Music BA (Hons)
Option for Placement Year
Option for Study Abroad
Option for Placement Year
Option for Study Abroad
With a sector-leading 20 hours per year of weekly individual instrumental or vocal tuition, modules in instrumental or vocal teaching, and ear-opening music history modules which will broaden your musical horizons, this course allows you to pursue your passion for music in ways that lead to many career pathways.
The music facilities at Northumbria situate brand new musical instruments inside carefully considered spaces. Our world-class Steinway Model B piano is in The Great Hall, located in the Grade II Listed Sutherland Building, which is also where new and spacious practice facilities are to be found.
Facilities are shared between small class sizes, meaning that you can readily access practice rooms to play, compose, critique, conduct, plan, prepare, experiment, coordinate, and improvise.
Find out more about the Music Scholarships we offer: Instrument Scholarship and Choral Scholarship.
Performance modules offer 20+ hours per year of weekly 1-to-1 tuition, provided by highly qualified and experienced tutors, as well as seminars covering performance anxiety, how to practise, how to work with an accompanist, and many opportunities to perform in front of others in a supportive environment.
You will learn in a close-knit community of staff and students where all teaching is interactive and takes place in small groups, often of no more than ten.
Modules in teaching your instrument are designed in association with the Education Department at Northumbria University, with the opportunity to go on placements supported by Music Hubs in the North East of England.
Fresh, new facilities include the new Steinway grand piano in the Great Hall, which hosts the weekly Northumbria Lunchtime Concerts series, and large practice rooms for individual practice that can also accommodate groups of students working together.
You will broaden your knowledge of music from medieval times to the present day, getting ‘hands on’ experience of doing music history, visiting libraries and museums, working with our world-leading Montagu Collection of global musical instruments, and being supported to research the music that you’re passionate about.
You will develop musical skills such as theory, techniques of composition, piano-playing/keyboard skills, and conducting.
You will find out more about working as a freelance musician and will be able to access entrepreneurship support.
See other similar courses you may be interested in: BA (Hons) Theatre and Performance
UCAS Code
W320
Level of Study
Undergraduate
Mode of Study
3 years Full Time or 4 years with a placement (sandwich)/study abroad
Department
Humanities
Location
City Campus, Northumbria University
City
Newcastle
Start
September 2025
Fees
Fee Information
Our students tell us about their learning experience studying Music BA (Hons) at Northumbria.
Our Department of Humanities includes the subject areas of History, English Literature, English Language and Linguistics, Creative Writing, American Studies and Music.
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Visit an Open Day to get an insight into what it's like to study Music. Speak to staff from the course and get a tour of the facilities.
112 UCAS Tariff points
From a combination of acceptable Level 3 qualifications which may include: A-level, T Level, BTEC Diplomas/Extended Diplomas, Scottish and Irish Highers, Access to HE Diplomas, or the International Baccalaureate.
Find out how many points your qualifications are worth by using the UCAS Tariff calculator: www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator
Northumbria University is committed to supporting all individuals to achieve their ambitions. We have a range of schemes and alternative offers to make sure as many individuals as possible are given an opportunity to study at our University regardless of personal circumstances or background. To find out more, review our Northumbria Entry Requirement Essential Information page for further details www.northumbria.ac.uk/entryrequirementsinfo
Subject Requirements:
As part of the application process all applicants are required to submit a video recording demonstrating their performance ability, and have a discussion with academics about their application. We do not require evidence of formal Graded Music examinations to join this programme but would typically expect applicants to be performing at around grade 7 level and have the ability to read music (staff notation).
here are no subject requirements
GCSE Requirements:
Applicants will need Maths and English Language at minimum grade 4/C, or an equivalent.
Additional Requirements:
There are no additional requirements.
International Qualifications:
We welcome applicants with a range of qualifications which may not match those shown above.
If you have qualifications from outside the UK, find out what you need by visiting www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry
English Language Requirements:
International applicants should have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.0 with 5.5 in each component (or an approved equivalent*).
*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades in our English Language section: www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications
UK Fee in Year 1: £9,535
* You should expect to pay tuition fees for every year of study. The University may increase fees in the second and subsequent years of your course at our discretion in line with any inflationary or other uplift, as decided by the UK Government, up to the maximum amount for fees permitted by UK law or regulation for that academic year. To give students an indication of the likely scale of any future increase, the UK government has recently suggested that increases may be linked to RPIX ( Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments)
International Fee in Year 1:
ADDITIONAL COSTS
Students will normally be required to have their own instrument for performance courses. The exceptions include instruments that are not transportable, such as piano, organ and percussion. When not available through Northumbria University Library, sheet music will need to be purchased by students. Additional costs may include: backing tracks for performance examinations: travel to instrumental lessons, masterclasses and other performance-related opportunities: travel to placements (particularly for music education courses): and return travel to Edinburgh to visit the Russell Collection of keyboard instruments (optional field trip).
* At Northumbria we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of personal data. To view the University’s Privacy Notice please click here
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