Course summary
This is a four-year degree including a one-year foundation programme. The foundation year allows you to develop key musical skills and experience to equip you for university life and to continue with our BMus Music which reflects the diversity and excitement of music in the 21st century and gives you the opportunity to mix many kinds of performance, composition, research and professional studies. It is ideal for students with experience and/or interest in one or more of these areas: classical music, jazz, sound art, experimental music, traditional music or musical theatre. Why choose the BMus Music with Foundation Year
- This programme gives you the chance to gain key practical and theoretical skills and experience across music theory, performance, technology, composition and musico-cultural theory.
- You'll receive guidance in study skills topics such as critical thinking, researching and writing and inducts you into various musical and institutional facilities and services, from music studios to Wellbeing and Careers teams.
- The foundation year (Year 0) programme gives you an opportunity to make music with students from across different degree programmes in a lively and vibrant departmental community. This community features everything from orchestral, jazz and pop ensembles to gamelan, mbira and improvising groups.
- Upon successful completion of the Foundation year, you gain automatic entry into our BMus Music degree and/or an internal audition for our BMus Popular Music programme.
- In Year 1 you’ll explore different musical styles and approaches to study - through a range of compulsory practical and critical modules
- Later, you'll be able to choose from our wide range of more specialised modules in performance, production, composition, songwriting, sonic art, music industries, global musics, popular music, music in film and media.
- You’ll have lots of opportunities to perform, including in professional and student-led ensembles and groups such as Vocal Ensemble, Jazz Workshop, Contemporary Music Ensemble, Laptop Ensemble, Chamber Choir and Steel Pan Group. PureGold, our annual music festival, celebrates the music created and performed at Goldsmiths.
- We're within easy reach of central London’s many venues, concert halls, opera houses and research libraries, providing a great international focus.
- You’ll be set up for the world of work. Employers look for initiative-driven graduates who can work well with others, lead their own projects, think creatively and adapt quickly to new ideas. This degree will help you develop these skills.
- We attract instrumental and vocal teachers of the highest quality, with many of our staff also performing internationally and teaching at the major music conservatoires.
- Performance modules include one-to-one tuition on your main instrument/voice, as well as ensemble coaching, performance lectures and masterclasses from top musicians and other industry professionals.
Modules
Year 0 (Foundation Year) You'll study four core music modules going across music performance, music theory, composition (including music technology) and basic musicology. You'll also study two broad-based modules embedded in our music studios, the library and London cultural life in general. You will study the following compulsory modules: Introduction to Musicology Foundation for Composition Foundation for Performance Foundation for Music Studies Building Your Research World Reading and Writing Your World Practical and subject-related skills are developed through class-based tasks, either individually or in groups, (including analytic, listening-based, or discursive exercises), or by setting up and reviewing follow-up tasks undertaken outside of class through workshops where you are given the opportunity to offer peer feedback. Teaching style The programme is delivered through small-group lectures, seminars, group and individual tutorials, workshops, and individual lessons. You will also have an assigned one-to-one instrumental or vocal tutor, and a personal tutor who will guide your study. This mix of practical and academic support is designed to help you make the leap into higher education with confidence. Year 1 (credit level 4) All BMus Music students take the following modules: Discovering Music Performance Composition for Ensembles and Media Contemporary Music Industries Identity, Agency & Environment 1 Year 2 (credit level 5) In your second year, you'll take the following compulsory modules: Collaborative Performance Contemporary Composition The Goldsmiths Elective The Goldsmiths Project The Goldsmiths Elective and Goldsmiths Project are cross-departmental modules which aim to provide you with a broad academic context. Optional modules You will then take 2-4 (60 credits) optional modules, chosen from the following list: Developing Performance Electronic Music Studio Skills Pitching Creative Businesses Music Production 1 Music and the Moving Image Global Musics Sonic Art: Contexts and Practices Year 3 (credit level 6) In your final year, you'll undertake the following compulsory modules: Major Project Writing to Brief Optional modules You will also take 3-5 (75 credits) optional modules, chosen from the list below: Live Performance Work placement You as Your Future: Developing Creative Careers Psychological Approaches to Music Music Production 2 Music and the Moving Image Global Musics Music Education, Outreach and Inclusion Sonic Art: Contexts and Practices Music in Focus Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
How to apply
This course is not open to application until the 13th May 2025.
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
- Course code:
- W310
- Institution code:
- G56
- Campus name:
- Main Site
- Campus code:
- -
Points of entry
The following entry points are available for this course:
- Foundation
Entry requirements
Qualification requirements
We would normally expect applicants to have some level 3 study equivalent to grade C at A Level or PP in a BTEC Diploma. However, we will also consider experience of playing a musical instrument or other music related experience. Offers will be made specific to your educational background and experience. Our admissions tutors' decisions will sometimes be made on the basis of the application form alone. However, we are mindful that not all applicants will have studied music formally, and not all will have been presented with opportunities to evidence their commitment to music. In these cases, we may be in touch to ask for further information to help us understand and assess your musical development to date. If we do contact you at this stage, we will give clear guidance on what we would like you to do: you will be invited either to submit a simple video recording of performance and/or documentation of composition work, or to attend a short and informal online interview with a member of the music team. Our aim is to make sure the programme is right for you. If you receive an offer, you will be invited to an on-campus applicant day. There, you will be able to meet our team and current students, and take part in some taster sessions so you can experience what it’s like to study with us.
English language requirements
Test | Grade | Additional details |
---|---|---|
IELTS (Academic) | 6 | With a 6.0 in writing and no element lower than 5.5 |
Student Outcomes
The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
No fee information has been provided for this course
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
Provider information
Goldsmiths, University of London
New Cross
Lewisham
SE14 6NW