MA Psychology of Music

About the course

This course is the longest established masters in music psychology in the UK, and a collaboration with the Department of Psychology. Our tutors – Nikki Dibben, Stephanie Pitts, Vicki Rowe, Renee Timmers and Victoria Williamson – have been published widely in music psychology and education. This course allows you to use psychological methods and theory to interpret and understand musical behaviours, sounds and ideas. You will be introduced to a range of areas including music cognition and neuroscience, musical development, music in everyday life, and musical performance.

You may specialise within an area through a written dissertation, and the pursuit of original research, generally including experimental or observational empirical investigation. Students may also take cognitive neuroscience modules within the Department of Psychology.

About us

Music at Sheffield attracts world-leading academics and musicians working in a wide range of specialist fields. This is reflected in the diversity of the MA programmes we offer, both on campus and by distance learning. Our courses are taught by experts and backed by world-class research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) 84 per cent of our work was rated internationally excellent or world-leading.

We are influential in composition, ethnomusicology, musicology, performance, music technology, music management and psychology of music. Our MA programmes allow students to take advantage of the department’s distinctive interdisciplinary research environment and to be part of a strong postgraduate community by taking modules from other specialist areas. Our three research centres, Music, Mind, Machine; Sheffield Performer and Audience Research Centre, and Music and Wellbeing provide a hub for research collaborations in music psychology and audience research.

Performance is an important part of our work. You will have the chance to participate in orchestras, music theatre, contemporary music, folk and world traditions. We have strong links with the community, giving you the chance to volunteer with local arts organisations.

Your career

Our graduates are employed by universities, colleges, concert agencies and music promoters. Many work in education; others are performers in various genres, in the UK and abroad. Some work in recording studios.

Studios and equipment

We have a postgraduate research suite and several studios for advanced compositional work, software development, sound recording, laboratory and field experimentation, transcription, music notation and other research applications. You will have access to scores, books, periodicals, recordings and online resources.

Through a series of graduate study days you will be able to use the tools for digital recording, video and film. We also have excellent practice facilities and collections of historical and world music instruments.

Our team of professional musicians bring performance expertise to the department – including clarinettist Sarah Watts, pianist Inja Davidovic, jazz guitarist Ronan McCullagh and North Indian tabla and santoor performer John Ball.

Funding

University and faculty funding is available each year. The closing date for applications is mid-January. The department has a number of studentships available for our strongest candidates. The closing date for these is the end of April. You can also apply for a small grant to support your postgraduate research project.

Course content

See http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/music/prospective-pg/taught

Teaching and assessment

You’ll learn through seminars, laboratory-based demonstrations and individual tutorials. The taught programme is continuously assessed through a variety of forms such as reports and essays. They are usually individual assessments, even if they concern the processes and outcomes of group work.