In addition to performance and composition, this music degree involves studying texts, practices, cultures and institutions, and is a rich and intellectually stimulating course. You will explore issues in history, sociology, ethnology, and philosophy, as well as the more specific areas of music history and theory.
Royal Holloway's Music department is ranked no.1 in the UK for research quality, and our academic staff cover the very widest range of approaches to the study of music. Some of the main areas of teaching include Western music history (wide-ranging but with many special courses in early music and music from the nineteenth century onwards), ethnomusicology, music theory and analysis of tonal, post-tonal, and pre-tonal music, performance, and composition of various kinds.
Studying Music at the Royal Holloway University of London is an opportunity to expand your knowledge of music from a variety of perspectives including historical, global, practical and contemporary standpoints. You can develop your skills in music history and theory, world music, composition, music technology and performance, all within a framework that rewards serious intellectual engagement with various forms of music in the many spaces it occupies in today's world.
Throughout your course you will have access to Royal Holloway's well-equipped studios and recording facilities and have the opportunity to make invaluable industry contacts.
Why choose this course?
- The Music department received the highest rating for research in the UK in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.
- You will benefit from Royal Holloway's long-standing international reputation for the study of early music.
- You will have access to major performance spaces on campus as well as several music technology spaces with the latest industry-standard hardware and software.
- You can choose from a wide range of performance opportunities including the chamber orchestra, the sinfonietta (for new music) and the big band.
- Many graduates go on to thriving careers as musicians, as music, dance and drama teachers, and as technicians and managers in the audio-visual industries.
Employability & career opportunities
Choosing Music at Royal Holloway will not only equip you with specific practical in performance, composition and production, but also the transferable skills most valued by employers such as communication, teamwork, time management, commercial awareness and critical thinking.
Our recent graduates have very successfully entered a wide range of careers including roles as musicians, composers and performing arts teachers, but also technicians, publishers, managers, lawyers and policy makers. Many graduates also go on to advanced study in a variety of fields.
