Why study here?

With cutting-edge facilities, expert instrumental tuition and a wide range of course choices, Manchester is the perfect place to study music.

 

We hold more than 100 live music events each year.

Underpinned by highly-regarded traditions of performance, composition and academic research, Music at The University of Manchester combines specialist education in practical music-making with an academic programme led by world-leading researchers.

• Number one university Music department in the UK according to the Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 (paywall).
• Ranked in the top two university Music departments in the UK (Complete University Guide 2019)
• Over 100 concerts and events take place each year, including performances by the Quatuor Danel (our resident string quartet) and Psappha (our contemporary ensemble-in-residence).
• Enjoy a wide range of opportunities to get involved in music-making through MUMS (the largest student-run music society in the UK), the Choral Programme and various departmental initiatives.
• Teaching takes place in our state-of-the-art £8.2 million facilities in the Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, and our adjacent award-winning electroacoustic composition studios, which host the NOVARS Research Centre. 
• Beyond the department, Manchester is home to more professional music-making than any UK city outside of London, including three professional orchestras – the Hallé, BBC Philharmonic and Manchester Camerata – as well as internationally recognised institutions such as the BBC, Bridgewater Hall and Opera North. In recent years the annual Manchester Jazz Festival and biennial Manchester International Festival have firmly secured Manchester’s reputation as a global city for the performing arts.

Highlights

• 18 hours of one-to-one instrumental or vocal tuition for those students enrolled on solo performance course-units
• 7 course-units which take place in NOVARS, an international centre of excellence for electroacoustic composition, sound art and computer music
• Study topics in musicology, ethnomusicology, music theory and analysis from the Renaissance to the present day
• Professional coaching in ensemble performance options including chamber music, vocal music, Gamelan and Klezmer
• Six conducting positions available each year for Music Society concerts, in addition to a separate introductory conducting unit in our second-year ensemble module
• Instrumental and vocal tutors drawn from the RNCM, Hallé, BBC Philharmonic and other professional ensembles in the north-west
• Performance and recording of all instrumental and vocal compositions in second- and third-year composition course-units
• No compulsory course-units in the second or third year of study: choose from a large range of options to suit your interests and ambitions.
• Lunchtime concerts every Thursday and Friday
• State-of-the-art concert hall and award-winning electroacoustic studios
• Enjoy the home of more professional music-making than any UK city outside of London.
• Join over 30 students from around the world on our MusM Music or Composition programmes.
• Develop skills that will help you into a wide range of careers.
• Become the best you can be by participating in Stellify for true personal and professional growth.