Music with Political Studies

This course combines Music (75% of your course) and Political Studies (25%), enabling you to study these two subjects together.

Studying Music at Royal Holloway allows you to tailor your studies to your own interests and passions.

We have expertise spanning traditional, modern and world music. Through studying musical texts, practices, cultures and institutions you will explore issues in history, sociology, ethnology, and philosophy covering an exceptional geographical and chronological range. You will also be able to gain practical skills in composition, music technology and performance.

You will join a music department that is among the very best in the country, ranked third in the UK for research quality (REF 2014) and the only music department in the country to hold a prestigious Regius Professorship.

• You will have access to well-equipped studios and recording facilities as well as incredible performance spaces including the Windsor Auditorium, Boilerhouse Theatre, Victorian Picture Gallery and College Chapel.

• Our well connected department means you have the opportunity to make valuable music industry contacts. Our staff are connected with musical networks such Wigmore Hall, the BBC Proms, Royal Opera House.

Political Studies at Royal Holloway invites you to explore the ideas and ideologies, as well as the processes, institutions and issues that are fundamental to understanding the politics of our times. You will gain a solid foundation in politics and political theory and as you progress, the flexible nature of the course allows you to specialise in fields such as European integration, democratic theory, British and American politics and political communication. You will develop your understanding of power relations at all levels of social life and gain insight into the role of identity, ideology, interests and institutions in shaping the modern world.

• Ours is an active and engaged student community, and there are opportunities to take part in debating, Model United Nations and party political societies on campus

• We offer students research placement opportunities with our staff, gaining valuable experience of working at the forefront of political enquiry

• Pursue performance and composition or explore other elements of music.

• Experts with a wide range of political and musical expertise.

• Increasingly flexible syllabus as you progress.

• The opportunity to join our many ensembles.

• Choral, organ, orchestral and music scholarships.

We sometimes make changes to our courses to improve your experience. If this happens, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

Course Modules

Core Modules

Year 1

• Introduction to Politics and Government

Year 2

• All modules are optional

Year 3

• All modules are optional

Optional Modules

Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.

Year 1

• Theory and Analysis

• Creative Composition Techniques

• A Very Short History of Music

• Introduction to Historical Musicology

• Introduction to World Music

• Contemporary Debates in Music

• Solo Performance

• Creative Ensemble Performance

• Introduction to Composing with Music Technology

Year 2

• Studies in Music Analysis

• Studies in Composition

• Studies in Music History

• Studies in Ethnomusicology

• Studies in Music, Media and Technology

• Practical Performance I

• Ensemble Performance

• Composition Portfolio

• Practical and Creative Orchestration

• Practical Conducting (Choral and Orchestral)

• Composing with Technology 1

• Introduction to Jazz: Theory, Practice and Contexts

• Popular Music and Musicians in Post-War Britain and North America

• Korean Percussion Performance

• Practical Ethics

• Musical Aesthetics

• Mozart's Operas

• Issues in Sound, Music and the Moving Image

• Intercultural Performance: Theory and Practice

• Music and Society in Purcell's London

• Contemporary Music Performance

• Music, Power and Politics

• Ideas of German Music from Mozart to Henze

• Music and Gender

• Hearing the Orient: Critical and Practical Approaches to the Middle East

• Understanding the European Union: Politics and Theory

• Democracy in Britain

• Contemporary Political Theory

• Modern Political Thought

• Introduction to Political Communication

• Politics Outside the West

Year 3

• Solo Performance

• Ensemble Performance

• Composition Portfolio

• Practical and Creative Orchestration

• Practical Conducting (Choral and Orchestral)

• Composing with Technology 1

• Introduction to Jazz: Theory, Practice and Contexts

• Popular Music and Musicians in Post-War Britain and North America

• Korean Percussion Performance

• Practical Ethics

• Musical Aesthetics

• Mozart's Operas

• Issues in Sound, Music and the Moving Image

• Intercultural Performance: Theory and Practice

• Music and Society in Purcell's London

• Contemporary Music Performance

• Music, Power and Politics

• Ideas of German Music from Mozart to Henze

• Music and Gender

• Hearing the Orient: Critical and Practical Approaches to the Middle East

• Practical Performance 2

• Composing with Technology 2

• Special Study: Dissertation

• Special Study: Theory and Analysis

• Special Study: Solo Performance

• Special Study: Composition

• European Union Public Policy

• Radical Political Theory I: Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche

• Young People's Politics

• Leadership, Power and the British Prime Ministership

• Visual Politics

• American Political Development

• The Politics of Russia and Eastern Europe

• The Politics of International Development

• Issues in Democratic Theory

• Political Theories of Freedom

• Comparative Political Leadership

• Global Environmental Politics

• Parliamentary Studies

• Latin American Politics

• Social Diversity and Political Representation

• Politics of South Asia

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/music/music-with-political-studies/

You will take 12 course units at the rate of four per year. Some course units are compulsory while others are elective thereby offering flexibility and choice.

The results of the first year qualify students for entry to the second year but do not contribute to the final degree award. The second and final year results do contribute to the final degree result, with the final year work counting for a larger proportion of the result.

In music, you will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and instrumental/vocal lessons. You will also have the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of musical activities supported by the department, including performances by orchestras, choirs and other ensembles. Private study and preparation are essential parts of every course, and you will have access to many online resources and the University’s comprehensive e-learning facility, Moodle. When you start with us, you are assigned a Personal Advisor to support you academically and personally.

Assessment is carried out by a combination of examinations, which take place in the summer term, along with written papers, extended essays, assessed coursework, and portfolios of compositions and other practical work, and performance recitals.

In your political studies modules, you will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials and seminars. Outside class teaching,you will work both independently and collaboratively with other students, researching topics in the in preparation for class discussion and producing your assessed coursework. Private study and preparation are essential parts of every course, and you will have access to many online resources and the University’s comprehensive e-learning facility, Moodle.

Most modules contain an element of assessed coursework, such as an essay, a report, group work, a research blog, or a presentation, which contributes to the final examination mark awarded.