Music - 2013 entry

Please note that, as courses are reviewed regularly, the module list you choose from may vary from that shown here.

Year 1

The first year of the Oxford Brookes music degree sets out to mediate between students' very diverse experiences of music before coming to university and what will follow in Years 2 and 3 of the course. It divides into several modules, including:

• Listening to Music History
• Introduction to Contemporary Composition
• Notation and Harmony
• Film and Popular Music
• University Music Performance

Years 2 and 3

In the second and third year of the course students can design an individual programme which plays to their strength. The modules to choose from are as follows:

• Composition
• Electroacoustic Composition and Sonic Art
• eMusic
• History, Music and Ideas
• Contemporary Musical Culture
• Ensemble Performance
• Music and Theatre Practice
• Opera and Politics
• Words and Music
• Independent Study
• Professional Practice (honours module)
• Music Analysis: Case Studies, Concepts, Critique (honours module)
• Special Study in Musicology (honours module)
• Music Dissertation (honours module)
• Composition Portfolio (honours module)

Work placements form an integral part of the music degree at Oxford Brookes. They are built into the third-year honours module Professional Practice, which aims help students decide where their strengths are and which of the many career options is most suitable for them. It helps them to put their acquired skills and knowledge into practice and to forge useful links with future employers. In the past several students have gone straight from a work placement into a permanent job in arts administration or music journalism.

The module Opera and Politics includes one trip to an operatic performance, normally at the English National Opera, to see a cutting-edge production. Music students are also welcome to join the Fine Arts trip to New York.

Every year a number of Oxford Brookes Music students spend either one or two semesters at a university in another country. Recently, Music students have studied in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Iceland. If you are interested in studying in a different country, our wide-ranging international contacts will help you to find a suitable place to study.

More information about exchanges, European work placements and other study abroad programmes, is available here.

The Music Department covers a wide range of historical, contemporary and creative research areas. Our special fields of interest are in opera, popular music and sonic art, each of which is supported by a dedicated research unit:

• SARU: Sonic Art Research Unit
• PRMU: Popular Music Research Unit
• OBERTO: Oxford Brookes - Exploring Research Trends in Opera

We regularly host study days, conferences and workshops and are active in the Royal Musical Association and other research networks and societies. Our research students, who are studying for an MA or PhD, are fully integrated into the research culture of the department. If you are interested in the research of individual members of staff, e.g. their forthcoming book or recent conference appearance, you can visit our staff websites.

We have a varied portfolio of performance opportunities at Oxford Brookes and in any given year the amount of music-making is truly impressive; just one semester can include everything from a motet by Thomas Tallis to the musical Hair to Poulenc's Gloria, or from a barbershop quartet to a rock band. In 2010/11 alone there were 49 concerts and gigs.

The department puts on a choral concert every semester, giving new students the chance to meet and perform with each other, as well as performing with second- and third-year students. We also put on a 'Big Night Out' at which student bands can display their talent. They also frequently perform on campus (eg the 'Music at Morals' series) or across Oxford.

Further opportunities are provided by several music societies including a Jazz Band and the musical theatre societies Fortune Players and Fortune Cookies. There is an auditioning chamber choir with an ambitious repertoire. Smaller-scale, medium-sized groups appear from time to time depending on student interest, including in the past a gospel choir and a wind band. Students are of course also encouraged to form their own ensembles or groups to enhance their musical experience at Oxford Brookes.

Lunchtime concerts are held weekly, providing a forum for soloists, small groups and bands. We’ve also extended the number of venues we occupy, including in recent years taking some of the music-making to our Harcourt Hill Campus with its pretty New England-style chapel. New music has been put on in the drama studio; bands have played at the Students’ Union bars, Headington Hill Hall and the O2 Academy. Concerts of chamber music and classical solo recitals are held at the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building and the Holywell Music Room, the oldest concert venue in England. From 2013 onwards, we will be able to make use of the new spaces on the Gipsy Lane site, especially the gallery and the new multi-purpose hall.

All of these activities are open to music students, but also to students from other subjects. For the music students, we have converted much of this activity into various forms of academic credit: participation in the large-scale ensembles informs the first-year Performance module; small-scale groups (chamber ensembles, vocal groups, rock bands) can take the advanced module Ensemble Performance after the first year; while students can opt to present a solo performance under the auspices of Professional Practice or Independent Study in their final year.

Free language courses are available to all full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students who are studying any course on our Headington (including Marston Road), Harcourt Hill or Wheatley Campuses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

A-level: Grade C in Music

• We will consider Music Technology in the absence of A-level Music.
• We consider Grade 8 practical and Grade 7 theory to be equivalent of A-level Music.
• Portfolio entry is also available for single and combined honours.

Please also see the university's general entry requirements.

Applicants for both single and combined honours Music will normally be invited to attend an interview. In the interview, you will be required to perform a short piece of your choice, to present a piece of written work (and, if you want to, a composition) and to do a short aural test. Candidates who do not have Grade 5 Theory will also be asked to sit a short written test. The most important part of the interview is the oppportunity to talk about your musical experiences, your expecations from the course and your plans for the future.

Please see the university's standard English language requirements.

English language requirements for visas

If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Border Agency's minimum language requirements as well as the university's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.

You apply for this course through UCAS or directly to the university. See details below.

 Full-time students should apply through UCAS. Part-time students should apply directly to the university.

International students who are unable to attend an interview will need to submit a piece of written work, preferably in English, and either a portfolio of compositions or a recording of a recent performance. This will be requested by the Admissions Team once the application has been received.

When you accept our offer you agree to the conditions of acceptance. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.

Oxford Brookes operates the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). All undergraduate single modules are equivalent to 7.5 ECTS credits and double modules to 15 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.

The Music department is situated in the Richard Hamilton Building, which includes two lecture theatres, seven practice rooms including a band room, studios and a music technology room. Several practice and seminar rooms are equipped with grand pianos, there are organs on the Wheatley and Harcourt Hill sites, and the department owns a range of percussion instruments.

The Music Technology room offers access to a range of specialist sound softwares, eg Sibelius, Cubase, Adobe Audition and Composers Desktop Project. Email and university-networked facilities are also available, and the Richard Hamilton Building is equipped with wireless internet access. The music studios consist of two large single user electroacoustic studios with excellent monitoring speakers.

The university library, located across the road at Gipsy Lane, is well stocked with books, journals, scores, CDs,  DVDs, videos and CD-ROMs. The library also offers access to a wide range of e-books, electronic journals and databases which are indispensable for advanced study. Library provision is carefully designed and regularly updated around the needs of particular modules. Students are trained to use the library's resources from their first semester on and, to a more sophisticated level, for the final-year dissertation. Our dedicated subject librarian is always happy to help with student questions. All Oxford Brookes students undertaking research may also apply to join the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library.

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