SOAS University of London

Department of Music, School of Arts

BA Music and ... (2022 entry)

Select year of entry: 2022 2021

  • Combinations
  • Structure
  • Teaching and Learning
  • Fees and funding
  • Employment
  • Apply

Overview

Overview and entry requirements

The BA Music (combined degree) 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.

See Department of Music

Combine Music with other subjects

This two-subject degree allows more scope for studying language or other non-musical aspects of particular cultures. 

  • Other disciplines: Development Studies, East Asian Studies, History, History of Art, Language and Cultures, Social Anthropology, World Philosophies
  • Languages: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean

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.

Why study Music at SOAS

  • SOAS is ranked 44th in the world in the 2021 QS World University Rankings for Arts and Humanities
  • 100% overall student satisfaction (NSS 2021)
  • SOAS has the only Music department in the UK devoted to the study of world music.
  • very active musical life, including concert series, student ensembles and a successful summer school in which students can become involved
  • 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.
  • 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. 

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

Entry requirements


  • A Levels:
    ABB
    Contextualised offer:
    BBB

    Please see our 'undergraduate entry requirements' page for international, alternative and subject specific entry requirements.

Featured events

duration:
3 or 4 years

Fees 2021/22

Fees for 2021/22 entrants per academic year

UK fees:
£9,250
Overseas fees:
£19,560


Please note that fees go up each year. Further details see 'Fees and funding' (tab on this page) or the Registry's undergraduate tuition fees page.

Convenors


Please see the Unistats data for the various combinations of this programme under the Combinations tab.

Combinations

May be combined with:

+ 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

BA Music and Arabic (Year Abroad)

BA Music and Chinese (Year Abroad)

BA Music and Development Studies

BA East Asian Studies and Music

BA Languages and Cultures and Music

BA Languages and Cultures and Music including year abroad

BA Linguistics and Music

BA Music and History

BA History of Art and Music

BA Music and Japanese (Year Abroad)

BA Music and Korean (Year Abroad)

BA Music and World Philosophies

BA Social Anthropology and Music

Structure

Structure

First-year modules cover the basic principles of ethnomusicology and survey a variety of Asian and African musics. Students additionally receive aural training (eg, 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.

Programme

  • 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, for example 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
Compulsory Module
Module Code Credits Term
Sounds and Cultures 155800071 15 Term 1
Writing Across the Arts 158100012 15 Term 1
Performance 1 155800062 15 Full Year
Decolonising Pop: K-Pop and Beyond 155800089 15 Term 2
AND
Second Subject

Students take 60 credits from second subject

Year 2
Compulsory Module
Module Code Credits Term
Ethnomusicology: Themes and Variations 155800065 15 Term 1
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

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
Module Code Credits Term
Urban Soundscapes 155800083 15 Term 2
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

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
Module Code Credits Term
Song, Voice, and Body in Indian Music 155800093 15 Term 2
Sound, Text, and Image in South Asian Arts 158100005 15 Term 2
Music and travel on the Silk Road 158100006 15 Term 1
Music in Africa: Critical Listening - The Mande World 155800096 15 Term 2
Music in Africa: Musical crosscurrents in East Africa and the Indian Ocean 158100007 15 Term 2
Music, Religion and Society in the Middle East and North Africa 155800092 15 Term 1
Music and Sound Art in South Asian Religions 155800086 15 Term 2
Music and Religion in South East Asia 155800080 15 Term 2
Musical Traditions of East Asia 155800078 15 Term 2
Pop and Politics in East Asia 155800077 15 Term 1
The World of Cuban Music 155800058 15 Term 1
Music of the Jews of Arab Lands 155800074 15 Term 1
Music, Healing and Pilgrimage in Morocco 155800097 15 Term 1
General Modules
Module Code Credits Term
Arts, Culture and Commodification: Themes in the Global Creative and Cultural Industries 158100001 15 Term 2
Composition 155800082 15 Term 1
Key Concepts in Cultural Theory 158100002 15 Term 1
Curating Global Arts 158100004 15 Term 1
Gender and Music 155800073 15 Term 2
Global Hip-Hop 155800084 15 Term 2
Introduction to Sound Recording 155800069 15 Term 1
Presenting World Music On Radio 155800076 15 Term 2
Project Modules
Performance Modules
Module Code Credits Term
Performance 2 155800042 15 Full Year
Performance 3 155800045 30 Full Year

Programme Specification

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department. Please read the important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.

Teaching and Learning

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.

Year abroad

If you are studying a language as part of your combined honours degree, you will usually study for 4 years, with year 3 spent abroad.

Fees and funding

Employment

Employment

Students in the School of Arts develop a ​​critical and theoretically informed approach to global arts and culture. In addition to an intercultural awareness and practical expertise, graduates gain a wide portfolio of transferable skills especially which are sought after in the creative and cultural industries. 
Recent School of Arts graduates have been hired by:
  • Christie’s
  • Christine Park Gallery
  • Crisis
  • Design Museum
  • Hong Kong Museum Of Art
  • India Foundation For The Arts
  • Japanese Gallery
  • Museum of East Asian Art
  • Music in Detention
  • National Gallery
  • Pan Arts
  • People Projects Culture & Change
  • Roundhouse Trust
  • Somerset House Trust
  • Songlines Magazine
  • Sotheby's
  • South Asian Art UK
  • Stratford Circus Arts Centre
  • Taiwan Embassy
  • The Alliance for Global Education
  • The British Embassy
  • The National Museum Of Korea
  • The Royal Collection
  • Victoria and Albert Museum

Find out about our Careers Service.

A Student's Perspective

I would sum up my studies here so far as a white-knuckle intellectual adventure. It has opened doors not only in my mind, but in real life, especially in terms of people I have met.

Richard Gray

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