Leeds Conservatoire has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.
Course summary
Develop your skill set in more than one subject area and study with a wider range of expert staff on this Popular Music with Jazz course at Leeds Conservatoire. You’ll take your Specialist Study modules in Popular and your Specialist Group Study modules in Jazz. In 2005, we became the first UK conservatoire to deliver a specialist course in Popular Music, and we’re still pioneers. We champion original material and encourage you to take creative risks. As well as focusing on your performance skills, you’ll develop composition skills and enrich your commercial expertise with practical guidance. This very practical course supports your development into a highly skilled specialist performer. Focus is placed on developing technical proficiency and artistry, as well as enhancing compositional, musicological and critical listening skills. We champion original material, and encourage you to take creative risks. By the end of your popular music with Jazz degree, you will be a specialist in your chosen discipline and will have established your individual artistic identity and voice as a musician, whilst possessing a breadth of understanding, knowledge and transferable skills that will support you throughout your future career.
Modules
The BA (Hons) Music (Popular with Jazz) modules focus on developing you as a professional musician through one-to-one instrumental tuition, ensemble study, and creative projects. In addition, the contextual studies strand of study will develop your awareness of the environments within which you create music, and the professional studies strand will develop your core business skills. Other optional modules will introduce additional cross-genre skills. The programme has strands in Specialist Study, Contextual Studies and Professional Studies that span the three levels of the programme. Students focus primarily on their Specialist Study. Specialist Study is split so that one to one study is studied on the Popular pathway and group study is studied on the Jazz pathway. Year 1 (Level 4) Compulsory modules: Specialist Study Performance 1 – Popular Specialist Group Study 1 – Jazz Contextual Studies 1 – Popular Professional Studies 1: Working in the Creative Industries Creative Project Year 2 (Level 5) Compulsory modules: Specialist Study Performance 2 – Popular Specialist Group Study 2 – Jazz Contextual Studies 2 – Popular Professional Studies 2 Contextual Studies 2 optional modules, one of: Arranging and Orchestration Collaborative Composition Entrepreneurship Introduction to Music Technology Music and Ideology Music for the Moving Image Musical Direction Performance with Electronics Songwriting Professional Studies 2 optional modules, one of: Artistic Management Business Start-up Concerts and Touring Instrumental Music Tuition Self-Promotion and Music Marketing Structure and Functions of the Film Music Industry Working with Music in the Community Year 3 (Level 6) Compulsory modules: Specialist Study Performance 3 – Popular Final Project – Jazz Contextual Studies 3 Professional Studies 3 Students select either a Group/Ensemble Performance Project, a Practice in Context Research Project or Musical Direction/Conducting for their Final Project module. Contextual Studies 3 optional modules, one of: Composed Theatre Composition and Production for Film and Television Computer-Based Composition Electro-acoustic Composition Emerging Music Models Extended Improvisation Intercultural Music Software Environments – Performance and Sound Creation Professional Studies 3 optional modules, one of: Business Leadership and Ethics Community Music Project Film Music – Aesthetics and Narrative Function Live Music Management Music Journalism Module specifications can be found via the Leeds Conservatoire website: http://bit.ly/LC-PopJazz-UCAS
Assessment method
This combined study is assessed in a variety of ways to reflect the diversity of creative and professional practice. Assessment methods include performances, audio recordings, presentations, technical tests, essays, oral exams, and portfolios. The exact nature of assessments will depend on the Contextual Studies and Professional Studies module options chosen at Level 5 and Level 6, as well as the choice of project for the Final Project module at Level 6. Formal assessments tend to take place at the end of each semester or the end of the year. There are a handful of assignments with deadlines halfway through a semester.
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
- Course code:
- 2Q4A
- Institution code:
- L30
- Campus name:
- Main Site
- Campus code:
- -
Points of entry
The following entry points are available for this course:
- Year 1
International applicants
Please visit the international page on our website for further information: http://bit.ly/UCAS-international-apply
Entry requirements
Qualification requirements
UCAS Tariff - 96 points
A level
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Access to HE Diploma
Scottish Higher
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Additional entry requirements: Applicants should also have achieved a minimum of three GCSEs at Grade C/4 or above. UCAS tariff points from music graded exams are also accepted (highest achieved per instrument (grade 6 and above), awarded by ABRSM, London College of Music, Trinity College, Rock School). All applicants will be required to either attend an audition or submit a portfolio of work. Please see https://www.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/audition for up to date details of our audition process. English Language requirements: All applicants must meet the minimum English Language requirement, as set by the conservatoire. For UK applicants this is GCSE English Language at grade C/4. Equivalent qualifications, such as Functional Skills English Level 2 or National 5 English grade C, will also be accepted. For applicants that require a Student Visa to study in the UK, the standard requirement is IELTS 6.0 with no sub-test less than 5.5.
Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course
Additional entry requirements
Audition
Portfolio
Student Outcomes
Operated by the Office for Students
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
Go onto work and study
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
| England | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Channel Islands | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | £9250 | Year 1 |
| EU | £20300 | Year 1 |
| International | £20300 | 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
For details of any additional costs associated with your course, please see https://www.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate-study/fees-funding/tuition-fees/
Provider information
Leeds Conservatoire
3 Quarry Hill
Leeds
LS2 7PD