Course Structure

This wide ranging programme allows students to tailor their course to their specific interests and career plans.

Semester 1

Students will take two core modules in Semester 1:
MUS7100 Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Music
MUS7101 Knowing Music

Together, MUS7100 and MUS7101 lay the essential groundwork for the MA. MUS7100 equips students with crucial skills for working across boundaries and with diverse groups, while MUS7101 provides the methodological toolkit necessary for rigorous research within an interdisciplinary context.

They will also take ONE of the following:
MUS7106 Musical Instrument Design; OR
MUS7107 Postwar Modernism & Postmodernism

MUS7106 Musical Instrument Design, offers a novel study bridging technology, music, and biology to push the boundaries of artistic expression and innovation. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach, integrating digital musical instrument (DMI) design, biotechnologies in art and music, human-computer interaction, and science and technology studies.

MUS7107 Postwar Modernism and Postmodernism: Trends in Musical Thought, delves into key movements, figures, and themes in contemporary and postwar music, focusing on their interdisciplinary intersections and innovative approaches to composition, performance, and reception. The module involves engaging with analytical and creative perspectives, enabling students to demonstrate a critical understanding of key movements and figures, analyse contemporary works, evaluate external influences, and apply interdisciplinary and cross-cultural insights.

Semester 2

Students will take one core module:

MUS7109 Portfolio Dissertation, a 60-CATS core module, serves as the capstone project of the MA, providing the opportunity for students to undertake a sustained, in-depth, and independent research project on a topic of their choice. Projects can integrate a range of methods such as: production of an artistic portfolio, archival research, empirical study, artistic practice-as-research, and critical analysis, with an explicit opportunity to explore connections between music and other domains like cultural studies, technology, education, philosophy, or the social sciences. Students work with a supervisor to formulate research questions, review literature, and adopt appropriate methodologies.

And THREE of the following:
MUS7102 Critical and Creative Approaches to Song
MUS7103 Critical Studies in Improvisation
MUS7104 Experimental Practices in Irish Traditional Music
MUS7105 Immersive Sound
MUS7108 Source Studies

MUS7102 Critical and Creative Approaches to Song, provides critical and creative approaches to song from both an historical and a contemporary angle. Drawing on examples from various musical traditions including classical, popular music from Ireland, the UK and further afield, and contemporary art and experimental music practices, it examines artistic techniques employed in songwriting and the role of song in social and cultural contexts. This module explores themes such as how songs travel, the role of creators, song in the Troubles, narrative personas, song in contemporary art, and the activism of songs.

MUS7103 Critical Studies in Improvisation, explores improvisation as both an emerging transdisciplinary field of academic research and an artistic practice. It addresses popular misconceptions about improvisation and frames it as a dynamic social practice that transcends disciplinary boundaries, promoting new approaches to creative decision making, critical dialogue, risk-taking, and collaboration across diverse domains.

MUS7014 Experimental Practices in Irish Traditional Music, is designed to explore the ways in which traditional and folk music, with a particular focus on Irish traditional music, is intersecting with experimental practices, improvisation, and interactive technologies. It introduces students to innovative traditional musicians and discusses the impact of these new directions on existing musical communities, as well as tensions surrounding the preservation and development of traditions.

MUS7105 Immersive Sound, focuses on exploring Immersive Spatial Audio techniques, such as Ambisonics and Dolby Atmos. Students gain practical experience working on location, in the studio, and the Sonic Lab, covering the entire process from planning and recording to editing, post-production, composition, and spatial mixing.

MUS7108 Source Studies, focuses on the study of musical manuscripts, printed sources, and archival documents to provide insight into creative processes, historical contexts, and the lives of musicians. This module teaches diverse methodologies for analysing sources to unpack their cultural, social, and artistic insights, fostering skills applicable to cultural history, performance studies, and archival research.

Contact Teaching Hours

Medium Group Teaching

9 (hours maximum)

Learning and Teaching

This programme actively integrates diverse teaching methods that extend beyond traditional lectures, offering practical, hands-on learning experiences alongside seminars.

Interdisciplinary focus

The core 'Knowing Music' module is explicitly team-taught and introduces a broad range of research methodologies, including artistic practice-as-research and scientific methods, through staff- and student-led presentations of recent projects.

Real world learning

We use our world-class facilities, requiring students to work on location, in the studio, and in the Sonic Lab. This module also incorporates "real world" projects, including socially engaged practices.

Team taught modules

This approach also enables the exploration of different topics within a single area of study, as each instructor can introduce specialised content or methodologies. Students receive more comprehensive feedback, encounter a wider range of teaching styles, and engage in dynamic classroom discussions that reflect real-world collaboration.

Assessment

The assessment strategies used here are innovative, specifically designed to cater to the diverse skills and outputs expected in an interdisciplinary and practice-led programme.

• Instead of relying solely on traditional essays or exams, many modules employ project-based or portfolio assessments that constitute a significant portion of the final mark. Crucially, these assessments frequently allow students choice in their output format, providing pathways for presenting creative work alongside critical reflection.
• Students may be able to choose to deliver a performance, manage a project, or write a paper.
• The final Portfolio Dissertation module offers the most comprehensive flexibility, enabling students to submit artistic outputs such as performances, compositions, instrument designs, sound installations, or sound recording portfolios, each supported by a critical essay, as an alternative to a traditional written dissertation.

Modules

Career Prospects

Introduction

This programme is designed to boost students' career prospects across the Music industry both at home and internationally.

Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills

In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.

Tuition Fees

Northern Ireland (NI) 1	£7,700
Republic of Ireland (ROI) 2	£7,700
England, Scotland or Wales (GB) 1	£10,400
EU Other 3	£23,000
International	£23,000

¹EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled status, will be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB will be charged the GB fee.

² EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI are eligible for NI tuition fees.

³ EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.

All tuition fees quoted relate to a single year of study unless stated otherwise. Tuition fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

More information on postgraduate tuition fees.

Additional course costs

All Students

Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs which are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies.

Students can borrow books and access online learning resources from any Queen's library. If students wish to purchase recommended texts, rather than borrow them from the University Library, prices per text can range from £30 to £100. Students should also budget between £30 to £75 per year for photocopying, memory sticks and printing charges.

Students undertaking a period of work placement or study abroad, as either a compulsory or optional part of their programme, should be aware that they will have to fund additional travel and living costs.

If a programme includes a major project or dissertation, there may be costs associated with transport, accommodation and/or materials. The amount will depend on the project chosen. There may also be additional costs for printing and binding.

Students may wish to consider purchasing an electronic device; costs will vary depending on the specification of the model chosen.

There are also additional charges for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.

How to Apply

Apply using our online Queen's Portal and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

Apply now

Terms and Conditions

The terms and conditions that apply when you accept an offer of a place at the University on a taught programme of study.
Queen's University Belfast Terms and Conditions.

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