Course summary
The BA (Hons) Songwriting course is a practically focused, industry-aligned course designed for those looking to become a professional songwriter. Songs are the lifeblood of the music industry. To become a success, the modern songwriter needs to be courageous, creative, collaborative and enterprising. On the BA (Hons) Songwriting course, we’ll support you to develop each of these attributes. As a specialist music industry education provider, we don’t attempt to ‘teach’ you how to write songs but, instead, guide you through a structured and personalised journey that enables you to develop your own individual writing ability and creative style. Whether you’re a writer–performer with your own artist project, a writer–producer most at home in the studio, or a songwriter looking to co-write and pitch on the projects of others, we’ll support your individual journey within a collaborative setting. Each week, you’ll explore the art and craft of contemporary songwriting, and will write at least two songs to brief which cover a range of topics, styles, genres and approaches. You’ll collaborate with other ICMP London students to develop your material and will engage in small group ‘A&R-style’ feedback and critical discussion with your songwriting tutors and talented peers, regularly critiquing each other’s works-in-progress across all three years of the degree. Our core aim is to nurture your creative individuality and independence as a songwriter and empower you with the knowledge, skills and understanding required to establish and maintain a songwriting career, in whatever form you choose. You’ll achieve this with the help of our impressive teaching faculty, made up of highly experienced songwriters and music producers, all of whom have active careers in both the music industry and the higher education sector. Our songwriting course offers many opportunities for collaborative work, both within ICMP and with the wider music and creative industries, providing excellent opportunities for building your showreel and networking within the music business. The final year sees a research-based creative project and frequent interaction with established industry professionals, allowing students to leave ICMP ‘career-ready’. By the time you graduate from your songwriting degree course, you’ll have a deep understanding of the discipline; an impressive creative repertoire of work; a grasp of the history and culture of songwriting; solid production and recording skills; and expertise in musicianship, business, entrepreneurship and live performance. You’ll also have gained a working knowledge of the way the music industry operates, thanks to regular songwriting-specific masterclasses and events and visits from industry specialists.
Modules
Year 1 (Level 4)
- Creative Songwriting: Exploring Songcraft
- Creative Songwriting II: Establishing Songcraft
- Theory and Musicianship for Songwriters
- Fundamentals for Writer-Performers
- Fundamentals for Writer-Producers
- Music Business for Songwriters
- Applied Songwriting: Extending Songcraft
- Applied Songwriting II: Embedding Songcraft
- Songwriting and Communities
- Creative Performance Project
- Contemporary Practice for Writer-Producers
- Marketing Strategies for Songwriters
- Advanced Songwriting: Creative Identity & Repertoire
- Professional Practice
- The Enterprising Songwriter
How to apply
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:
- W3W8
- Institution code:
- I25
- Campus name:
- ICMP London
- Campus code:
- -
Points of entry
The following entry points are available for this course:
- Year 1
- Year 2
- Year 3
International applicants
International students will typically hold a relevant equivalent qualification, please check your qualification with our Admissions team. In addition, you should hold a relevant English language qualification equivalent to CEFR Level B2. ICMP are able to sponsor students that require a Student Route Visa to study in the UK. For more information on the application process contact [email protected].
Entry requirements
Qualification requirements
UCAS Tariff - 80 points
Additional entry requirements
Audition
All applicants will be invited to attend an audition/interview
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
England | £9250 | Year 1 |
Northern Ireland | £9250 | Year 1 |
Scotland | £9250 | Year 1 |
Wales | £9250 | Year 1 |
Republic of Ireland | £9250 | Year 1 |
EU | £10250 | Year 1 |
International | £15250 | Year 1 |
Channel Islands | £9250 | 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
Sponsorship information
For students to be eligible for SLC funding, they must be studying a designated course. Courses at the ICMP are designated each year by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. We have developed together with valued partners several scholarships and bursaries which supplement our outreach and widening participation activities and enhance access to our courses. Please contact our admissions team for more information.
Provider information
Institute of Contemporary Music Performance
ICMP
1B Dyne Road
London
NW6 7XG