / School

Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences - Music & Media

Programme Leader

WILEY Christopher (Music & Med)

Date of production/revision of spec

08/11/2024

Educational aims of the programme

  • To develop knowledge, awareness and understanding of a wide variety of musical repertories and associated cultures internationally
  • To foster the development of specialised knowledge and understanding of one or more of the subdisciplines of music
  • To equip the attributes for independent learning, including resourcefulness and resilience, as well as digital capabilities
  • To develop the musical and collaborative skills necessary for effective participation in team projects
  • To develop the musical and transferable skills necessary for successful employment in arts administration and management (4 year programme only)

Programme learning outcomes

Attributes Developed Awards Ref.
Demonstrate a broad-based knowledge of one or more of the subdisciplines of music, developing specialisms as appropriate K CertHE, DipHE
Show an understanding of the relationship between theory and practice in music as well as knowledge of a wide range of musical repertories internationally K CertHE, DipHE
Demonstrate the ability to interrogate or create musical texts (written and audio) and present results in a coherent form K CertHE, DipHE
Demonstrate a broad contextual and cultural knowledge relevant to the subdiscipline(s) studied K DipHE
Gather, synthesise and evaluate a wide range of evidence C CertHE, DipHE
Examine assumptions critically in the light of evidence C CertHE, DipHE
Plan, implement, evaluate and reflect critically on work in progress (e.g. essay, performance, composition), developing digital artefacts C DipHE
Synthesise inputs (materials, knowledge, instinct, tradition) in order to generate informed and personally owned outputs in written, aural or practical output C DipHE
Exercise judgement to make informed choices when evaluating different forms of evidence C CertHE, DipHE
Develop physical dexterity and control (technical mastery of the instrument/voice) P CertHE, DipHE
Develop presentational skills (e.g. audience awareness and acknowledgement) P CertHE, DipHE
Gather and assimilate information and synthesise and organise relevant outputs (e.g. written, performed, notated) T CertHE, DipHE
Develop ideas and construct arguments, and evaluate such ideas and arguments critically T DipHE
Work in combination with others on musical projects, developing attributes to enhance employability e.g. teamwork, negotiation, sustainability, organisation, decision-making T CertHE, DipHE
Work independently, and show self-motivation, critical self-awareness, resourcefulness and resilience T DipHE

Attributes Developed

C - Cognitive/analytical

K - Subject knowledge

T - Transferable skills

P - Professional/Practical skills

Programme structure

Full-time

This Bachelor's Degree (Honours) programme is studied full-time over three academic years, consisting of 360 credits (120 credits at FHEQ levels 4, 5 and 6). All modules are semester based and worth 15 credits with the exception of project, practice based and dissertation modules.
Possible exit awards include:
- Bachelor's Degree (Ordinary) (300 credits)
- Diploma of Higher Education (240 credits)
- Certificate of Higher Education (120 credits)

Full-time with PTY

This Bachelor's Degree (Honours) programme is studied full-time over four academic years, consisting of 480 credits (120 credits at FHEQ levels 4, 5, 6 and the optional professional training year). All modules are semester based and worth 15 credits with the exception of project, practice based and dissertation modules.
Possible exit awards include:
- Bachelor's Degree (Ordinary) (300 credits)
- Diploma of Higher Education (240 credits)
- Certificate of Higher Education (120 credits)

Programme Adjustments (if applicable)

N/A

Modules

Year 1 - FHEQ Level 4

Module Selection for Year 1 - FHEQ Level 4

Students must choose two optional modules in Semester 2, which include an optional foundational module in music technology and production supplying tuition in areas in which some students may be unfamiliar but which they may need to succeed in composition modules in later years.

Year 3 - FHEQ Level 6

Module Selection for Year 3 - FHEQ Level 6

Students must choose three optional modules from semester 1 and one module from semester 2 OR two optional modules from semester 1 and two from semester 2

Year 2 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 5

Module Selection for Year 2 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 5

Students must choose two optional modules in Semester 1 and two optional modules in Semester 2.

Professional Training Year (PTY) -

Module Selection for Professional Training Year (PTY) -

Students must choose one of the two modules.

Opportunities for placements / work related learning / collaborative activity

Associate Tutor(s) / Guest Speakers / Visiting Academics Y
Professional Training Year (PTY) Y
Placement(s) (study or work that are not part of PTY) N
Clinical Placement(s) (that are not part of the PTY scheme) N
Study exchange (Level 5) N
Dual degree N

Other information

The Department of Music and Media is committed to developing graduates with attributes encompassing employability, digital skills, global and culture awareness, sustainability as it relates to music and the wider arts and, finally, resourcefulness and resilience.

Cultural and global capabilities are embedded throughout the programme, which addresses the cultural phenomenon of music in its many manifestations internationally in many countries across the world. Students develop an appreciation of different artistic cultures and traditions internationally, encompassing a range of practices as performer, creator, consumer and/or researcher of music as a cultural and global phenomenon. Examples include the Topic Study and Music Project modules, which typically rotate each year so as to ensure wide international coverage of musical cultures; as well as compulsory modules such as Encountering Music History, Nineteenth-Century Music and Modernism and Postmodernism, and the Performance modules. Students conduct an in-depth investigation of an area of music of their own choice in the final-year Individual Project module, producing original research which may be dissertation-, performance- or composition-based.

Digital capabilities are developed throughout the programme including the use of digital resources (text, score-based and audio) to conduct research, the preparation of digital documents (e.g. word processing, spreadsheets, images and charts), and the use specialist music software (e.g. notation software; applications used in the creation of music) to create digital artefacts. These are embedded in a wide range of different ways, not least through the institutional virtual learning environment which is used in all modules, but may be clearly evidenced by the Composition modules and Fundamentals of Music Technology and Production, which require facility in specialist music software and equipment, and involve outputs such as digital recordings and computer-produced notated scores.

Resourcefulness and resilience are developed throughout the programme in students who undertake a wide range of pursuits and different assessment types, cultivating independence of practice, skills and work for assessment, maximising available resources, managing multiple deadlines and competing activities, finding creative ways to address assessments and exercising resilience in doing so, overcoming difficulties and other challenges. While these attributes are fostered in all modules, many of which for instance offer a range of different assessment possibilities (e.g. essay, performance, composition, oral presentation, concert management etc.), they are particularly evident in the Music Project modules, the culminating point of which is a student-led event or series of events (e.g. concert, conference etc.).

Employability is embedded in many modules, developing a general awareness of music, culture and society that prepares students for many careers in the diverse arts industries, as well as transferrable skills appropriate to all graduate destinations. An optional Professional Training placement in the four-year pathway of this programme gives students the opportunity to undertake an in-depth placement in the cultural industries, for which they are prepared by the Arts Policy and Practice module, and on which they reflect in the Professional Investigation module, producing a sustained written report researched across the entirety of their final year. Core knowledge and understanding of music history and theory is delivered in the Harmony modules, and in Encountering Music History. Guest practitioners from industry (e.g. performers, composers, teachers, practitioners in specialist professions) are included in the teaching of many modules to offer perspectives on different aspects of the arts professions.

Sustainability may also be addressed in various modules depending on the precise nature of the topics studied and the students¿ pursuit of independent study for assessment. This may be particularly true for modules that consider aspects of contemporary and popular culture, such as many of the Topic Study modules; those that consider the contemporary creative and cultural industries, such as Arts Policy and Practice and Professional Investigation; and the Music Project modules. These values are embedded within the programme's learning outcomes and educational aims, and throughout its constituent modules.

Quality assurance

The Regulations and Codes of Practice for taught programmes can be found at:

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/quality-enhancement-standards

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.