MA in Music Education
- Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom
- Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom
MA
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 20,700 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* there is no application deadline for postgraduate courses
** for international full-time | international part-time: 11,385 GBP/year | home full-time: 10,300 GBP/year | home part-time: 5,665 GBP/year
Key Summary
Develop your practitioner skills by designing and implementing a teaching and learning project in an educational setting.
Recent graduates have gone on to work in a range of educational settings, both in the UK and abroad.
During the course, you’ll study two dedicated music education modules to deepen your understanding of current issues, practices and research.
You’ll also select optional modules in everything from composition and music technology to performance and production. There’s even the option to take a professional placement year – the perfect way to fast-track your teaching skills and learn first-hand in a real educational setting.
Our specialist tutors and expert lecturers will guide you throughout the course, helping you expand your research knowledge, plan projects and deliver your final dissertation.
Outside the programme, you’ll have the opportunity to join University ensembles and form your own. Throughout the year, you’ll be able to attend masterclasses and workshops with performers and composers, and live performances at London’s major venues.
Why choose this course?
While you study, you’ll benefit from top-quality teaching at Kingston University. We’re ranked Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, and our experienced academic staff are active performers, composers and educators themselves.
The Coombehurst Complex
As a music student, you’ll access a range of professional studio facilities and practice rooms in our Coombehurst Complex. Here you'll find five recording studios, a computer suite with iMac workstations, plus audio and video editing facilities and band rehearsal rooms.
The Coombehurst Complex is also home to our flagship Visconti Studio, an analogue-meets-digital space with a 300m² octagonal live room and a selection of vintage and rare recording equipment. This tape-based studio features a unique collection of instruments, including a Mellotron, a Hammond organ and a Steinway concert grand piano.
Access to instruments
Our extensive instrument collection includes around 30 pianos, a harpsichord, drum kits and orchestral and classroom instruments. We also have a double-size Javanese gamelan and a set of djembe drums.
What's more, you can book a range of recording and performing instruments, rooms and equipment through our online system. Studios are open for use 24 hours a day.
Music in the library
The Nightingale Centre’s music library holds an extensive collection of books, anthologies, scores, sheet music, periodicals, and audio and video recordings. Kingston also subscribes to Grove Music Online, RILM and the Naxos online recordings catalogue. You can access these resources from any University workstation.
Interested in studying an MA in Music Education at Kingston? The following funding support is available:
- Inspire the Future Scholarship
- International scholarships
- Progression Scholarship
- Discounts for Kingston University alumni
Course content
Your core studies will encompass key research and practice issues in music teaching and learning.
Through devising, delivering and evaluating your music education research project, you will develop and enhance your skills as both a practitioner and researcher. Alongside this you can choose from a variety of option modules and develop new skills to exploit in your own teaching.
You'll need to take all four compulsory modules, totalling 150 credits. You can then choose a further 30-credit optional module, to form a total of 180 credits.
Please note, optional modules only run if there is enough demand. If we have an insufficient number of students interested in an optional module, that module will not be offered for this course.
Modules
The core modules will develop your research, project planning, teaching and development skills in preparation for your major project while receiving guidance from a specialist tutor.
The curriculum is enriched by our eclectic view of musical styles and genres, exploiting the diversity of a repertoire that encompasses Western classical music, popular and world music.
Core modules
- Constructing Music Education in the UK
- International Music Education: Psychology, Culture and Philosophy
- Major Project
- Researching Music
Optional modules (may vary from year to year)
- Advanced Production of Popular Music
- Composing and Marketing Popular Music
- Critical Reflection on Musical Performance
- Music and Technology in Education
- Performance Studies
Optional placement year
Many postgraduate courses at Kingston University allow students to do a 12-month work placement as part of their course. The responsibility for finding the work placement is with the student; we cannot guarantee the work placement, just the opportunity to undertake it. As the work placement is an assessed part of the course, it is covered by a student's Student Route visa.
When you complete this course, you’ll be ready to start your career in music education, or progress to management level in your current role. You could even continue your studies with a PhD or PGCE, or use your transferable skills to tap into careers in the wider business and commercial sphere.