The MMus in Musicology takes a very broad approach to musical scholarship, including cultural and historical musicology, popular music, the sociology of music, music in film, and music analysis.
Edinburgh is an extraordinary place to study music. You will join a large postgraduate community and vibrant research culture within the Reid School of Music, home to a range of student orchestras and choirs, and located in a capital city with a dynamic cultural scene.
The MMus in Musicology provides an excellent foundation for further postgraduate work, and many of our students have gone on to work in academia.
Recent graduates have also established successful careers in performance, journalism, arts administration, music education, and librarianship.
Programme format
You will be introduced to a wide range of methodologies in musicology and will develop the critical skills needed to pursue your own research.
You will take four compulsory courses...
- Introduction to Musicology
- Research Methods
- Making Sense of Popular Music
- Music, Philosophy and Politics
... and will choose a further course from a selection of options across the University.
You will also develop your independent research skills: working under the supervision of a member of staff on an individual research project over the first two semesters; and writing a dissertation on a second topic of your choosing at the end of the programme.
Our teaching combines small-group seminars and individual supervision. You will be taught by leading academics with diverse research interests, including fifteenth century English and Scottish music, nineteenth century music theory, music and politics in the Cold War, music and armed conflict, opera, music instrument research, music and film, music cognition, and jazz.
In addition to one of the largest university libraries in the UK, on-campus resources include the musical instrument collection at St Cecilia’s Hall and the School of Scottish Studies archive. The National Library of Scotland is just a short walk away.
The weekly Music Research Seminar Series, one of a number of research seminars which we organise, is an integral part of the programme and gives you the opportunity to learn about and discuss the work of local, national and international researchers.
