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Students in a museum setting looking at brass instruments together Image courtesy of Paul Dodds

Students viewing brass instruments in the instrument museum

Postgraduate

Musicology - MMus

MMus

Programme Sections

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Programme Sections

Outline
 
Careers
 
How to apply

Key Information

Course Duration

1 year (Full time); 2 years (Part time)

Study mode

Full-time; Part-time

Outline

The MMus in Musicology offers you the opportunity to explore a wide range of approaches in music scholarship, and to engage in contemporary debates about what music is, how it works, and why it is such a fundamental and significant part of human culture. You will be taught by world-leading researchers, whose expertise includes areas such as:

  • cultural, material and political histories of music
  • jazz and popular music studies
  • music analysis
  • music and audiovisual media
  • music psychology and cognition
  • music instrument research
  • music sociology
  • philosophy of music

The programme will provide you with advanced critical thinking and research skills, and will support you to develop your own musicology research project.

Hear from our staff and students

A student on the Musicology programme plays the cello. They are wearing a striped polo neck top and a grey cardigan.

Careers

The MMus in Musicology provides an excellent foundation for further postgraduate work, and many of our students have gone on to pursue PhDs and ultimately, work in academia. 

Recent graduates have also established successful careers in journalism, arts administration, music education, and librarianship.   

You will gain a wide variety of transferable skills, such as the ability to research and analyse music, structure and manage your time, work and communicate effectively.

Why you should choose this programme

1

Our Musicology programme is truly interdisciplinary in nature, and takes a broad definition of music, and music scholarship.

2

The programme is designed to give students many opportunities to tailor their learning to their own research interests while also gaining an understanding of current debates, developments and insights across the discipline.

3

In addition to the extensive collections of books, journals and databases held by Edinburgh University Library, the National Library of Scotland – one of the UK’s five legal deposit libraries – is just a short walk away.

4

Students have access to a number of important research collections, including the University's own Music Instrument Collection, which has over 6,000 objects, and the School of Scottish Studies Archives.

5

You will join a large postgraduate community and benefit from a vibrant research culture at the Reid School of Music, which has been a world leader in research into music since 1838.

How to apply and entry requirements

If you'd like to study on a postgraduate programme at Edinburgh College of Art, you must apply through EUCLID, our online application system. You can find out how to do this on the University of Edinburgh website, where you'll also be able to:

  • See detailed entrance requirements for each programme on the Degree Finder
  • Get information on what to expect after you apply
  • Find out about study modes, start dates and fees
  • Find out if, and how, you need to submit a portfolio, showreel or research proposal
  • Find out where to go for further advice and guidance.

Read the University of Edinburgh's student terms and conditions

 

Apply now

Get in touch

Edinburgh College of Art Postgraduate Admissions

futurestudents@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 650 4086

Campus facilities

Lauriston campus redevelopment

ECA is excited to be undertaking a capital redevelopment of ECA’s Lauriston Campus.

The project aims to maximise the use of existing space, improve accessibility, and create a vibrant campus that fosters collaboration and innovation.

The project involves refurbishing and repurposing various spaces across the Lauriston campus, including technical facilities, student and teaching spaces, and the relocation of the Reid School of Music from Alison House to the Lauriston Campus. New social spaces, seminar rooms, and studios are being created to accommodate our growing community.

You can find more about the project at the below link: 

Building work starts at ECA’s Lauriston Campus | Edinburgh College of Art 

Scholarships and bursaries

Andrew Grant Bequest
Andrew Grant Postgraduate Scholarships
Value £13,700 for one year
Deadline 6 April 2026
ECA
Jean Kennoway Howells Scholarship
Value £15,000
Deadline 6 April 2026
See all Scholarships and bursaries

Facilities and resources

Two music students working on mixers and computers in a recording room.

Music studios

Various trumpets in a glass case in the Reid Memorial concert hall

Reid Concert Hall

A close-up of piano keys

Music practice rooms and instruments

Exterior shot of the carved gate at St Cecilia's Hall in Edinburgh

St Cecilia's Hall - Concert Room and Music Museum

View all our Facilities

Our alumni

Universo Pereira

Universo Pereira

Musicology - MMus 2019

Studying Musicology - MMus at ECA equipped Universo with skills in music research and writing which have enabled him to explore his interest in the subject.

Simona Cenci working with sheet music in the library

Simona Cenci

Musicology - MMus 2020

After working within the cultural heritage sector for several years Simona returned to education with the intent of giving direction to her combined interests in the study of book material culture and musicological studies.

View all our Alumni

Meet our staff

Morag Grant profile picture

Dr Morag Josephine Grant

Chancellor’s Fellow in Music

mj.grant@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • Music Sociology
  • Musicology of war and collective violence
  • New and experimental composition since 1950
  • Song studies
  • Music and human rights
Elaine Kelly

Prof Elaine Kelly

Personal Chair of Music and Politics

ECA Director of Faculty

elaine.kelly@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • Music and Politics
  • German Democratic Republic/East Germany
  • Music and International Socialism
  • Transnational Music History
  • Cultural Diplomacy
A person wearing a flat cap and patterned shirt, playing an accordion.

Dr Phil Alexander

Lecturer

Phil.Alexander@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • Jewish music, in particular klezmer and Yiddish music
  • Music and place, music and the city
  • Traditional music
  • Performance
  • Composition
A person with strawberry blond hair looking down at a keyboard instrument.

Dr James Cook

Senior Lecturer in Early Music

ECA Director of Research

James.Cook@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 650 2431
Annette Davison profile picture

Professor Annette Davison

Chair of Music and Audiovisual Media

a.c.davison@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • Oil and audiovisual media
  • Energy humanities - on screens and in sound
  • Film music and sound (all periods)
  • Aesthetics and institutions in relation to audiovisual media
  • Aesthetics and politics in relation to screen/stage media
Anne Desler profile picture

Dr Dr Anne Desler

Lecturer in Music Performance

Director of Performance, Director of Undergraduate Studies

a.desler@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 650 2432
Morag Grant profile picture

Dr Morag Josephine Grant

Chancellor’s Fellow in Music

mj.grant@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • Music Sociology
  • Musicology of war and collective violence
  • New and experimental composition since 1950
  • Song studies
  • Music and human rights
Placeholder image

Dr Marian Jago

Senior Lecturer in Popular Music and Jazz Studies

m.s.jago@ed.ac.uk
Raymond MacDonald profile picture

Prof Raymond MacDonald

Chair of Music Psychology and Improvisation, Music

Programme Director, BMus (Hons) Music

Raymond.MacDonald@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 650 2424
Nikki Moran profile picture

Dr Nikki Moran

Senior Lecturer in Music

Subject area director of education

n.moran@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 650 2423

Research interests

  • Music as social interaction
  • Situated cognition
  • Performance research
  • Improvisation and creativity
  • Non-verbal communication
Jenny Nex profile picture

Dr Jenny Nex

Curator, Musical Instrument Collection and Lecturer in Musical Instruments

jenny.nex@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 650 2414

Research interests

  • Musical Instruments
  • Economic aspects of musical instrument making in Britain, 1700-1900
  • Women's roles in musical instrument making
  • Material culture
  • Performance practices in the 18th century
Neil T. Smith

Neil T. Smith

Teaching Fellow in Creative Musicianship and Musicology

nsmith16@ed.ac.uk
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