Reasons to choose the programme

Ranked among the best: We are consistently ranked in the UK’s top 10 universities for music in the Complete University Guide.
Flexible: Design your own pathway around our core music curriculum to suit your interests, studying outside subjects through to your final year if you wish.
Performance and composition opportunities: Our place in the University and the wider city means countless links with orchestras, choirs, and music groups.
Access to leading creative thinkers: Our staff are world leaders in a wide range of musical areas.
An extraordinary place to study music: Edinburgh has a vibrant and inspirational music and arts scene, and is home to the world’s largest arts festival.

Outline

Our BMus is unrivalled in its flexibility, enabling you to tailor a programme that best fits your musical interests and strengths.

We offer a distinctive and rigorous core curriculum in the first two years that will develop your musicianship and critical thinking skills and introduce you to the history of both popular and western art music. You can specialise in performance and composition, and choose from a diverse range of subjects that includes acoustics, music psychology and music technology.

In years three and four this choice is expanded further, enabling you to specialise in particular areas and to benefit from the research expertise of Reid School of Music staff. We currently offer options in performance, composition, music in the community, Scottish traditional music, music technology, music and multimedia, and music psychology, as well as a range of courses exploring the theoretical, historical and political contexts of music. In addition, and subject to availability, you can also select to study subjects from elsewhere in the Edinburgh College of Art or across the University in all four years of your degree.

As a student in the Reid School of Music, you will be part of a vibrant musical community. You will study with scholars, composers, and performers of international renown who are passionate about teaching. You can join one or more of the many orchestras, ensembles, and choirs available at the University, enjoy our varied concert series, and take advantage of the School’s location in the centre of Edinburgh, a city with a rich musical life. You will have the opportunity to work with ensembles such as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Edinburgh String Quartet. You can immerse yourself in our unparalleled Musical Instrument Museum, and you can also apply to participate in our Music in the Community projects, which in recent years have involved student visits to the Gambia and Greece.

Bursaries and Scholarships

Students taking Performance courses receive a bursary for instrumental or vocal tuition, and all students can apply for our generous Clutterbuck Travel Scholarships, which support further musical study and research activities. Students who have been offered a place on the BMus are eligible to apply for a choral scholarship at St Mary’s Cathedral.  Other churches in Edinburgh, such as Greyfriars Kirk, also offer choral scholarships.

Careers

This programme provides the breadth and depth needed to pursue a wide variety of careers in music, the creative arts, education, and the media among other options.

Our graduates go on to forge successful careers in a diverse range of areas including performance, composition, teaching, academia, arts management, curation, community music, music therapy, print media, film, radio, television, animation, and the games industry.


How to apply and entrance requirements

If you'd like to study on an undergraduate programme at Edinburgh College of Art, you must apply through UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. You can find out how to do this on the University of Edinburgh website, where you'll also be able to

  • see the structure of the programme and what you will study each year
  • see detailed entrance requirements for each programme on the Degree Finder
  • get information on what to expect after you apply
  • find out about fees
  • find out where to go for further advice and guidance

Take me to the University of Edinburgh website on how to apply for undergraduate study 

Email the Undergraduate Admissions Office: futurestudents@ed.ac.uk


Alumni profiles


Staff

Dr Gareth Williams

Lecturer in Music

Programme Director - BMus Music

Email: gareth.williams@ed.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)131 650 2429


Facilities and resources

Seventeen practice rooms equipped with pianos, ideal for students requiring a private place for music practice.

Our extensive range of music studio spaces, equipment, and software will allow you to see your audio projects all the way through from composition and recording, to mixing, mastering, and post-production.

A 218-seat Victorian venue built in 1859. Used for regular orchestral and choral rehearsals and performances.




Contact

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Undergraduate Admissions Office

Email: futurestudents@ed.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)131 650 3565