MA Sound and Music
Belfast, United Kingdom
MA
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
14 Aug 2026
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 23,000 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international fee
The MA in Sound and Music allows for specialised study in diverse music disciplines, including composition, instrument design, musicology, performance and recording, while bringing together students across these areas (and more) to explore a broad range of topics through collaboration and individual research. The ethos of the course is based on the understanding that the practice and study of music is necessarily social, and that advancements in music inform, and are informed by, wider cultural, critical and technical practices. This course aims to connect students in adjacent subjects through access to elective modules from outside Music, as well as via participation in research seminars, ensembles, workshops, concerts and festivals delivered by SARC, QUB’s internationally-recognised centre for interdisciplinary research in sound and music.
Sound and Music highlights
World Class Facilities
The SARC building is home to unique facilities, including the Sonic Lab, the most advanced music venue on the island of Ireland, as well as professional quality audio recording and broadcast production studios, fabrication facilities and a multipurpose interaction lab.
The equipment and facilities in the SARC building are complemented by the nearby Music building, including the Harty Room, an oak hammer-beam vaulted roof concert hall housing two full-concert Steinway grand pianos, a double-manual harpsichord and several other specialist instruments, as well as recently upgraded AV playback facilities.
Industry Links
MA students will benefit from regular contact with visiting artists and academics through the Music @ QUB events series, which features weekly concerts, seminars, workshops and masterclasses.
Career Development
Students will form part of an international network of alumni that has continued to grow over the 75+ years that Music has been running at Queen’s
How do I fund my study?
The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study.
A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Masters courses in all subject areas (excluding Initial Teacher Education/PGCE, where undergraduate student finance is available). Criteria, eligibility, repayment and application information are available on the UK government website.
The design of this MA programme is structured to provide students with a strong interdisciplinary foundation before allowing for flexible specialisation and culminating in a significant independent project. The programme begins with two core modules, Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Practice and Knowing Music.
Following this foundational stage, the programme offers a suite of optional modules that provide great flexibility, allowing students to chart their own path and pursue specialism in different areas. These optional modules cover diverse subjects, including: Musical Instrument Design, Postwar Modernism & Postmodernism, Critical and Creative Approaches to Song, Critical Studies in Improvisation, Experimental Practices in Irish Traditional Music, Immersive Sound, and Source Studies.
The course culminates in an Individual Portfolio or Dissertation in an area chosen by the student.
Semester 1
Students will take two core modules in Semester 1:
- MUS7100 Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Music
- MUS7101 Knowing Music
Together, MUS7100 and MUS7101 lay the essential groundwork for the MA. MUS7100 equips students with crucial skills for working across boundaries and with diverse groups, while MUS7101 provides the methodological toolkit necessary for rigorous research within an interdisciplinary context.
They will also take ONE of the following:
- MUS7106 Musical Instrument Design; OR
- MUS7107 Postwar Modernism & Postmodernism
Semester 2
Students will take one core module:
- MUS7109 Portfolio Dissertation
And THREE of the following:
- MUS7102 Critical and Creative Approaches to Song
- MUS7103 Critical Studies in Improvisation
- MUS7104 Experimental Practices in Irish Traditional Music
- MUS7105 Immersive Sound
- MUS7108 Source Studies
This programme is designed to boost students' career prospects across the Music industry both at home and internationally.
Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.