MA Music Therapy

The new MA Music Therapy helps meet a growing demand for expert practitioners who can harness the power of music in health, social care and community settings.

Course description

If you would like to register and go into practice as a music therapist, this inspirational new masters course is the ideal route to success.

• Achieve your ambitions on the only course of its kind in the Midlands and North of England
• Choose an innovative masters degree which places music and musicianship at the heart of your learning and focuses on an integrative approach to practice
• Integrate theory with practical experience: you’ll spend a significant amount of your time on placement
• Learn from our experienced and enthusiastic tutors who continue to practise professionally as music therapists
• Broaden your perspectives through inter-professional learning with other arts therapists
• Benefit from our flexible and convenient study modes so that you can balance your learning with your other commitments
• Join a department with a longstanding reputation for high-quality training in therapeutic arts.

Music therapy is a rapidly evolving discipline and profession. Music making and shared musical experiences are increasingly recognised as valid ways of helping people to address social, emotional or physical difficulties.

Our new MA reflects the growing profile and status of the profession, enabling you to register and practise as a music therapist. It paves the way to rewarding careers in a wide range of health, social care and community settings. It could also give you a firm foundation if you would like to work on a self-employed or freelance basis.

Music therapy can have a significant impact on quality of life for people with learning difficulties, disabilities, dementia and mental health issues. It can also play an important role in palliative care, adoption scenarios, forensic work and in a broad range of other interventions which promote inclusivity and wellbeing. This course will equip you with the skills to use music in ways which stimulate creativity, problem-solving and positive change.

The title of Music Therapist is legally protected and you need a masters qualification to practise. Our MA Music Therapy is aligned to standards set by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which acts as the regulatory body for music therapists. Successful completion of the course means you can register with the HCPC to practise as a music therapist in the UK. When you embark on the MA, you can also apply to join the British Association for Music Therapists (BAMT) as a trainee and, on finishing your training, as a practitioner.