Program Overview

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BA (Hons) Music and Sound Design

Overview

The BA (Hons) Music and Sound Design course is a field that mixes the artistic and the technical to produce the vital ingredient for a range of media. On the one hand, it’s a discipline of creative composition and emotional interpretation. On the other, it’s about harnessing the latest technology and studio techniques to produce compelling music and sound content.

Course Information

• The School of Digital Arts (SODA) is home to a dynamic community that spans skills and approaches, creating a space for collaboration and experimentation whilst encouraging you to network with other budding creatives.
• Developing your own artistic identity in a wide range of areas, this course will allow you to become a self-sufficient creative, able to meet the demands of a competitive and international creative industry.
• This course is available with the option of a foundation year.

Features and Benefits

• You will be part of SODA, a £35m investment into specialist spaces with the latest technologies, award-winning teaching, research and networks that will drive the next generation of creative content.
• A practice-based course that aims to provide an exciting and challenging collaborative learning environment to develop you as an independent musician and sound designer.
• Work with others to create music and sound for a wide range of applications that test your skills and develop your expertise.
• Benefit from the use of purpose-built music and sound facilities for the digital arts.
• Study in Manchester, a city that is a rich cultural centre for music and sound with a thriving digital and creative employment sector.
• Previous graduates have used our links with industry including Sony, Cloud Imperium, Ableton, SSL and Soundsnap.
• You'll be immersed in a dynamic, thriving creative community, where exciting events and opportunities are constantly unfolding.

Accreditations, Awards, and Endorsements

• Teaching Excellence Framework: We have received an overall gold status in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), meaning we're rated as an outstanding university for our student experience.
• National Student Survey 2025 (NSS): 100% of students were positive about teaching staff being good at explaining things.

Year 1

Year 1 is aimed at creating content for music and sound design applications. It concentrates on the development of your creative ambitions and provides a solid foundation on which to develop your skills in music and sound composition and sound design.

Core Modules

• Audio Production: This module will delve into the core skillset needed to produce audio for a variety of music and sound design contexts.
• Fundamentals of Composition: This module introduces you to the fundamentals of music composition; from basic concepts to more advanced principles.
• Creative Strategies in Music and Sound: You’ll explore creative strategies in music making, sound design and collaborative practice as well as being introduced to a range of approaches spanning skills drawn from traditional and experimental music and sound creation.
• Sound Design: This module investigates the core concepts and practices of narrative sound design and sound world building.

Year 2

In Year 2 you will develop the critical framework for music and sound composition. You will learn about narrative structures and how stylistic elements in music and sound can enhance musical and sound communication when applied to a range of media.

Core Modules

• Speculative Futures: This module challenges you to harness your creative, collaborative and critical skills to tackle urgent environmental and social justice issues.
• Studio Engineering and Production: Whether you are a composer, producer or sound designer, we’ll need to be able to produce audio of the highest quality.
• Game Audio: This module explores the creation of adaptive audio for game environments.
• Music and Sound for Film: This module explores the techniques by which music and sound are used to construct and reinforce narrative elements in film.

Year 3

In Year 3 you will focus on realising your creative potential by honing your compositional knowledge and understanding of music and sound. You will produce a portfolio of original creative work which highlights the unique artistic voice you have developed over the last three years.

Core Modules

• Industry Practice: This module introduces you to the latest professional practices, providing insight into both the creative and business aspects of the music and sound industries.
• Applied Research: In this module, you will explore various research methods to deepen your understanding of your creative practice.
• Generative Music and Sound Design: In this module, you’ll explore innovative, non-traditional music production techniques to create unique and unexpected sonic material.
• Independent Project: In this module you’ll engage in individual professional development within a chosen specialist area of music and sound design.

Study and Assessment

• Study: Year 1 (25% lectures, seminars or similar; 75% independent study), Year 2 (25% lectures, seminars or similar; 75% independent study), Year 3 (20% lectures, seminars or similar; 80% independent study)
• Assessment: Year 1 (100% Coursework), Year 2 (100% Coursework), Year 3 (100% Coursework)

Placements

• SODA Placement Year: As part of your studies with SODA, you will have the chance to take a year working on placement within the industry.
• SODA Study Year Abroad: You can choose to spend an academic year studying with an approved partner university overseas, developing your core skills while demonstrating your initiative by engaging with a challenging curriculum at a foreign institution.

Entry Requirements

• Typical offer: 104-112 UCAS tariff points
• IELTS score: 6.0 overall with no individual element below 5.5
• UK students:
  • Level 3 qualifications: 104-112 UCAS tariff points
  • Level 2 qualifications: GCSE grade C/4 in English Language or equivalent
• International students:
  • IB Diploma: Pass overall with a minimum overall score of 26 or minimum 104 UCAS Tariff points from three Higher Level subjects
  • IELTS: 6.0 overall with no individual element below 5.5

Fees and Funding

Tuition fees for the 2026/27 academic year are still being finalised for all courses.

Careers Support and Prospects

• Employed or in further study: 88.7% of our UK-domiciled, full-time, first degree graduates are employed or in further study 15 months after graduation.
• Our graduates will gain the knowledge, skills and creative expertise to become highly valued music composers, producers and sound designers that have the business and industry knowledge to compete with the highest and brightest in this rapidly growing sector of digital arts.