MA Sound and Music Performance

Program Overview

You can apply for this course as an MFA or MA. The MFA takes one extra year and you can apply by choosing the MFA option when you click 'apply'.

The MA / MFA Sound and Music suite will provide a significant opportunity to extend your skill base through applied practice and research in professional contexts. You will develop projects in your area of specialism (e.g. performance, production, sound and music for media, games or theatre), and capitalise on our expertise in interdisciplinary working to develop collaborative projects alongside other practitioners and researchers studying acting, drama, performing arts, dance, multi-media, film, animation and architecture, modelling professional practice and modes of collaboration by operating as creative and collaborative innovators.

Programme-specific skills and professional contexts will include: Sound and Music Performance, Sound and Music Design and Production, Sound and Music for Games, Sound and Music for Theatre, Sound and Music for Games. Students will be able to choose a programme title, relative to the specialism of their Final Project, Research Praxis and Meta-Praxis modules:

Program Outline

You will develop advanced skills in sound design and production, music performance, composition and production, placing emphasis on the particular context of your work (e.g. media, games, theatre).

You will develop skills in working with technology as a collaborator, innovating process and practices to support you creative project work.

A key feature of the course is our expertise in Interdisciplinary learning, through which we will support you to make interdisciplinary intersections - connections between disciplines to establish modes and models of collaborative creative practice derived from industry, as well as innovating through experimentation to develop hybrid approaches.

You will be guided in the design and implementation of creative projects, involving modules for the arts, design thinking, and innovation practice. This will form the foundation for your practice-led final project, together with the deepening of the scope and effectiveness of your research skills, leading to the completion of the MA course.

A further year of practice-led research embedded in a professional context relative to your specialism, will culminate in a significant body of applied reflective praxis (Meta-Praxis) and research (Research Praxis), in which original ideas and concepts have derived and cultivated, capturing both planned and emergent methodologies and impact.

This course suite will develop knowledge, cognitive and practical skills and experience for the emerging marketplace and employment context.

You will develop core technical and creative skills relevant to several industrial and professional contexts and select an appropriate programme title that captures the nature of professional practice within their chosen industrial domain.

Core skills will be developed through collaboration and in-context application across all programme pathways, and industry specific skills will be developed and applied within the industrial context of the student’s workplace, placement context, or chosen community / professional setting.

The main focus of the course is on designing and leading creative and collaborative projects that are designed and implemented by students, supported by teaching staff and industry mentors, to create impact for students and the publics, communities and collaborators with which they are working.

Study will be practice-led, with a focus on developing a range of research skills and models for creative practice, applied in diverse professional contexts. You will also develop context awareness and responsiveness, examining the influence and impact of your work for and upon the many contextual layers interconnected with it, including but not limited to the social, cultural, historical, economic, technological, environmental, and ethical.

Assessment Tasks and Portfolios

Assessment frequently includes the creation of portfolios, comprising production reports, written reports, extended essays, and live practical assessments relevant to disciplinary and interdisciplinary practice.

Portfolio content will depend on the module assessment task in which the portfolio features, consisting of a wide variety of mediums from digital content, such as video and audio recordings, or digital images, which capture the production and performance/ media of practical work and technical outcomes. Portfolios will be digital documents presented online using web publishing tools.

Details of the requirements and content for portfolios and assessment tasks will be provided in module guides for each module. To allow for diversity and inclusivity across course clusters, it will be appropriate, based on relevant course subject, to further stipulate the form of assessment required i.e. artefacts and performance/ media pieces captured as evidence digitally and or non-digital formats (e.g. published printed book), which may subsequently be documented digitally (i.e. coursework portfolio).

Portfolios will take the form  of digital and physical documents presented online using web publishing tools and or physical portfolios that have been printed and curated into a portable portfolio.

From this practice, students demonstrate and reflect upon the process of creating and preparing a final professional body of work for professional display, further development in production and or industry.

You will be assessed through the development and delivery of live projects, applied in professional contexts appropriate to your area of specialism.

Project development, outcomes, and impact will be captured and disseminated and assessed by:

All assessment is a combination of

Ongoing formative feedback will provide you with continuous support and opportunities for development and growth. For formal assessment, we aim to provide feedback in 20 working days.