Undergraduate

BA Creative Industries (Music Production)

Working in our industry-standard music production facilities, you'll develop specialist skills to become a creative leader.

Key information

Study mode

Full-time

Course length

3 years

Typical offer

112 points

A Level grades: BBC

UCAS code

WW14

Choose an option

Standard course option With a foundation year

Start date

Sept 2021

Important update

Due to COVID-19, there may be temporary changes to the way that this course will be delivered.

Find out more

Course overview

Working in our industry-standard music production facilities, including our 360° ambisonic studio, you’ll develop a range of technical and transferable skills - all essential to a music production professional.

Our innovative new degree prepares you to drive the future of the creative industries – an area generating more than £100bn a year to the UK economy.*

You’ll collaborate with other musicians from other disciplines and work with academics with industry experience, to prepare you for the opportunities and challenges of the creative industry.

We have created three distinct pathways: the first building a strong foundation of employability skills within the creative industries, including leadership and project management; the second exploring critical issues in arts, such as wellbeing and ‘culturepreneurship’; and the third developing specialist skills in your chosen area of either Game Design, Media Production, Music, Music Production or Theatre Production.

Thanks to our strong links to regional and national arts organisations such as Hull Truck, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Solid State Logic, Screen Yorkshire, and Absolutely Cultured, you’ll benefit from a hands-on approach to learning, working with client groups and putting your skills to the test in the field – helping you develop as a confident and competent industry professional with an enviable portfolio of skills, projects and experience.

Final validation pending

We regularly review our courses to make sure they continue to meet our academic standards. Any changes to courses go through a re-validation process. 'Final validation pending' means that we intend to offer this programme, but it hasn't received final University approval yet. Please call our Admissions Service on 01482 466100 for confirmation that the course is approved and will be running.

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2021 prospectus

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Six reasons to study Creative Industries (Music Production) at Hull

Develop arts-focused employability skills
Our arts graduates work from Hull to Hollywood
Hone your specialist subject skills
Strong links with national arts organisations
A wealth of performance and production venues
Design and manage live arts projects

What you'll study

The course consists of 120 credits per year. Most modules are 20 credits, meaning you’ll study six modules each year. Some longer modules, such as a dissertation, are worth more (e.g. 40 credits). In these cases, you’ll study fewer modules - but the number of credits will always add up to 120.

First year Second year Final year

First year modules

Core modules

Core Studio Techniques

Being a modern production practitioner requires a broad skillset. This is a highly practical module, where you will develop a strong foundation in real and virtual studio engineering; recording skills using professional SSL consoles in bespoke studio spaces; as well as a fluency in software.

Applied Studio Techniques

This module will provide you with the ideas, techniques and working practices to realise complete music productions – by creating your own. You’ll investigate and explore recording and mixing technique in and out of the studio to develop your theoretical understanding of the forces at your disposal and how they contribute to the resulting musical work.

Creating Recorded Music

Writer? Performer? Producer? Whatever your focus, you’ll work with fellow musicians to fully realise a musical recording. You’ll learn how to collaborate with others, each with different skills and roles, to create original music (including songwriting, instrumental works, electronic tracks and anything in-between) or to capture performance as a recorded artefact. You’ll finish the module with a portfolio-ready work.

Creating Live Music

Channel your creativity into a live music event to develop your technical and artistic skills whatever your musical interests. You’ll collaborate with music and music production students to create a unique and original live music event, alongside developing core skills in project management, repertoire development and artistic presentation.

Music, Criticism and Culture

Music can be profoundly significant for individuals in their daily lives, for politically-charged movements, and for entire cultures. This module will teach you different ways to ask such questions of music, and will help you to apply ideas derived from core literature to contemporary case studies.

Music and its Histories

This introduces you to narratives that characterise histories of music across different historical periods, technologies, and styles. You will explore these while also pursuing specialist studies relevant to your degree pathway. Through a range of different music, you will look at their histories and the assumptions behind the construction of such histories.

Second year modules

Core modules

Music Production Techniques

Explore cutting edge recording and presentation methods, including 360° ambisonics, investigating how it shapes production aesthetics and its use for large-scale music capture. Develop your understanding of later-stage production approaches, such as mastering, and grasp time- and pitch-bending tools to engineer a range of projects, alongside a deeper understanding of underlying theoretical concepts.

Individual Creative Project

What would you like to create? This module gives you the time, space, and expert support that you need to bring your individual project to life. You’ll be supported through planning, executing, and completion – which may be a performance, composition, recording, songwriting EP, educational practical project, or piece of sound design.

Collaborative Creative Project

Mirroring current industry practices, you will work with other students with different skill sets and life experiences towards shared creative goals. You'll have the opportunity to learn from one another, develop new skills and apply fresh approaches – with new creative possibilities emerging as a result.

Music and Its Objects

Explore how music has been shaped by the objects we associate with it: instruments, technologies, sound recordings, and notations. You will develop a critical approach to thinking about these, helping you to deepen your understanding of the historical context and critical significance of your own music-making activities.

Case Studies in Contemporary Practice

Music is a diverse field that practitioners explore in many ways – such as performances, compositions, installations, community projects, music therapy, industry-related practices, and music psychology. This module interrogates the concepts, methods, philosophies, and motivations that underpin them. You will also benefit from sessions with leading practitioners as you prepare your own critique of a chosen case study.
Optional modules

Professional Music Skills

How should you prepare for your music career? You will explore roles, discover what professionals really do, and find out how to maximise your future employment opportunities in a vibrant and growing sector. It will give you an in-depth understanding of your chosen field, as well as set you up for your next steps as a professional.

Music & Sound for Media

This is a practical project-based module supporting the development of specialised creative and technical skills for production of sound and music. You can undertake a variety of projects, including films, games, audio branding and more. As projects are developed, general principles such as functionality, audio-visual correspondence and implementation are explored.

Final year modules

Core modules

Major Project (Music)

What would you like to create? You will carry out a substantial piece of work in your chosen area. Whether that’s large-scale live performance, an original album, a critical dissertation, a portfolio of compositions, music for film or game, or a cutting-edge research project, we’ll give you the support, facilities and expertise you need, along with some key planning and management skills.

Working in Music

Gain essential insight into your future career by taking part in a placement. Whether you’re going into performing on stage or in the studio, working in broadcast or live events, or going into teaching, we’ll set up a placement so that you can start learning the ropes of your chosen career during your degree.

Questioning Music

Imagine that what you’ve always thought was true about music actually wasn’t. What if there were questions about music that you hadn’t even thought could be asked? Challenging your assumptions about music and its value, which might lead you to think differently, the skills you learn will be highly transferable and prepare you for a range of career paths.

The Future of the Arts

What is the environmental cost of a single Spotify stream, an online gaming session, or going to a gig, concert or play? How much carbon does that YouTube movie trailer release? You’ll explore some of these issues and by reflecting on your own creative practices, you’ll be equipped with the skills and understanding you’ll need to shape the arts practices of the future.

Generating Insights into Music

Music changes in the blink of an eye – what it is, how it is made, and how we listen to it. This module will enable you to pose probing questions to generate new insights into music. You’ll define your topic and explore this in detail before sharing your insights – giving you crucial skills and sharpening your abilities to articulate your ideas.

All modules are subject to availability and this list may change at any time.

How you'll study

Throughout your degree, you’re expected to study for 1,200 hours per year. That’s based on 200 hours per 20 credit module. And it includes scheduled hours, time spent on placement and independent study. How this time’s divided among each of these varies each year and depends on the course and modules you study.

Be part of the future of music at Hull

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Spotlight on your career

In your final year, you’ll complete a major Creative Industries Project in collaboration with others from across the arts, as a springboard into your future career.

Pursue your passion

Choose a pathway that inspires you from areas from across the creative industries – your first step towards a career that you’ll love.

Entry requirements

UK Residents International students

Typical offer

A level grades BBC
BTEC grades DMM
Points required 112

Work out your estimated points

We offer a Foundation Year to boost your skills and knowledge – it’s a great way to make your way into higher education.

Switch to the foundation course

Switch to the foundation year

Points can be from any qualifications on the UCAS tariff, but must include at least 80 points from

A levels
BTEC Subsidiary Diploma, Diploma or Extended Diploma
OCR Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma, Diploma or Extended Diploma
CACHE Diploma or Extended Diploma
Irish Leaving Certificate
Scottish Highers
Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma
or a combination of appropriate Level 3 qualifications

Applicants should have an A level in Music or Music Technology at Grade C or above, or an equivalent Level 3 music qualification
Applicants’ instrumental or vocal performance skills should be at a minimum of Grade 6 level. Musicians who can demonstrate performance at this level but who have not taken practical examinations are also encouraged to apply.

Alternative qualifications

IB Diploma: 28 points including 5 at HL Music
Access to HE Diploma: Pass with 45 credits at merit

Worried you don’t quite meet our entry requirements?

We consider experience and qualifications from the UK and worldwide which may not exactly match the combinations above.

But it’s not just about the grades – we’ll look at your whole application. We want to know what makes you tick, and about your previous experience, so make sure that you complete your personal statement.

If you have any questions, our admissions team will be happy to help.

We offer a Foundation Year to boost your skills and knowledge – it’s a great way to make your way into higher education.

Switch to the foundation course

Switch to the foundation year

If you require a Tier 4 student visa to study or if your first language is not English you will be required to provide acceptable evidence of your English language proficiency level.

This course requires academic IELTS 6.0 overall, with no less than 5.5 in each skill. See other English language proficiency qualifications accepted by this University.

If your English currently does not reach the University's required standard for this programme, you may be interested in one of our English language courses.

Visit your country page to find out more about our entry requirements.

Our teaching staff

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Take a tour of the facilities

Our Creative Industries (Music Production) students enjoy access to superb facilities including a top-class 400-seater concert venue in Middleton Hall.

Explore the virtual tour

Fees and funding

Student Fees Additional costs

Home / EU

£9,250 per year*

International

£14,500 per year

UK/EU fees for 2021 entry have not yet been confirmed. The fees shown are for 2020 entry.

*The amount you pay may increase each year, in line with inflation - but capped to the Retail Price Index (RPI).

UK and EU students can take out a tuition fee loan to cover the cost of their course, and UK students can take out a maintenance loan of up to £9,203 to cover living costs.

Substantial discounts are available for International students.

More information on fees can be found in the Money section of the website.

Your tuition fees will cover most costs associated with your programme (including registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examination).

There are some extra costs that you might have to pay, or choose to pay, depending on your programme of study and the decisions you make. The list below has some examples, and any extra costs will vary.

Books (you’ll have access to books from your module reading lists in the library, but you may want to buy your own copies
Optional field trips
Study abroad (including travel costs, accommodation, visas, immunisation)
Placement costs (including travel costs and accommodation)
Student visas (international students)
Laptop (you’ll have access to laptops and PC’s on campus, but you may want to buy your own)
Printing and photocopying
Professional-body membership
Graduation (gown hire and photography)

Remember, you’ll still need to take into account your living costs. This could include accommodation, travel and food – to name just a few.

Your future prospects

music, music production or media production
creative project management
arts management and marketing
theatre/arts producer
game studio management
cultural events and festival management

The Creative Industries employs over 2 million people across the UK* and this degree aims to equip you for a successful future career in this exciting and diverse field.

Throughout the programme there’ll be opportunities to work with client groups, negotiating, developing and co-producing, enhancing your employability.

We also have a number of partnerships to provide significant opportunities for coaching, shadowing, careers advice and mock-audition sessions.

Ready to apply?

You can apply for this course through UCAS. As well as providing your academic qualifications, you’ll be able to showcase your skills, qualities and passion for the subject.

APPLY NOW VIA UCAS HOW TO APPLY

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A place where we stand up to kings, do deals with the world and take a wrecking ball to the slave trade. A place where culture stands out and the phone boxes are a different colour. A place where we're free-thinking, independent and proud of it.