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Music with French

  • Bachelor of Arts (with Honours)
  • 3 Years
  • Full-Time
  • 20 September 2027
  • Undergraduate
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More about Royal Holloway, University of London

Course options

2026-20272027-2028
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Course summary

By combining Music (75% of your course) with French (25%) you will take Music as the major element of your degree alongside core French language modules.

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.

As a student of French, you will take core language modules, enabling you to learn to speak and write fluently.

As a part of Royal Holloway’s close-knit international community based in our beautiful historic campus, you will be within easy reach of London, France’s sixth biggest city’, with its wealth of French cultural resources.

  • Whether you are a beginner or advanced student when you start, by the time you graduate you will be fluent in French: confident in reading, understanding and analysing text and able to write with ease and accuracy.

Modules

Course Modules

Core Modules

Year 1

All languages we teach have a beginners' and a post-A Level pathway in Year 1, allowing you to study one language ab initio (intensively, from scratch). From Year 2 onwards all students take the same language modules, regardless of your Year 1 pathway.

You will take two of the following courses depending on your language proficiency

  • French Ab Initio Written I

  • French Ab Initio Oral I

  • French Advanced Written I

  • French Advanced Oral I

Year 2
  • French Language II
Year 3
  • Pratique du Français III

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

  • Fundamentals of Music Theory

  • Creative Composition Techniques

  • A Very Short History of Music

  • Introduction to Historical Musicology

  • Introduction to World Music

  • Contemporary Debates in Music

  • Solo Performance

  • Studies in Music Analysis

  • 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

  • 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

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

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

Assessment method

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 the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures our teaching combines a majority of seminars and small group work as well as role play and conversational activities, with some lectures. Private study and preparation are essential parts of every course, and you will have access to many online resources such as Powerpoint slideshows, copies of selected primary and secondary texts, audiovisual materials, class and seminar preparation aids, links to relevant external sites, quizzes and grammar and essay writing guidance, and the University’s comprehensive e-learning facility, Moodle. When you start with us, you are assigned a Personal Tutor to support you academically and personally and who holds regular surgery hours at least twice weekly.

Each course is assessed using a varied range of methods such as coursework and end of year examinations. Coursework includes essays, language exercises, translations and reports. Oral presentations and computer-based tests are used in some course units to assess grammar and comprehension skills. You can, to some extent, choose course units which suit your own assessment preferences.

You will take a study skills course during your first year, designed to equip you with and enhance the writing skills you will need to be successful in your degree. This course does not count towards your final degree award but you are required to pass it to progress to your second year.

Ways to study this course

Campuses

  • Main Site

Study options

  • Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) • Full-Time • 3 Years

Start dates

  • 20 September 2027

Apply by
13 January 2027

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:
W3R1
Institution code:
R72
Campus name:
Main Site
Points of Entry:
Year 1

Royal Holloway, University of London 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
13 January 2027

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:
W3R1
Institution code:
R72
Campus name:
Main Site

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

Entry requirements

Typical qualification requirements

A level
ABB-BBB

Where an applicant is taking the EPQ alongside A-levels, the EPQ will be taken into consideration and result in lower A-level grades being required.
Socio-economic factors which may have impacted an applicant’s education will be taken into consideration and alternative offers may be made to these applicants.

Required:
A-level Music or Grade 7 Music Theory at pass plus Grade 7 Music Performance

Applicants without A-level in Music or pass in Grade 7 Music Theory may be eligible for the Intensive Theory entry. This requires Music GCSE grade A/7 or equivalent, plus performance at Grade 7 level. In term 1 you will be required to take Fundamentals of Music Theory, an intensive music literacy course.

Students wishing to take Solo Performance options will need to be of Grade 8 level in performance at point of entry.

A-level French is not compulsory but if it is taken then grade B is required. For Beginners' pathway, B in an essay based subject required.

In some cases, a theory test may need to be completed and performance sample provided upon request in order to meet specific Music requirements

UCAS Tariff
Not accepted

Scottish Higher
AABBB

including Music or Grade 7 Music Theory at Pass and Grade 7 Music Performance. If French is taken grade B is required.

Access to HE Diploma
Distinction: 27

and the remaining level 3 credits at Merit, plus evidence of A-Level standard Music proficiency grade B equivalent or Grade 7 Music Theory at Pass and grade 7 in performance.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

We require English Language and Mathematics at grade 4 (C).

Scottish Advanced Higher
ABB-BBB

including Music or Grade 7 Music Theory at Pass and Grade 7 Music Performance. If French is taken grade B is required.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
DD

in a relevant subject plus A- Level music grade B or one A level grade B and Grade 7 Music Theory at Pass plus Grade 7 Music Performance. If French is taken at A level grade B is required.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Offer: 32

6,5,5 at Higher Level OR 32 points overall including Music at Higher Level or Grade 7 Music Theory with a minimum of plus Grade 7 practical. HL 5 required in French for Advanced pathway, otherwise 5 in an Essay Based Subject required.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
DDM

in a relevant subject plus Grade 7 Music Theory at Pass and Grade 7 Music Performance. If French is taken at A level grade B is required.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
H2H2H3H3H3

H2,H2,H3,H3,H3 at Higher Level, including Music at Higher Level, or pass Grade 7 in Music Theory plus Grade 7 practical. H3 in French required for Advanced Pathway.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)
D

plus A-Level grades BB including Music or Grade 7 Music Theory at Pass plus Grade 7 Music performance. If French is taken at A level grade B is required.

Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015)

Requirements are as for A-levels where one non-subject-specified A-level can be replaced by the same grade in the Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

Applicants with the Cambridge Pre-U are strongly encouraged to apply to Royal Holloway. Offers will be made on the basis of equivalent A-Level grades as can be found on the Royal Holloway website.

Combinations of qualifications will be considered on an individual basis, please contact us on study@royalholloway.ac.uk to discuss your situation.

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.

At Royal Holloway, we know every student approaches university with different experiences and backgrounds. We look at each application individually, and different factors can affect the exact offer a student receives. For instance, our contextual offer scheme means students from disadvantaged socio-economic background can receive a different offer. For full details please see our website.

Learn more on the Royal Holloway, University of London website

Historical entry grades data

This section shows the range of grades that students who received offers were previously accepted on to this course 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.

Not enough data available

We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

Per year tuition fees

LocationFeeYear
EU & International£28500*
England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland & Channel Islands£9790*

* This is a provisional fee and subject to change.

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

Other essential costs: Students are recommended to purchase a laptop before starting their course, to assist with their studies. The optional residential field courses incur an extra fee.

*The tuition fee for Home (UK) undergraduates is controlled by Government regulations. This figure is the fee for the academic year 2026/27 and is shown as a guide. The fee for the academic year 2027/28 has not yet been confirmed.

*This figure is the fee for EU and international students starting a degree in the academic year 2026/27 and is shown as a guide. The fee for the academic year 2027/28 has not yet been confirmed.

Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase tuition fees annually for all students. For further information see fees and funding: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/fees-and-funding/

Sponsorship information

Scholarships and bursaries 2

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/undergraduate/feesandfunding/bursariesandscholarships/home.aspx

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