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 of the BMus Music 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.

Music at SOAS can also be studied as part of a two-subject degree leading to the award of a BA. This option allows more scope for studying language or other non-musical aspects of particular cultures. The single-subject degree allows greater concentration on music, including Western music and Performance.

Programme Code: W300 BA/MS

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

General Structure

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.

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 up to 30 credits 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 is encouraged to focus on the music of a selected region or regions through “area” modules focussing on Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Jewish world. A number of non-regional “thematic” modules and independent research projects are also available. Modules in other departments (“open options”) may be taken as appropriate, once the Music requirements have been met.

Degree Detail

Please note that a 15 credits module corresponds to a 0.5 unit (taught over one term) and a 30 credits module corresponds to a full unit (taught over both terms).

• Students are required to take modules to the total value of 360 credits over the duration of their degree, 120 credits per year.  A 30 credits module will be taught over both terms, while a 15 credits module is taught over one term.  
• Up to 90 credits may come from "open option modules" (modules outside of this programme - e.g. language or non-music modules), but only 30 credits of open option modules may be taken in each year.
• SOAS Music undergraduates may take selected Western music modules at King's College, with the approval of the module tutor, as open option modules. Many King's modules are taught during one term only, and term and exam dates may differ from SOAS. In particular, some exams are held in January.

Year 1:

Single-subject students take six compulsory 15 credits modules (90 credits in total) in the "Compulsory Modules" listing below. Their remaining 30 credits may be an "open option" module.

Year 2:

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

Year 3:

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

Modules Detail

Programme Specification

• BMus Music programme specification 2019/20 (pdf; 490kb)

Important notice

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.

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.

Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:

• AKTC
• Davies Arnold Cooper LLP
• EFINST
• PPP Company Limited
• Fundamental Frequency Productions
• Golden Feathers - Alice Myth
• Indigenous People
• Music For Change
• T&T Productions
• Whitefield School
• DfID World Music Matters

Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include: 

• Musicologist
• Trainee Solicitor
• English Teacher
• Proofreader
• Composer/Producer
• Musician
• Marketing Officer
• Project Manager
• Head of CSL Products
• Musician
• Translator
• Director
• Music Therapist

Specific Alumni

• 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.