Sound Engineering and Production

Program Overview

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Sound Engineering and Production - BSc (Hons)

Overview

Our BSc (Hons) Sound Engineering and Production degree course will provide you with the creative skills and versatility you need to succeed in a constantly evolving, challenging industry. You’ll have access to world-class facilities so that you can experiment with music production, sound engineering, audio electronics and much more.

Introducing STEAMhouse

STEAMhouse is a centre for technology, innovation, creative thinking, prototyping and business development. Our £70 million pound building is the home for all of our Computing courses.

What's covered in this course?

This course has been designed to meet the requirements found within the audio industry, providing a dynamic study programme that focuses on live and studio sound engineering, audio electronics, audio software engineering, acoustics and business principles. This combination of subjects ensures you’ll be employable in a range of career paths.

Professional Placement year

This course offers an optional professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, following successful completion of your second year, and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies.

Accredited By

This course is accredited by:

• Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)

Why Choose Us?

• Range of industry opportunities - Graduates of this course have successfully entered the audio industry, working in live sound, software development, production, sound design and audio post, through to product development, acoustic consultancy and education.
• Preparation for employment - This course will prepare you for the range of technology-orientated career paths in the highly dynamic audio technology environment. Our students have gone to work with companies such as Eurotec International and BBC.
• Get real life work experience - This course has the option of a sandwich year which you can take between your second and final year.
• Top 20 in the UK for student satisfaction for Music (Complete University Guide 2025)
• State-of-the-art campus and facilities - You’ll be taught across our three City Centre Campuses that include; Millennium Point, which has recently had a £6.5 million investment in facilities; the £57 million Royal Birmingham Conservatoire; and £62 million Parkside Campus.

Similar Courses

• Sound Engineering and Production with a Foundation Year - BSc (Hons)
• Music Technology - BSc (Hons)
• Computer Science - BSc (Hons)
• Music Business - BA (Hons)

Entry Requirements

Essential requirements

• Standard offer: 112 UCAS Tariff points.
• Accelerate offer: 80 UCAS Tariff points.

GCSE and other level 2 requirements

This course does not require evidence of GCSE qualifications.

A Level, BTEC and other level 3 requirements

• A Level: 112 UCAS Tariff points / BBC (or equivalent)
• Must include one from Technology, Science, Mathematics or Computing at A Level or level 3 equivalent
• AS Level: Must be in a different subject to A Levels
• A maximum of four subjects will be considered

Fees & How to Apply

UK students

• Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study.
• The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament.
• Award: BSc (Hons)
• Starting: Sep 2025
• Mode: Full Time
• Duration: 3 years
• Fees: £9,535 in 2025/26

International students

• Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study.
• The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament.
• Award: BSc (Hons)
• Starting: Sep 2025
• Mode: Full Time
• Duration: 3 years
• Fees: £17,690 in 2025/26

Course in Depth

Year One

• Acoustic Fundamentals - 20 credits
• Sound Recording - 20 credits
• Digital Audio Fundamentals - 20 credits
• Live Sound Reinforcement 1 - 20 credits
• Audio Software Development - 20 credits
• Audio Electronics - 20 credits

Year Two

• Broadcast Sound - 20 credits
• Recording, Production and Delivery - 20 credits
• Digital Signal Processing - 20 credits
• Audio Systems - 20 credits
• Music and Audio Industries - 20 credits
• Acoustic Applications - 20 credits

Professional Placement Year (Optional)

• Professional Placement Year - 120 credits

Year Three

• Individual Honours Project - 40 credits
• Live Sound Reinforcement 2 - 20 credits
• Music Information Retrieval - 20 credits
• Digital Audio Effects - 20 credits
• Game Audio - 20 credits

Employability

Enhancing Employability Skills

Your experience at Birmingham City University will ensure you’ll graduate as a creative problem solver, with significant experience of professional industry-standard hardware, software systems. You will leave with a global outlook, primed to engage with the technical and aesthetic issues that will challenge the music and audio industries in the and technologically mediated world ahead.

Facilities & Staff

Our Facilities

You will have access to our labs, software, professional sound studios, computer games labs and industry-standard facilities to develop your practical skills in audio, video and multimedia application development, content creation and more.

Our staff

• Ben West - Course Leader for BSc (Hons) Sound Engineering and Production, Lecturer in Audio Engineering
• Dr Roy Priest - Associate Professor of Computing
• Professor Islah Ali-MacLachlan - Professor in Engineering Product Design
• Dr Simon Hall - Head of Music Technology
• Alastair Jamieson - Lecturer in Sound and Music Technology