Music BA Honours

Why study BA Music at Middlesex?

This course has been designed for you to channel your passion for music into a specialist degree that represents your skills and interests.

This course helps you to:

• Develop your skills in songwriting, composition and musical performance.
• Gain skills in music production, sound capture, mixing and mastering using industry-standard facilities.
• Build your future in music and the creative industries through work experience and industry placements. Connect and grow your professional network in London and the surrounding area.
• Gain knowledge and understanding of local and international music industries.
• Foster your skills in critical reflection, creative collaboration and independent learning to develop your professional practice.

Part-time study

Study at your own pace alongside work and other commitments and get the skills and knowledge you need to progress in your career.

When choosing a part-time course, you will study the same modules as the full-time course but over a longer period.

Find out more about the many benefits of studying part-time at Middlesex University.

About your course

The course will help you develop: 

• A sophisticated understanding of musical context – cultural, sociological, economic, musicological and aesthetic 
• Advanced practical and creative musical skills
  
• Critical reflection skills, autonomous learning, professional practice and other transferable skills
• Skills that will help you contribute to culture, nationally and internationally, and are employable in a wide range of industries 
• An appreciation of how equality, diversity, and inclusivity are central to music education.  
   

To find out more about this course, please download the Music BA Honours specification (PDF).

Facilities

Based in The Grove, you will have access to world-class facilities:

• Concert and recital rooms
• 15 soundproofed practice rooms
• 23 pianos (including a Steinway grand and a Bösendorfer grand)
• Hybrid analogue-digital sound recording facilities
• Recording and mixing studio
• Digital media workshop with 15 workstations (Mac computer with specialist music software, two monitors and piano keyboard)

You will also have access to external venues and collaborative access to other creative areas of the University such as dance, theatre, film, television, animation and computer games.

Student support

We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health, and disability support.

Additional needs

We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.

Wellness

Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.

Work while you study

Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.

Financial support

You can apply for scholarships and bursaries to help with university costs.

We have also reduced the costs of studying with free laptop loans, free learning resources and discounts to save money on everyday things. Check out our guide to student life on a budget.

Careers

How can the BA Music support your career?

Music is an excellent choice of study because it combines science, technology, history, arts, social and cultural studies, business and media. 

Graduates will be equipped to progress in the growing creative arts industries sector that are aligned to music.  

As well as busy freelance musician careers, the course provides the skills required for the many jobs within the overlapping worlds of live music, audio-visual music and sound.  

The audio-visual industry has opportunities in film, radio, television, advertising, and virtual realities including computer games.  

The course will also prepare those wishing to go into classroom teaching, workshop leading and peripatetic instrumental tuition as well as music journalism, media music.

Graduate job roles

You could find yourself working in media, publishing, cultural organisations, education, festivals, libraries, merchandising, PR, recording studios or record labels, or art charities as any of the following roles:

• Artist management
• Audio/video production
• Business consultancy
• Composer
• Concert performer
• Event management
• Legal (Music)
• Music arranger
• Music distribution
• Music industry accountancy
• Journalism (Music)
• Music mastering and post-production
• Web design (Music)
• Orchestral management
• Session fixers (Music contractors)
• Session musicians
• Specialist music insurance
• Studio design and construction

Teaching is also a popular choice and might be combined with any of the above to form a ‘portfolio’ career.

Placements

You will have the opportunity for an optional placement experience. This is available at Level 6 within the Music and Sound for Screen or Independent Project modules. We have had industry-focused experience with our external partners, e.g., the media company Sitting Duck; and educational placements are available (specifically within the Independent Project) with our partners the North London Conservatoire and other institutions across North London.   

Graduate employers

Our music graduates work in many areas of the music industry and in teaching. You could also go on to further (postgraduate) study. Graduates have gone on to such prestigious institutions as the Royal Hague Conservatoire, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, York University, SOAS and King’s College, London.

MDXworks

Our employability service, Careers and Futures will launch you into the world of work from the beginning of your course, with placements, projects and networking opportunities through our 1000+ links with industry and big-name employers in London and globally.

Our dedicated lifetime career support, like our business start-up support programme and funding for entrepreneurs, has made us: 

• The top 20 UK universities for business leaders and entrepreneurs – Business Money, 2023
• A top 10 university for producing CEOs – Novuana, 2023.

MDXcelerator Student Start-Up Support

Want to be your own boss? You'll have the chance to pitch your business to gain mentoring and grants of up to £15,000.

Global network

You’ll study with students from 122 countries who’ll hopefully become part of your global network. And after you graduate, we'll still support you through our alumni network to help you progress in your chosen career.

Our alumni successes

Shan Ako

London-born singer, songwriter, and guitarist Shan Ako blends soul, gospel, pop, R&B, jazz, folk, and reggae into her signature sound. From starring as Whitney Houston in Whitney – Queen of the Night to reaching The X Factor finals under Simon Cowell’s mentorship, Shan’s powerhouse voice has captivated audiences worldwide.

Awarded Best Performer in a Musical for Les Misérables and Best R&B/Soul Song for her EP God’s Best, she’s since led as Eliza in Hamilton and joined the 40th anniversary cast of Les Misérables in London’s West End. Now based in Los Angeles, Shan continues to soar with her latest EP, Landed — a testament to her fearless artistry and soulful journey.

Listen to Landed

Michael Barker

Michael Llewelyn Barker is an award-winning film composer whose work spans acclaimed films and documentaries including The Mourning Bird, What We Wished We Could Be, and Alasdair Mackay’s Anonymous. A long-time collaborator with Oscar-winning Slick Films, Michael’s music has earned international recognition.

His score for Those Last Moments won Best Original Score at the Paris Film Festival, while The Mourning Bird earned Best Score at the British Short Film Awards. In 2024, his song Aidan’s Song — performed by West End star Jamie Muscato — won Best Original Song. With nominations and festival acclaim across Europe, Michael continues to craft powerful, emotive scores that bring stories to life.

Check out Michael's work

Lucy Taylor

Lucy Helene Taylor, known by her stage name Pawws, is a British singer and songwriter best known for co-writing Dua Lipa’s global hit “Be the One” in 2015. Since then, she has continued to make her mark on contemporary pop and electronic music, collaborating with artists and producers including Friendly Fires, Danny L Harle, Sub Focus & Wilkinson, and Oscar Scheller.

Her work blends emotional depth with infectious melody, cementing her reputation as one of the UK’s most versatile and creative voices in modern pop writing.

Read Clash Music article

Fees

The fees below are for the 2026/27 academic year:

UK students¹

Full-time: £9,535*

Part-time: £79 per taught credit

International students²

Full-time: £17,200

Part-time: £143 per taught credit

*Changes to tuition fees from the 2026-2027 academic year for UK undergraduate students

For the 2026/27 academic year, the maximum annual tuition fee for UK undergraduate students is currently set at £9,535.

For courses with an integrated foundation year, the first-year fee is £9,535 for courses in science, engineering and creative and performing arts, and £5,760 for classroom-based courses.

However, the UK Government has recently announced that undergraduate tuition fees for UK students will rise each year in line with inflation. The maximum tuition fee cap for the academic year beginning autumn 2026 has yet to be set, but it has been agreed that this will increase in line with the Retail Price Index (RPIx). This means that the tuition fee for students starting in 2026/27 is very likely to be higher than £9,535 once the applicable inflationary increase is applied.

Maintenance loans will also rise each year in line with inflation.

Once the maximum tuition fee for the 2026-2027 year is confirmed by the Government, we will publish it on our website and course pages.

You can find further information about Government long-term plans for higher education funding in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper.

Subsequent tuition fee rises

For students whose tuition fees are regulated by UK legislation (or any relevant UK government, regulatory or funding organisation) your fees may increase at our discretion up to the maximum amount permitted by UK law or regulation for the relevant academic year. This would include any further inflationary rises to the tuition fee cap set by the government in future years.

Depending on the duration of your study, your tuition fees for subsequent academic years may therefore be subject to further inflationary increases (the inflation measure used is yet to be confirmed but may be in line with RPIx). This means that the fee set out above is likely to be increased for any subsequent years of study beyond your first year.

Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students directly in writing, at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.