Program Overview

Music, Multimedia and Electronics BSc

The BSc Music, Multimedia and Electronics (MME) course is a unique program that offers specialisms in music, electrical engineering, and the intersection of these disciplines, with accreditation as an Incorporated Engineer (IEng). The course is delivered jointly by the School of Music and the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.

Course Overview

This course provides a balance of modules taken in each school across the degree. In Electronics, students develop and apply knowledge in areas such as circuit design, embedded systems, audio signal processing, and digital media. In Music, students explore key concepts, theories, and approaches in music technology, electronic and computer music, and various musical styles and genres in their social contexts. The program culminates in a Music, Multimedia and Electronics Project, combining learning from across the degree in a research-informed practical context.

Course Structure

The course is structured to give students a strong grounding in music, multimedia, and electronics, bringing these areas together in a final-year capstone project. The course includes compulsory and optional modules, with a focus on developing advanced musical, technical, engineering, and transferable skills.

Year 1

• Studio Recording (20 credits): Introduces students to the theory and practice of studio recording.
• Electronic Music (20 credits): Develops skills in electronic music, relating practical and theoretical approaches to key historical, technical, and social developments.
• Music and Society (20 credits): Supports the development of research and practice-research skills, exploring music in historical and contemporary contexts.
• Circuit Analysis and Design (20 credits): Introduces key electronic components, basic concepts of electronic circuit analysis and design, and principles of electronic circuit test and measurement.
• Digital Electronics & Microcontrollers (20 credits): Covers the fundamentals of digital electronics and embedded systems.
• Engineering Mathematics (10 credits): Develops knowledge and understanding of necessary key mathematical principles.
• Electronic Design Project (10 credits): Develops essential skills in interpreting circuit diagrams and building physical prototypes.

Year 2

• Computer Music (20 credits): Introduces and develops skills in computer music, adopting a critical, creative, and self-reflective approach.
• Applied Music Technology (20 credits): Explores applied music technology, contextualizing practice and situating it within broader approaches to music technology.
• Researching Music (20 credits): Develops musicological, practice-based, and empirical research techniques.
• Electronic Circuits and Systems Design (20 credits): Provides the necessary skills and knowledge to design and build electronic circuits and systems.
• Embedded Systems Project (20 credits): Gives students the opportunity to design a prototype product within a tightly constrained set of software tools and hardware components.
• Microprocessors and Programmable Logic (20 credits): Builds on digital electronics, teaching how to implement digital designs onto programmable hardware.

Year 3

• Music, Multimedia and Electronics Project (40 credits): Allows students to explore an area of music, multimedia, and electronics of their own choosing.
• Music Beyond Graduation (20 credits): Examines the application of expertise in music beyond studies, considering relevance to higher education and beyond.
• Audio Signal Processing (20 credits): Introduces principles of signals and signal analysis in the context of audio systems.
• Professional Studies (10 credits): Covers important aspects of working in industry and the role of the engineer in society.
• Digital Media Engineering (10 credits): Teaches principles of digital audio, images, and video, and digital content transmission systems.
• Optional modules in areas such as Contemporary Composition, Music Technology, or Musicology.

Learning and Teaching

Academics in both schools are experts in their fields, and their activities inform their teaching directly. The course uses a range of inclusive, active, and student-centered approaches to learning and teaching, including taught and self-directed sessions in laboratories, studios, and computer clusters, workshops, and practice-based sessions.

Assessment

The course uses a variety of assessment methods, including online and in-class assessments, written assignments, creative outputs and portfolios, presentations, and project work. Assessments are designed to be fair and inclusive, engaging students intellectually and helping prepare them for life beyond university.

Entry Requirements

• A-level: AAB including Mathematics.
• BTEC: DDD.
• Access to HE Diploma: 60 credits overall, with at least 45 credits at level 3.
• International Baccalaureate: 35 overall, including Mathematics at grade 6 or above.
• English language requirements: IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component.

Fees

• UK: Ł9,790.
• International: Ł30,500 (per year).

Career Opportunities

Graduates are equipped to work in a wide range of areas, including digital media, software programming, audio electronics and hardware design, studio engineering, music technology, electronic composing, hardware/software interfacing, broadcasting, teaching, and lecturing. The course also prepares students for postgraduate study in Music or a related discipline.

Study Abroad and Work Placements

Students have the opportunity to apply to transfer onto the BSc Music, Multimedia and Electronics (International) variant, extending their degree by a year and spending their third year studying at one of the university's partner institutions worldwide. There is also the option to extend the program by doing a work-placement year between the second and final years of study.

Related Courses

• Music BA
• Music and Music Technology BA
• Electronics and Computer Engineering BEng
• Electronic and Electrical Engineering MEng, BEng