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Music

  • BA (Hons)
  • 3 Years
  • Full-time
  • 21/09/2026
  • Undergraduate
York St John University
More about York St John University

Course options

2026-2027
Apply

Course summary

Studying music at York St John University, you will join a vibrant and welcoming musical community, where the emphasis is on practical engagement in music making.

This course prepares you for professional music making: performing, composing, and facilitating. Through collaborating with your peers, staff members, and other creative practitioners, you will develop into the artist you want to be.

When you join our music course, you choose to embrace the challenges of modern employment in music. In order to be prepared for whatever opportunities come your way, you will explore different ways of creating music, different instruments, different genres, different contexts of music making, and different ways of thinking about music. This course helps you explore how you can most effectively react to a rapidly-changing creative world.

You will take a practical approach to your learning, as we believe you learn best by doing. Receive one-on-one teaching in your specialist instrument, individual support in devising large-scale projects, and learn from your peers and external professionals through workshops. You will perform regularly in different venues across the city, from local pubs and independent venues, to York Minster and beyond.

Alongside your practical learning, you will also explore the theory of music - not just notes and chords, but also the many ways that music intersects with other fields such as psychology, philosophy, and cultural studies. Working alongside your classmates, postgraduate students, and your lecturers, you will develop skills in researching and critiquing ideas.

The course will introduce you to key areas of modern musical study, including topics such as:

Music’s impact on society
Advanced and experimental techniques of making music
Techniques for leading ensembles
Ethical dilemmas around music and justice
Collaborating with creative practitioners across the arts
How to best market yourself as a professional musician

Our enthusiastic and supportive team of experienced music tutors include performers, composers, teachers and community musicians. Their musical interests include everything from jazz and metal to choral music and brass bands. A large group of instrumental and vocal teachers who cover all instruments and musical styles will also support you through your studies.

Modules

Modules may include:

Year 1
Musicking
Perspectives on Music 1
Ensembles and Team Work
VOX
Drumming

Year 2
Ensemble Strategies
Perspectives on Music 2
Musical Exploration
Professional Context and Practise
Composition Strategies
Principles of Community Music
Solo Performance Strategies

Year 3
Ensembles and Leadership
Dissertation
Collaborative Project
Enterprise and Employability
Advanced Composition
Advanced Solo Performance
Professional Practise in Community Music

Ways to study this course

Campuses

  • York St John University

Study options

  • BA (Hons) • Full-time • 3 Years

Start dates

  • 21/09/2026

Apply by
14 January

This is the equal consideration deadline. You can still apply after this date, but your application may not receive guaranteed consideration.

Application codes

Course code:
W300
Institution code:
Y75
Campus name:
York St John University
Campus Code:
A
Points of Entry:
Year 1, 2, 3

York St John University has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

See why these ratings were awarded
What does this TEF outcome mean?

How to apply

Apply by
14 January

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:
W300
Institution code:
Y75
Campus name:
York St John University
Campus Code:
A

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

For Second Year entry, applicants must have completed the first year of Higher Education in a similar subject with a total of 120 credits.
For Third Year entry, applicants must have completed the first and second year of Higher Education in a similar subject with a total of 240 credits.

Applicants will need to submit a transcript of their completed study, and offers will be subject to a mapping exercise of modules to ensure an appropriate alignment of course content.
Please be aware that transfer applications are subject to availablity of space on the selected academic year of your chosen course.
For more information on the transfer process, please see https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/transferring-to-york-st-john-university/.

If transferring to the final year of a course containing a placement or study abroad year, you must have also completed a placement or study abroad year prior to starting the course.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

UCAS Tariff - 104 points

GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C/4 (or equivalent) including English Language.

Find out more about qualification requirements for this course.

Contextual admissions

Universities and colleges consider more than grades when assessing applications and may make offers based on a range of criteria. Learn more about contextual offers.

For all UK applicants, we look at six factors:
• Where you live
• Your school or college
• Age
• Disability
• First in family to study in HE
• Time in care
These six factors create a point score, which is then taken into account, along with standard criteria. The points don’t influence whether an offer is made but can influence the type of offer made, resulting in reduced or unconditional offers.
Full information is on our website, including scheme adaptations for individual courses.

Learn more on the York St John University website

Historical entry grades data BETA

This section shows the range of grades students (with UK A-Levels or Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diplomas) who received offers were previously accepted with (learn more). It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place. Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.

Data from:
This course and 8 other performing arts courses
Date range:
2022-2024

Grades held by accepted students

For York St John University, the top and bottom 5% of student grades have been removed from these calculations. This change helps to remove any extraordinary circumstances that could impact the data. Learn more here .
BBB Most common
  1. AAA
  2. Highest grades
  3. DDE
  4. Lowest grades

Offer rate for UK school & college leavers

96% Students aged 17/18 who applied to this course were offered a place.

How do you compare?

See how students with your grades have been accepted onto this course in the past.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students

70 Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)

90 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

LocationFeeYear
England£9790Year 1
Northern Ireland£9790Year 1
Scotland£9790Year 1
Wales£9790Year 1
Channel Islands£9790Year 1
Republic of Ireland£9790Year 1
EU£14000Year 1
International£14000Year 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

Fees for our foundation years may vary, please see the relevant foundation year at https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/foundation-years/ for current foundation year fees.

For courses with an optional Placement Year, during the Placement Year your fees will be reduced to 20% of the annual fee value.

Course fees can rise from year to year, Please see our terms and conditions for further information:
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/media/content-assets/admissions/documents/Student-Terms-and-Conditions-26-27.pdf

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