Program Overview

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MA Sound (Composition and Sonic Art)

Overview

This composition and sonic art course provides a space to experiment with new ideas. We’ll support you to develop your creative practice through practical consideration of both your professional and academic skills.

What you'll learn

• Develop the range of skills you need for the work you want to make, working as part of a vibrant artistic community.
• Explore your potential and experiment – without stylistic boundaries – while we put your work and practice at the centre of everything we do.
• Build an up-to-date portfolio showcasing your skills, experience, and artistic works – and take this into the next phase of your career.

Course structure

Trimester one

• Focus on making new work, develop your skills and explore the contexts in which you work.
• In the first trimester, you begin two year-long modules, which focus on core technical skills and the mutually beneficial links between research and practice.
• These support the core module in which you produce a portfolio of creative work.

Trimester two

• In the second trimester you develop your practice further, aiming towards an external presentation of the work you make in our summer SparkFest, which takes place on campus, across the city, and online.
• You continue to develop your work, supported by the weekly seminars, responding to internal and external opportunities and considering the way your work engages with audiences.

Trimester three

• The course culminates in an independent, creative, large-scale Major Project, which draws together the new approaches you’ve developed over the initial stages of the course.
• The project is presented at the end of the summer and, alongside the other creative practice you’ve completed, serves as a substantial portfolio piece for the next stage of your career.

Course modules

• Sound Skills
• Practice and Research
• Creative Portfolio
• Presenting Practice
• Major Project

How will I be assessed?

• The majority of assessment is based on your creative coursework.
• For each module you'll typically produce a varied portfolio, inspired in part by the opportunities and experiences you encounter on the course, as well as your individual interests and future plans.

How will I be taught?

• Most modules are taught through small-group seminars and workshops, where you’ll benefit from close interaction with tutors and peers.
• Throughout the year, we bring in composers, sound artists and industry professionals to talk about their work and deepen your knowledge and understanding of current contexts.
• The Major Project and parts of the other modules are taught through individual tutorials where the focus will be entirely on your own practice.

Facilities and resources

• Musiclab Studios with three control rooms and a live recording room.
• Audio Mixing booths.
• Recording studios with two control rooms and live recording room.
• TV studio complex, including a range of post-production facilities.
• Mac workstation room with networked music technology labs with high-spec workstations, running core software including Sibelius, Ableton, Pro Tools, Logic, MAX/MSP, and Adobe.
• Michael Tippett Centre, housing a purpose-built concert hall with excellent acoustics and PA.
• University Theatre.
• Commons building, with its superb classroom facilities, social spaces, and specialist digital resources.
• 17 practice rooms, three with electronically variable acoustics.
• Access to our free equipment loan service, which provides a huge variety including field recording, film and other audio related equipment.
• A wide range of medieval, renaissance and baroque instruments, and a large collection of percussion and orchestral instruments.
• A Javanese gamelan.
• Newton Park Library, including a large collection of books, periodicals and CDs with extensive eBook and online journal access.
• Writing and Learning Centre, which provides support for your academic work, including feedback on written drafts and other help with academic writing.
• English Language Unit, which can help you improve your English, reach your full potential and boost your confidence.
• Virtual Learning Environment, which provides online access to learning materials such as lecture slides, assessment information, discussion boards and other resources.
• Access to thousands of business, design and tech courses online via LinkedIn Learning.

Fees

• 2025 entry
  • UK full time: £9,225
  • UK part time: £4,613
  • International full time: £17,835

Additional course costs

• You may need to pay additional course costs over and above your tuition fees, for example, for specialist equipment or trips and visits.
• Please check the course Programme Document for details of any additional costs.
• You can also read our Additional Course Costs Policy for further information.

Funding opportunities

• Please visit our Funding pages for an overview of the funding options that may be available, including scholarships and bursaries.

What we look for in potential students

• We’re looking for students with an enquiring approach to making original sound and music.
• You’ll be interested in developing your practice and exploring the many contexts in which it is situated and have a proven track record in making creative sound/music work.
• We support work in a wide range of styles and genres, while maintaining an experimental and exploratory approach.

Typical offers

• Generally we look for a good honours degree or higher.
• Often this will be in Music or Music Technology.
• However, we accept applicants with other degrees where they can demonstrate relevant experience.
• We make offers based on your previous experience, which may be conditional on completing current courses, or unconditional.
• See our Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) web page to learn more.

Interview and portfolio guidance

• Your application should be accompanied by a portfolio of creative work.
• The nature of this portfolio will depend on the work you make, but is likely to contain a mix of audio, video, documentation of performances or installations, and scores.
• It’s easiest to put the materials in a folder (Dropbox, Google Drive etc.) with a document listing what it contains, and links to any external work online.
• Your portfolio should consist of no more than three pieces.
• Above all, we’ll be looking for the creative use of sound/music in your work.

Guidance for international students

• Just like our domestic applicants, international students are asked to submit an online application portfolio (see above).
• An online meetings with the course leader can be arranged if you have questions about the course.
• Further information will be provided on application.

When to apply

• Many of our postgraduate courses have a limited number of student spaces.
• To avoid the disappointment of the course being full, we recommend that you apply now.
• Late applications (generally those made after 31 July) will only be considered if places remain on the course.

Contact us

• Admissions: +44 (0) 1225 876 112
• Course leader: James Saunders
• Email: j.saunders@bathspa.ac.uk

Related courses

• MA Sound (Design)
• MA Sound (Production)
• MA Performance (Music)
• MA Commercial Music