Bradford College has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.
Course summary
The principal aims of the Foundation Degree in Arts is to:
- provide students with a professional foundation for a range of artistic and technical careers in the music industry and other related fields.
- develop you as a competent musician and music technologist who is equipped with the necessary skills to create, perform and produce music to a professional standard.
- develop the skills you require to work independently and autonomously through work based learning and vocationally focused assessment.
- ensure that you are able to participate in both Music and Higher Education, regardless of your background.
- enable you to engage in a stimulating and up-to-date curriculum that reflects industry practice, encompasses new developments and acknowledge trends.
- enhance your employability within the creative industries by promoting a collaborative approach to teaching and learning across different disciplines.
- enable you to pursue further study at Level 6.
- offer a practical course of study in music where theory and practice are fused and in which both conceptual awareness and practical, creative skills are developed and applied in work related contexts.
- provide you with skills in research, analysis, problem solving and critical reflection and the visual, written and verbal communication skills required of a graduate entrant to the music industry.
Modules
Year 1: Creative Music Portfolio- This module will help you to develop the skills required to create original music, whilst also encouraging collaboration with other musicians to arrange and perform your creative ideas. Live Performance Project - You will develop your skills in staging a live performance. The delivery of this module is predominately practical, you'll learn rehearsal techniques, stagecraft, live performance techniques, live sound, and lighting. You will develop and deliver a live performance project to an audience in collaboration with your peers. You'll learn about legislation and health & safety considerations with regard to live events. Music Marketing and Promotion - You'll learn how to market and promote music effectively, as an artist and for live events. The music industry has completely changed for performers in recent years and therefore the approach to marketing and promotion has changed alongside it. The module will provide you with a professional platform to continue your pathway towards a career as a musician. Creative Industries Context - This module will encourage you to research and consider contemporary issues and debates within the creative Industries and how these impact on the production of work. You will look at theories relevant to the creation of products in the creative industries and the impact this has such as reception theory. Music Analysis and Arranging - You will learn concepts and theories relating to the key elements of a piece of music. In this module, you will develop critical music listening skills required to underpin the rest of the programme, giving you the knowledge required to produce your own work to an appropriate standard. You will conduct an in-depth analysis of a track, before producing your own using a range of techniques. Year 2 Music Studio Technology - This module will focus on the complex process of studio recording. You will develop knowledge in the practical and theoretical aspects of studio recording including acoustics, recording techniques, microphone technology, mixing, production techniques and mastering. You will apply advanced recording techniques to practical projects to develop professional recordings. Collaborative Project - This is a mandatory module for all students in the second year of the programme. Due to the collaborative nature of the music industry, it is essential that you develop the skills required to work alongside other practitioners from the industry in the development and delivery of a professional level project. Work-Based Experience - You will apply your skills in a work-based context, for example, with a theatre company, a TV production company, a local music venue, a recording studio, delivering subject specific workshops/classes or community-based arts. It will provide you with an opportunity to explore new or different skills through practical experience in the industry. Music Composition Project - You will learn about the building blocks of composition and how to develop musical ideas using a variety of different methods. You will work to a brief or stimulus - externally if possible, and this will help you develop your professional skills, as well as your ability to write to a commission. Exploring Solo Performance - Develop your skills as a solo performer and think about original and creative ways to present a performance. You will learn rehearsal techniques, stagecraft and improve your instrumental/production techniques. You will perform your chosen repertoire as a soloist in a scenario of your choosing. Your instrumental lesson will help you develop your technique and a suitable set of music. In the second year of the programme, you will be able to choose your specialism, either a performance or a technology/production related route.
Assessment method
This programme underpins the development of your practical skills as a musician with key theories, context and the development of academic skills. The programme is intended to be predominantly practical in its assessment and delivery, but with key theories and contextual information delivered as part of the programme to underpin these practices. You are expected to develop vocational skills that will help you to learn in a more real world and vocational scenario. This could be through putting on a performance project or working with students from a different department to produce the piece of assessed work. The e-learning strategy has been incorporated into the lessons to enhance the learning experience. You will use technology within some of the sessions for composition and notation. You may also notate pieces of written work by creating a blog or website. You will also utilise the College’s own VLE to further your learning experience away from the classroom. All the resources are posted on the VLE and you can engage further with it by taking quizzes and submitting assignments via ‘Turnitin’. Whilst there is currently no formal work placement as part of the programme, the vocational nature of the modules will ensure that employability is addressed across both years of the qualification. There is a clear drive towards ensuring that graduates from the programme will embed the skills required to produce high quality work to a deadline in a professional format, whilst collaborating with other students across related disciplines. This will give you the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge you have acquired in a work-based scenario. If opportunities arise that will allow you to enrich your learning with work related experience, then these will be encouraged, although there will be no formal assessed applied weighting to it. Tutorial sessions are worked into the scheme of work for each unit to ensure that you are offered one to one support with your transition to higher education and to ensure that you have a clear understanding of what is required in each unit. You will also be supported through regular assessment workshops to work through any questions that you may have in terms of the progression of the unit and essentially the assessment for the unit. There will also be guest masterclasses from visiting professionals periodically throughout the programme to give further context to the content delivered in the lectures. The format of work submitted for assessment could be in the form of an essay, presentation, performance or portfolio. Across the programme a range of assessment formats will be utilised that will reflect the nature of the unit (theory or practical) and to account for different learning styles. There will be collaborative work with students from your programme and from other areas of the School. The assessment methods for these projects will be in the form of a finished piece of work that is of a professional standard. This could be in the form of a collaborative performance with an accompanying journal, a recorded song with accompanying music video or short film for which you have composed the score. Critical reflection forms a major part of the assessment for all the modules, with the development of portfolios providing much of the evidence for your reflection of learning and development. This should also help to provide you with a completed portfolio of work that could help you to enter employment when finishing the programme. This project work allows for formative assessment to be ongoing throughout a module. Your tutors will maintain close contact with you throughout these projects, giving evidence for both formative and summative assessment whilst the module progresses.
How to apply
29Jan
This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.
Application codes
Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.
Points of entry
The following entry points are available for this course:
- Year 1
Entry requirements
Qualification requirements
UCAS Tariff - 80 points
Non-standard applicants will be required to produce evidence of their ability to study at the Higher Education level. Short-course and relevant work experience may be taken into account. Non-standard applicants will be interviewed and may be required to complete a piece of written work as part of their application. Claims for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) are welcomed by the College. Students should consult the admissions tutor if they wish to claim such recognition.
Additional entry requirements
Audition
Applicants will be invited to an audition and will be expected to play a prepared piece on their first instrument to ensure their playing is at an appropriate level.
Interview
Student Outcomes
Operated by the Office for Students
There is no data available for this course. For further information visit the Discover Uni website.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| England | £8000 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £8000 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £8000 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £8000 | Year 1 |
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
Approx. £100 for additional equipment (headphones, USB memory stick/hard drive, breakables such as strings/sticks) Approx. £500 per year for trips, visits to exhibitions and gigs. (All optional)
Provider information
Bradford College
Great Horton Road
Bradford
BD7 1AY