The Institute Of Contemporary Music Performance
MMus Masters in Popular Music Performance
London, United Kingdom
Master degree
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
14 Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 16,250 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international student fee
This pioneering postgraduate music degree invites you to harness your instrumental performance experience as the foundation for powerful and authentic practice research. Designed for performers who think deeply, researchers who play boldly and artists who want to shape the future of popular music.
Our MMus Popular Music Performance postgraduate degree invites you to explore how your creative process, stagecraft and artistic identity can be leveraged into the next stage of your performance journey.
At ICMP, we’re committed to breaking down postgraduate research degree barriers and making the practice research space accessible to all. Whatever your background and regardless of whether you’ve just completed your undergraduate music degree or you’re keen to build on your notable experience as a performer, this challenging, focused and thought-provoking course will empower you to open the doors to the next stage of your performance practice and personal development.
The Masters in Popular Music Performance explores advanced levels of performance craft across four pillars of performance practice:
- Instrumental and technical development
- Collaborative performance
- Musical direction and ensemble leadership
- Recording and studio performance
With a choice to study the programme as either a one-year full-time or two-year part-time programme, you’ll gain greater proficiency on your chosen instrument while advancing your performance capabilities, critical reasoning qualities and academic research skills.
As an MMus degree student you’ll work autonomously, engaging in self-directed study but with a substantial amount of one-to-one guidance and support from industry practitioners, external supervisors and members of ICMP’s experienced professional faculty. You’ll also benefit from a regular schedule of visiting lecturers who’ll discuss their different approaches, philosophies and ideas with you, including musicians, academics and guests from the wider creative industries.
Across your studies, you’ll tailor your learning to your own interests and performance practice goals, identifying your requirements, selecting your essential resources, and designing and implementing a plan for achieving them. You’ll regularly collaborate with the highest calibre performers in your fellow classmates and ICMP and SAE students from other courses, as you explore your leadership and arrangement skills and take the role of musical director of an ensemble, culminating in an exciting group performance.
As a music masters student, you’ll have direct access to ICMP’s world-class facilities filled with industry-standard hardware, software and instruments, including a 24-track recording studio, high-tech Mac labs and dedicated performance spaces which can all be booked free of charge outside of class hours, seven days a week.
Towards the end of the popular music performance masters, you’ll take part in a substantial practice-as-research performance project, leading to the development of a significant creative artefact showcasing your performance practice. With support and supervision from a faculty mentor of your choice, you can negotiate the form this project takes – whether a live or live-streamed performance, reflective presentation, recorded work or something else entirely. Whatever you choose to create, you'll graduate with a powerful showcase of your performance practice, and a research artefact you can use to elevate your career in performance, academia or the wider creative industries.
Ultimately, your journey on the MMus in Popular Music Performance postgraduate degree will change the way you think about yourself as a musician, academic and human. You’ll graduate with the skills, professional network, self-reliance and motivation needed to take your already impressive musicianship and performance skills to the next level as you embark on the next stage of your professional career.
Key facts
- An advanced practice research programme equipping you with the knowledge and skills for successful employment in the music industry
- Develop your creativity and confidence as a performer and academic with rigorous scholarship and enhanced instrumental technical ability, music literacy and performance skills
- Explore your performance craft across four pillars – instrumental and technical development, collaborative performance, musical direction and leadership, and recording and studio performance.
- Engage in bespoke one-to-one instrumental lessons with an expert ICMP tutor of your choice.
- Undertake personalised assessment projects that suit your talents, areas of interest and career aspirations.
- Graduate with a substantial creative portfolio by taking part in a groundbreaking practice research performance project of your choosing.
- Connect with the wider London music industry to build an impressive musical network.
- The London location provides opportunities to perform at top city venues while immersing yourself in the global music scene.
- Study as a one-year full-time or two-year part-time programme (UK students only).
Financial Support
Student support for postgraduate music masters courses is available to students studying at ICMP.
Eligible students on designated music masters courses at ICMP will be able to access the postgraduate masters loan in the same way, and at the same value, as they could at a publicly funded provider. Eligible students can borrow up to £12,858. If you opt to study part-time, your loan would be split into two instalments over the two years.
Creative Development Scholarship 2026/27
ICMP offers a scholarship up to the value of £4,000 to each eligible EU, EEA or Swiss student enrolling on one of our undergraduate CertHE and degree programmes or postgraduate programmes, starting in September 2026.
To qualify for this scholarship you should be an EU, EEA or Swiss applicant, who has been resident in either the UK, an EU or EEA country or Switzerland for a minimum of three years.
All applicants fulfilling this criterion will automatically receive our Creative Development Scholarship. There is no need to complete any additional paperwork.
ICMP reserves the right to review and amend scholarship criteria at any time. We also reserve the right to withdraw this offer of a scholarship to new applicants at any time.
Course Details
This Masters in Popular Music programme will see you take your instrumental performance practice abilities to the highest level, while deepening your practice research skills. Across five core modules, you’ll engage in a host of collaborative performance opportunities, boosting your leadership and arranging skills, and increasing your studio recording experience. Undertaking a final Performance Research Project, you’ll create a significant performance-related artefact of your choosing that can be used to advance the next stage of your music career. You’ll graduate as a professional, well-rounded musician and academic, with an impressive performance portfolio that showcases creativity and technical competence on your instrument.
- Advanced instrument development
- Performance in the recording environment
- Musical direction and leadership
- Collaborative live performance
- Performance research project
You will be taught at our campus in Kilburn, utilising our live rooms, tech suites and in-house music studio facilities as well as classrooms and lecture rooms. You will have access to use these facilities outside of class time while you are a student at ICMP in order to rehearse and record your music.
You will be taught through a variety of teaching and learning methods including lectures, small group tutorials, performance workshops, music technology workshops tutorials and one-to-one instrumental tuition.
You will have access to the Student Services Department for support and advice concerning welfare, finance, personal development, safeguarding and more. You'll also have access to our Professional Development team ‘The Hub, who provide bespoke music industry careers advice and access to unique industry opportunities.
Teaching and Learning
On the MMus in Popular Music Performance programme you will be taught by lecture, seminar discussion, and practical workshops as appropriate at ICMP's bespoke facilities in Kilburn.
When not attending lectures, seminars or other timetabled sessions you'll be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve reading articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library, concert venues, rehearsal facilities and preparing coursework assignments. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities, including our Learning Resource Centre, our many performance and practice rooms, and well-equipped tech suites.
Throughout the duration of your course your time will be split as follows:
Teaching hours per week
Semester A • Year 1: 6 hours
Total Teaching, Learning and Assessment hours per year
Year 1: 117 hours
Total self-study hours per year
Year 1: 1683