Introduction

This programme is a unique opportunity to study the musical traditions of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and their global diasporas. Students are taught the basic principles of ethnomusicology and survey a variety of Asian and African musics. In years 2 and 3 they are encouraged to focus on the music of specific regions and to consider cross-regional themes. Performance is a central component of the degree. Students have the opportunity to develop expertise in a great variety of musical performance traditions.

SOAS has the only Music department in the UK devoted to the study of world music. We have a very active musical life, including concert series, student ensembles and a successful summer school in which students can become involved. Students are taught in the heart of London, home to many vibrant and diverse communities and to a breath-taking array of world music concerts, workshops and festivals. Our students actively participate in this rich and varied musical scene.

Graduates possess not only musical and cultural expertise, but also a portfolio of widely transferable skills sought by employers in professional and creative industries. The programme leads into careers and vocational pathways including arts management, festival administration and curating, music journalism, teaching, performing and composing, album production, and management and consultancy within the music industry in Europe, Asia and Africa.

This two-subject degree allows more scope for studying language or other non-musical aspects of particular cultures than the single subject BMus Music. See the ‘Combinations’ tab for the list of subjects that can be taken. Some two-subject programmes are completed in three years while others take four years and include a year abroad. The single-subject degree allows greater concentration on music, including Western music and Performance.

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

May be combined with:

• Arabic+, (TW63 BA/MSA)
• Chinese+, (TW13 BA/MSCH)
• Development Studies, (LW93 BA/MSDVS)
• East Asian Studies
• Economics
• History, (VW3 BA.MSH)
• History of Art, (VW33 BA/HAAM)
• Japanese+, (TW21 BA/MSJ)
• Korean+, (TWLJ BA/MSKO)
• Languages and Cultures
• Linguistics
• Social Anthropology, (LW63 BA/SAMS)

+ 4-year degree with (compulsory) one year abroad
++ 3 or 4-year degree with option of one year abroad

Key Information Set data

Click on a combined programme to load KIS data

General Structure

First-year modules cover the basic principles of ethnomusicology and survey a variety of Asian and African musics. Students additionally receive aural training (e.g. in transcription) and follow lessons in one or more Asian or African performance traditions. The Department is linked with nearby King’s College, University of London. Qualified SOAS students may take 15 or 30 credits modules in Western music at King’s, and King’s students may take modules in ethnomusicology at SOAS, subject to approval from the appropriate tutors.

In Years 2 and 3, the student will usually focus on the music culture of a selected area or areas: Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Jewish music. They may also choose from the general and performance modules on offer. 

Occasionally the availability of optional modules changes as a result of staffing and other circumstances. Students who had signed up for such modules will be notified as soon as possible and given the opportunity to choose from available alternatives.

Degree Detail

• Students are required to take modules to the value of 360 credits over the duration of their degree, 120 credits per year. A 30 credits module is taught over both terms, while a 15 credits module is taught over one term only.  
• Up to 60 credits (for a three-year degree) or 90 credits (for a four-year degree) may come from the list of "open option modules" (modules outside of this programme - e.g. language or non-music modules).  However, open option modules may not be taken in year 1.
• At least 150 credits of Music modules must be taken in total.

Year 1:

Two-subject students take Sounds and Cultures, Writing Across the Arts, Performance 1a: gamelan OR Performance 1b: ensembles, and Introduction to Music Analysis OR Decolonising Pop: K-Pop and Beyond.

Year 2:

Two-subject students take the compulsory 15 credits module Ethnomusicology Themes & Variations. They must also take one module chosen from the "Area Modules" list. Remaining modules can be selected from any of the modules groups listed below, with up to 30 credits from an open option module, or music modules at Kings College.

Year 3:

Two-subject students take the compulsory 15 credits module Urban Soundscapes. They must also take at least a 15 credits module chosen from the "Area Modules" list. Remaining modules can be selected from any of the modules groups, with up to 30 credits from open option modules, or music modules at Kings College.

Modules Details

Year 1

Compulsory Module

AND

Second Subject

Students take 60 credits from second subject

Year 2

Compulsory Module

AND

Choose a module(s) from the List of Area Modules below to the value of 15 credits

AND

Open Options

Choose related Language or Non-Language open option modules to the value of 30 credits

• Language Open Option Modules
• Non-Language Open Option Modules

OR

Guided Option

Choose a module(s) from the List of Modules below to the value of 30 credits

OR

From list of Music modules at King's College London at 30 credits

AND

Second Subject

Students take 60 credits from second subject

Year 3

Compulsory Module

AND

Choose a module(s) from the List of Area Modules below to the value of 15 credits

AND

Open Options

Choose related Language or Non-Language open option modules to the value of 30 credits

• Language Open Option Modules
• Non-Language Open Option Modules

OR

Guided Option

Choose a module(s) from the List of Modules below to the value of 30 credits

OR

From list of Music modules at King's College London at 30 credits

AND

Second Subject

Students take 60 credits from second subject

List of Modules (subject to availability)

Area Modules

General Modules

Project Modules

Performance Modules

Programme Specification

• BA Music and ... Programme Specification 2020/21 (pdf; 164kb)

Important notice

Year abroad

Teaching & Learning

The Department of Music has been highly rated for teaching and research in all recent assessment exercises, and is regularly ranked amongst the top Music departments in the UK in Good University Guides.

Music students have access to the large Main Library of the School which holds numerous books, journals and recordings relevant to the study of ethnomusicology and world music, as well as the nearby British Library Sound Archive and other London libraries and museums.

The SOAS Library holds copies of standard reference works on music, such as the current edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. The Grove dictionary and the RILM database can also be accessed on line from computer terminals in the Library or elsewhere on the SOAS network. Listening facilities are provided in the Library, and most CDs are available on short loan. Among special items in the Department’s collections are:

• field recordings, films and slides
• a large working collection of musical instruments from Asia and Africa
• extensive staff collections relating to specific research interests

Contact Hours

All full-time undergraduate programmes consist of 120 credits per year, in modules of 30 or 15 credits. They are taught over 10 or 20 weeks. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study (see Approaches to teaching and learning at SOAS). It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. In the School of Arts, most undergraduate modules have a one- or two-hour lecture or seminar every week. Some, but not all, also have a 1-hour seminar or tutorial every week.

More information is on the page for each module.

Tuition Fees

Full details of undergraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's Undergraduate Tuition Fees page.

Fees for 2020/21 entrants. The fees below are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. 

Scholarships

For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section

As a graduate who specialised in Music at SOAS, you will have gained competency in one or more world music performance traditions, intercultural awareness and understanding of global music and the world music industry. Familiarity with a specific region will have been developed through the study of its music. You will have the opportunity to develop practical vocational skills in sound recording and radio presenting. Graduates leave SOAS not only with musical and cultural expertise, but also with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and creative capacities, including interpersonal skills, communication skills, focus, teamwork, passion and dedication. Studying a combined honours degree gives students to blend a solid grounding in another discipline or subject area which enables them to place the knowledge they gain as part of their degree within a specific regional, cultural or disciplinary context.

Specific Graduate Destinations:

• Nana Klimek (BA Music Studies) works at HeadNod Talent Agency in London.
• Rick Wilson (BA Music Studies), among other activities, collaborates with former MMus student Sally Pomme Clayton, providing music for her story-telling performances.
• Leni Koupis (BA Music Studies) is a fund-raiser and charity concert organiser for the Free Tibet Campaign.
• Nami Morris (BA Music & Korean) works in the External Affairs Division of Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea.
• Mira Sengupta (BA Music Studies) has composed music for three radio plays for LBC and has worked as a concert promoter.
• Many other graduates proceed to postgraduate study at SOAS or elsewhere. Others return, enhanced, to previous careers: Nigel Gomme as a composer and arranger, Fiona West as a music producer, David Wright as a jazz saxophonist, etc.

For more information about Graduate Destinations from this department, please visit the Careers Service website.

• How to Apply
• UCAS website
• Request a prospectus
• Got a question - use our enquiry form (opens a new window)
• Funding options
• English language requirements
• Tuition Fees
• Admissions Contacts