English and Music

English and Music at Aberdeen gives you the unique experience of exploring literature, language and creative writing inspired by internationally acclaimed authors and poets, while also learning alongside world-renowned composers and musicologists. You will grow your academic, writing and performing skills, kick start a sparkling career across the arts and creative industries, or use your sought-after transferable skills as your passport to many other options.

Aberdeen is a leading centre for the study of literature, language and creative writing, rated second in the UK for its research output. You will study poetry and prose through the dynamic relationship between author, reader and literary text, covering every period from Chaucer to contemporary English, Scottish, Irish, European and American writing and the cultural and critical impact of powerful and controversial modern works.

You will be inspired by enthusiastic teachers and researchers, themselves acclaimed authors and poets and be encouraged to develop your own creative writing skills. Aberdeen is also the perfect environment and location in which to study music, with 500 years of musical history and heritage and a vibrant cultural identity which celebrates the traditional while embracing the modern.

Music at Aberdeen means studying, composing and performing with established and up-and-coming composers and musicologists, working in all genres, styles and periods with unrivalled opportunities to grow as a musician and performer. You will study performance, composition and theory, musicianship and a broad overview of music history. This subject combination prepares you for a wide variety of careers not specifically in music but also in education, media, business, publishing and widely across arts and heritage.

Course Modules

View all modules on the programme page to find out more about what you will be studying and when. University of Aberdeen modules are designed to give you breadth and depth to your degree. The range of modules you study will allow you to become proficient in all subjects which are directly relevant to your degree giving you greater career options.

*Please note that performance courses are available only after a successful audition. MA students audition at the beginning of an academic session, likely during welcome week. The Music Department’s office will be in touch nearer that time to offer an audition slot. Please note, there may be little notice between receiving the invite and your actual audition due to the University’s Admissions process. For further information, please contact llmvc.enquiries@abdn.ac.uk.

The use of various forms of assessment and learning environments facilitates the development of generic transferable skills enhancing student employability.

Students are assessed by any combination of three assessment methods: coursework such as essays and reports completed throughout the course; practical assessments of the skills and competencies they learn on the course; and written examinations at the end of each course. The exact mix of these methods differs between subject areas, years of study and individual courses.

Honours projects are typically assessed on the basis of a written dissertation.