English and Music

English and music are disciplines that have been in dialogue throughout the history of Western culture. Song, opera, programme music, musical settings of poetry, and the rich language of musical criticism have made the two art forms genuinely interdependent, and studying them together opens a perspective on each that neither provides on its own. English develops close reading, critical writing, and an understanding of how language shapes meaning in literary texts.

Music develops aural perception, analytical understanding of composition and performance, and the ability to engage with music as both a sonic and a cultural phenomenon.

At Sheffield this three-year full-time dual honours programme allows you to pursue creative and critical passions across both arts simultaneously. You will develop practical skills in creative writing, music composition, and performance alongside the critical and analytical understanding that both disciplines require. You will learn to analyse language, texts, theatrical works, and film alongside musical scores and recordings, developing the capacity to understand how English and music work and how they work together.

This interdisciplinary approach enriches both strands of the degree, and the ability to move between written and musical forms of analysis is a genuinely transferable intellectual skill.

A sandwich year and a year abroad are available, alongside work placements integrated throughout, giving you professional and international experience alongside your academic and creative development.

Graduates of English and music programmes move into careers in music and arts administration, publishing, journalism, teaching, education, arts and cultural organisations, creative writing, music performance, and a wide range of other roles in the creative and cultural industries. Many continue to postgraduate study in music, literature, creative writing, or related fields.