MA Music Education 2 years part-time (Taught)

Introduction

The MA MusEd Programme is designed for students wishing to further develop their teaching and music-leading skills and understanding. It aims to equip students with the necessary theory, musical skills, insight and experience required by the contemporary music education profession in its widest sense.

This in-person programme can be taken on a full-time basis for one year or on a part-time basis over two years. The programme is not auditioned and accepts students from any music tradition and who play any instrument. Students wanting a music education programme with performance are recommended to apply for the MA Music Education & Performance (LINK). Students wanting a distance learning programme in music education are recommended to apply for the PGCert or MA International: Teaching Musician.

Course Details

This practice-based programme equips graduates to work in a variety of professional settings with a broad range of pedagogical strategies, and on completion of the award students will have established a rich understanding of music’s pedagogies and their theoretical foundations. As developing educators and music leaders they will have led music-making with others in a variety of settings, with a range of participants of different abilities and in relation to a range of audiences; they will also have gained a comprehensive insight into the role of the musician in the contemporary education infrastructure. Through their practices in music teaching they will develop collaborative, creative and entrepreneurial skills in support of a professional career.

Programme Content

This programme comprises compulsory ‘core’ modules designed to develop students’ theoretical knowledge and its application to a variety of teaching practices and contexts, critical engagement with ethical considerations in music education, and an opportunity to experience in depth a new educational context. Students will learn research methodologies and undertake a personal project into an aspect of educational practice; they will also participate in CoLab, the college’s two-week festival of cross- faculty collaborative learning. A suite of elective specialist options permits further opportunities to develop depth in theory and practice alongside further contextual subject areas.

The programme’s range of learning opportunities will permit students a rich appreciation of UK and international practices and philosophies of music teaching, learning and participation, supporting a diverse skill-set with knowledge at the forefront of their discipline, music as their primary language of engagement, high- quality reflective practice and a mindset of life-long professional development. The programme contains modules which are shared with the MA Music Education & Performance, the MMus and the Teaching Musician programmes, permitting students to form communities across the institution, with those training as performers and with practicing music educators.

· A wide range of modules exploring music pedagogy from a variety of stances, including instrumental/vocal teaching, creative leadership and classroom electives.

· An intensive research project in music pedagogy which evidences masters level critical thinking in a subject area of the student’s own choosing.

· A range of electives taught either in-person or online, including Mentor Scheme, Technology in Music Education, Contemporary Theorists in Music Education, the Social Impact of Music Making, and Expanding Horizons: Exploring UK Music Education.