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Programme code | 1MUSI001T |
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Programme type | Postgraduate Taught Degree |
Programme director(s) |
Florian Scheding
|
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
School/department | Department of Music |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 1 years (full time) |
This MA programme allows music graduates to deepen their interest in and knowledge and understanding of Musicology, Composition, Performance, with special Pathways available in British Music, Music Theory and Russian Music. It is centred on the research interests of academic staff and builds on the knowledge and skills base expected of recent graduates and identified in the Music Subject Benchmark statement (February 2002). The Musicology route offers a broad perspective on current scholarly debates via units in historical musicology (including studies in British Music, Music Theory, Medieval Music and Russian Music), critical musicology, theory and analysis, and editorial techniques, areas that form an essential preparation for further postgraduate study beyond Level M. Some of these units will be offered at Level H. Some of these will be selected as core units by candidates following the Composition and Performance routes; additionally these candidates will follow units specific to their field(s) of interest, including compositional techniques, orchestration, performance practice and instrumental/vocal study, all of which are designed to enhance their experience of creative work at a professional level and to allow opportunities for refinement of technical skills, potentially as a preparation for careers as professional composers, teachers or performers.
The new Pathway offered in Medieval Music enables students following the Musicology route through the MA to pursue special interests in keeping with their previous academic training or future research plans, while completing three of the mandatory parts of the MA Musicology route.
Central to each unit in the MA programme is guided individual and group study of key texts, musical or verbal, which are used as a basis for the development and refinement of candidates' ability to demonstrate, both verbally and in writing, a measure of critical engagement with current scholarship, perhaps as an initial training for further postgraduate work. Common to all the routes is the Music Research Skills training unit. Subject to successful completion of the taught units, Musicology candidates will present a dissertation on an approved topic; Composition candidates will submit a portfolio of compositions; and Performance candidates will give two recitals (of 25 minutes and 50 minutes).
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Seminars and follow-up tutorials (Historical Musicology, Critical Musicology, Theory and Analysis, Editing and Paleography); individual supervisions and classes/workshops, sometimes with visiting professional performers (Composition); individual supervisions, masterclasses and instrumental/vocal lessons (Performance) |
Methods of Assessment | |
There are four categories of unit. Each is assessed in its own way.
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Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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|
Seminars and follow-up tutorials (Historical Musicology, Critical Musicology, Theory and Analysis, Editing and Paleography); individual supervisions and classes/workshops, sometimes with visiting professional performers (Composition); individual supervisions, masterclasses and instrumental/vocal lessons (Performance) |
Methods of Assessment | |
See "Methods of Assessment" above |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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|
Seminars and follow-up tutorials (Historical Musicology, Critical Musicology, Theory and Analysis, Editing and Paleography); individual supervisions and classes/workshops, sometimes with visiting professional performers (Composition); individual supervisions, masterclasses and instrumental/vocal lessons (Performance) |
Methods of Assessment | |
See "Methods of Assessment" above |
Statement of expectations from the students at each level of the programme as it/they develop year on year.
Level M/7 - Postgraduate Certificate |
Students will take a range of units in Composition, Performance, Musicology, Music Theory, Medieval Music or Russian Music,Practical Performance, supplemented by special H-level units in written techniques for Music Theory pathway students and language classes for Russian Music and Medieval Music students. Students will also be expected to participate in guided discussion in seminars, and, as the TB progresses, to initiate and facilitate intellectual debate. Through compulsory and independent reading, as well as analysis of cultural artefacts in seminars, they will be encouraged to develop critical and analytical skills, research skills, and the ability to think creatively, critically and independently, as well as to present their ideas for debate and evaluation by peers in seminars. They will also complete training units in research methods and tools, gaining a comprehensive grounding in academic and scholarly conventions and resources and further developing their research skills. These skills will be assessed through informal oral presentations in seminars and through essays on titles set by tutors, with a requirement to demonstrate knowledge of the field, critical and argumentative skills, and independent research and thought. |
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Level M/7 - Postgraduate Diploma |
Students will develop the skills and abilities gained in Stage 1. They will be expected to demonstrate increased sophistication in argument and critical analysis, and to show more confidence, increasing critical self-awareness, and a greater depth of understanding in both written and oral work. They will demonstrate their ability to put into practice the research methods and tools to which they have been introduced in Stage 1, and their work should now conform to academic and scholarly conventions at a professional level. |
Level M/7 - Postgraduate Masters |
Musicology students are expected to expand the breadth of their knowledge through their study of prescribed readings and to develop further their ability to gather, synthesise and assimilate information, and to present their findings in written form to a high level. They are expected to display a considerable degree of sophistication in their critical evaluation of texts about music and to construct effective and detailed arguments (both orally and in writing) that display a professional approach to the processes, techniques and methodologies that underpin musicological practice. As composers, they are expected to refine their deployment of professional compositional skills, develop their creative imagination, to broaden their stylistic base considerably through sympathetic exposure to a variety of modernist and postmodernist positions, to able to select influences intelligently, focusing on creating a personal voice in compositions submitted for the final portfolio. As performers, they are expected to develop a high level of technical mastery of the instrument/voice, sensitivity to the musical demands of pieces in a variety of styles, and/or an affinity with the relevant performance practices of one particular style, and to communicate their personal interpretations with assurance in a performance setting. In all strands of the MA programme, students are expected to be able to demonstrate their capacity for self-directed study using the skills acquired and developed at bachelors degree level. |
The intended learning outcome mapping document shows which mandatory units contribute towards each programme intended learning outcome.
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the postgraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/postgraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
The MA in Music (formerly MA in Advanced Musical Studies) is a full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 year) programme. 180 credit points are required for successful completion of the programme. The possible combinations of Mandatory and Optional units in each of the routes are listed in section 18. Credit points are awarded for satisfactory completion of each unit (ie. attendance, undertaking the prescribed exercises and passing the assessments, in accordance with current Arts Faculty regulations and ordinances). The credit point value of each unit is indicated in section 18 and in other relevant university publications. The study of a 20 credit-point unit should involve 200 hours of learning effort (including contact teaching hours); comparable calculations apply to the learning effort presumed in units with higher credit-ratings. Virtually all aspects of the MA programme offer the opportunity to acquire and develop transferable skills much valued by employers, and reflected in the encouraging employment statistics relating to recent successful candidates.
Margaret Peirson
Departmental Administrator
Department of Music
Victoria Rooms
Queen's Road
BRISTOL BS8 1SA
Tel 0117 954 5028
Fax 0117 954 5027
m.e.peirson@bris.ac.uk
www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Music
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
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Medieval Music Pathway - Mandatory units: | ||||
Readings In Musicology | MUSIM0036 | 40 | Optional | TB-1 |
Introduction to Medieval Latin | AFACM0013 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Research Skills for Musicians | MUSIM0035 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Dissertation | MUSIM1000 | 60 | Optional | AYEAR |
Musicology Pathway - Mandatory units: | ||||
Readings In Musicology | MUSIM0036 | 40 | Optional | TB-1 |
Research Skills for Musicians | MUSIM0035 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Dissertation | MUSIM1000 | 60 | Optional | AYEAR |
Source Study, Paleography and Editorial Practices | MUSIM0014 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Composition Pathway - Mandatory units: | ||||
Research Skills for Musicians | MUSIM0035 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Introduction to Professional Composing | MUSIM0002 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Contemporary Compositional Ideas and Techniques | MUSIM0006 | 40 | Optional | TB-4 |
Composition Portfolio | MUSIM0011 | 60 | Optional | AYEAR |
Performance Pathway - Mandatory units: | ||||
Research Skills for Musicians | MUSIM0035 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Performance Studies | MUSIM0022 | 60 | Optional | AYEAR |
Source Study, Paleography and Editorial Practices | MUSIM0014 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Russian Music Pathway - Mandatory units: | ||||
Research Skills for Musicians | MUSIM0035 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Readings In Musicology | MUSIM0036 | 40 | Optional | TB-1 |
Dissertation | MUSIM1000 | 60 | Optional | AYEAR |
Russian Music Pathway - select from: | ||||
Foreign Language Skills for Postgraduate Students (Beginners and Intermediate) | MODLM0030 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Foreign Language Skills for Postgraduate Students (Advanced) | MODLM0031 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Optional Units List | ||||
Contemporary Compositional Ideas and Techniques | MUSIM0006 | 40 | Optional | TB-4 |
Source Study, Paleography and Editorial Practices | MUSIM0014 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Critical Analysis of Media Music | MUSIM0020 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Composing With Electronics | MUSIM0027 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Readings In Musicology | MUSIM0036 | 40 | Optional | TB-1 |
Accompaniment in Practice | MUSIM0041 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Advanced Orchestration | MUSIM0043 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Advanced Technical Studies | MUSIM0042 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Personal Option Unit | AFACM0007 | 20 | Optional | TB-1,TB-2 |
Supervised Individual Study | AFACM0008 | 20 | Optional | TB-1,TB-2 |
Subject to availability and subject to approval from the Programme Director, students may take ONE 20-credit module at level 5/I or 6/H. These units have codes beginning MUSI2 or MUSI3. Please see the unit catalogue (http://www.bris.ac.uk/esu/unitprogcat/UnitsForDept.jsa?orgCode=MUSI) for information on available units. | ||||
MA Music | 180 |
The pass mark set by the University for any level 7(M) unit is 50 out of 100.
For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.
All taught masters programmes, unless exempted by Senate, must allow the opportunity for students to exit from the programme with a postgraduate diploma or certificate.
To be awarded a postgraduate diploma, students must have successfully completed 120 credit points, of which 90 must be at level M/7.
To be awarded a postgraduate certificate, students must have successfully completed 60 credit points, of which 40 must be at level M/7.
An award with Merit or Distinction is permitted for postgraduate taught masters, diplomas and certificates, where these are specifically named entry-level qualifications. An award with Merit or Distinction is not permitted for exit awards where students are required to exit the programme on academic grounds. An exit award with Merit or Distinction may be permitted where students are prevented by exceptional circumstances from completing the intended award.
The classification of the award in relation to the final programme mark is as follows:
Award with Distinction*: at least 65 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for masters awards, at least 70 out of 100 for the dissertation. **Faculties retain discretion to increase these thresholds.
Award with Merit*: at least 60 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for masters awards, at least 60 out of 100 for the dissertation. Faculties retain discretion to increase these thresholds.
* The MA in Law has separate regulations for awarding distinction and merit.
** For the award of Distinction, the Faculty of Engineering requires at least 70 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for masters awards, at least 70 out of 100 for the dissertation.
All taught masters programmes, unless exempted by Senate, must allow the opportunity for students to choose, or be required, to leave at the postgraduate diploma or certificate stage.
To be awarded a postgraduate diploma, students must have successfully completed 120 credit points, of which 90 must be at level M/7.
To be awarded a postgraduate certificate, students must have successfully completed 60 credit points, of which 40 must be at level M/7.
The award of an MA with Merit in the Faculty of Arts requires at least 60 out of 100 for the taught component and at least 65 out of 100 for the dissertation.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
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Tel: +44 (0)117 928 9000