MA Musicology

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Tuition fee
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Start date
Sep 2025
Sep 2026
Duration
Campus
Mode of study
Fees and deadlines depend on the selected options. Fees and currency conversion are approximate.
Offer response
2 weeks after your application is submitted
Backlogs accepted
This course accepts backlogs

This course gives you a wide-ranging introduction to advanced musicological study. Our breadth of expertise in the Department of Music means that you can engage with a range of specialist areas, including:

You'll explore themes such as gender, musical philosophy and culture, the creative process, performance and reception, and use a range of methodologies to understand how music is created, disseminated and received.

In the first semester, all students take a module on critical musicology. This gives you a grounding in the key concepts of musicological thought and technique, from nationalism and canon to semiotics and aesthetics. You'll then apply these concepts to a specific repertoire in the second semester.

For many students, the dissertation is the climax of their course. You'll have the opportunity to explore a research topic of your own choice on any topic or repertoire. Previous students have explored everything from art and music in Renaissance Italy to gender identity in Disney musicals. A particular strength of our department is that we treat all genres with the same respect, and although we have significant expertise in Western art music, it is by no means more important than other repertoires.

As well as musicological modules, you can take modules in other areas of the curriculum such as performance, music psychology and world music. This gives you the chance to meet students from other MA music courses and provides an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary grounding in the subject.

Sheffield is the perfect place to complete your MA in Musicology. The Department of Music works closely with the University's Concerts Series and oversees ensembles such as the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, the Chamber Choir and the Folk Group. Our MA students have performed with these ensembles. One student conducted an edition of a long lost Broadway musical that he reconstructed for full orchestra and cast.

Our students also benefit from a thriving research environment and take part in academic conferences. The University's archives also offer the potential for musicological work, particularly in the collection of scores used by the renowned conductor Sir Thomas Beecham.

Sheffield is celebrated as one of the UK's leading music cities, with dozens of major venues. Sheffield benefits from regular visits from the Halle and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras, the nationally important Music in the Round chamber music organisation, and a rich programme of musicals, ballets and operas at the Crucible and Lyceum theatres. Sheffield is particularly known for its folk scene. Our students regularly take part in gigs at smaller venues across the city, as well as the Yellow Arch Studios.

We are an All-Steinway School.

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Requirements

The requirements may vary based on your selected study options.





















Modules

  • Critical Musicology
  • Topics in Musicology
  • Academic Skills
  • Dissertation in Musicology
  • Communicating about music and music research
  • Critical Listening and the Musical Work
  • Critical Listening and the Musical Work
  • Strategic planning for music business clients
  • Staging Music in Theory and Practice
  • Performing South Asian Rhythm
  • Collaborative practice, public engagement and impact
  • Qualitative Data Collection
  • Music, Brain and Body
  • The Social and Applied Psychology of Music
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    Use our magical AI system, to check your admission chances for this course.
    Tuition fee
    Apply by
    Start date
    Sep 2025
    Sep 2026
    Duration
    Campus
    Mode of study
    Fees and deadlines depend on the selected options. Fees and currency conversion are approximate.
    Offer response
    2 weeks after your application is submitted
    Backlogs accepted
    This course accepts backlogs