Music

Music is one of the oldest and most universal forms of human expression, present in every culture and capable of carrying meaning, emotion, and social function in ways no other art form quite replicates. Studying it at degree level means engaging with music not just as a performer but as a thinker: understanding how sound is organised, how musical traditions have evolved over time, and how performance, composition, and analysis together constitute a full engagement with the discipline. The BMus at Queen's University of Belfast is designed for students who want to develop deep musical understanding while honing their specialist skills to a professional standard.

You will study musicianship, harmony, and music history as the foundation of the programme, developing a well-rounded technical and intellectual base that supports whichever specialist direction you choose to pursue. Staff with international reputations in performance, composition, and musicology bring expert tuition to a programme that encourages you to engage seriously with both the making and the scholarly study of music. You will develop strong transferable skills through the discipline itself: the precision required in performance, the structural thinking that composition demands, and the analytical rigour of musicological study all contribute to problem-solving, communication, and collaborative ability that are valued well beyond the music industry.

A typical entry tariff of 152 UCAS points reflects a selective but welcoming admissions process. Graduates from music programmes pursue a wide range of careers, including performance, composition, music production and technology, music education, arts administration and management, radio and television, music journalism, and the charitable and cultural sectors. The transferable skills the degree develops also make music graduates competitive in graduate employment more broadly.

Many continue to postgraduate study in performance, composition, musicology, music therapy, or music education.