Music MA: Composition
- Creative arts
- Music
- Postgraduate
Join a vibrant community of sonic innovators where your unique musical voice takes centre stage. Our MA Music: composition pathway offers a dynamic environment where you can refine your craft across a range of styles, from contemporary classical and experimental sound art to scoring for film, games, and digital media. You will be able to master traditional techniques and explore the new possibilities of cutting-edge music technology. Whether you are manipulating live electronics, exploring spatial audio, or writing for acoustic instruments, you will have access to our unique studios and have opportunities to develop artistic collaborations.
Develop your composition skills and explore new creative and collaborative possibilities
This pathway will give you opportunities to develop your composition skills across a wide range of genres and explore opportunities for collaborations with other musicians as well as artists working in other media.
Studying an MA in Composition at Kingston University can lead to a range of careers, both in the industry and in related fields. Graduates can go on to work in theatre, broadcast media, music production and as freelance composers. If you’re already employed, this programme is an opportunity to upgrade your skills and open new opportunities.
During the course, you’ll study composition techniques across a range of musical and media styles, expand your creative horizons, and experiment with cutting-edge the technology. You will also have opportunities to collaborate with music students in other pathways and with students in a range of other performing arts and multimedia disciplines for example, dance, drama, animation, filmmaking and graphic design.
Throughout the course, you’ll have the opportunity to tailor your learning to your specialities and interests. You’ll analyse relevant music examples and construct creative portfolios that allow you to expand your abilities and find your own compositional voice. You’ll be able to use recording studios, rehearsal rooms and our synthesis/sampling lab to practise and improve your skills.
You’ll create a unique portfolio of music through your major project, with the support and guidance of our staff members.
Why choose this course
While you study, you’ll benefit from top quality teaching at Kingston University. We’re ranked Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, and our highly experienced academic staff are active performers, composers and producers themselves.
The Coombehurst Complex and Visconti Studio
As a music student, you'll access a range of professional studio facilities, labs and practice rooms. At Kingston Hill’s Coombehurst complex there are multiple recording studios, mixing and editing rooms, a 5.1 surround studio, and a Synth Lab for exploring analogue synthesis.
You'll also be able to use our flagship Visconti Studio, an analogue-meets-digital space with a 300m² octagonal live room and a selection of vintage and rare recording equipment.
You can book a range of recording and performing instruments, rooms and equipment through our online system.
Music in the library
The Nightingale Centre’s music library holds an extensive collection of books, anthologies, scores, sheet music, periodicals, and audio and video recordings. Kingston also subscribes to Grove Music Online and the Naxos online recordings catalogue. You can access these resources from any University workstation.
The Art School Experience
As part of Kingston School of Art, students benefit from joining a creative community where we encourage collaborative working and critical practice.
Our workshops and labs are open to all disciplines, enabling students and staff to work together, share ideas and explore multi-disciplinary making.
Course content
You will learn alongside other MA Music pathways in three core modules integrating practical and theoretical learning through project-based, interdisciplinary approaches rooted in arts school pedagogy. You will also develop an understanding and critical awareness of contemporary issues, debates, and practices informed by the discipline.
Your two specialist modules – Sound Materials and Advanced Studies in Composition – will enable you to develop and shape sonic material using a range of techniques including recording sounds in and out of the studio, working with performers, and using technologies both vintage and contemporary. You will engage with a range of approaches to creative music making including acoustic and electronic composition, improvisation, music for media, or sound art. You will explore a diverse range of musical practices offering opportunities to build on your existing practice as well as developing your artistry in exciting new directions.
Modules
Modules
Optional placement year
Many postgraduate courses at Kingston University allow students to do a 12-month work placement as part of their course. The responsibility for finding the work placement is with the student; we cannot guarantee the work placement, just the opportunity to undertake it. As the work placement is an assessed part of the course, it is covered by a student's Student Route visa.
Find out more about the postgraduate work placement scheme.
Professional Placement
Kingston University is a great place to develop as a musician, and I've had a fantastic time here. The staff are really helpful and the Visconti Studio is a brilliant place to record.
Career opportunities
You will complete this programme with a blend of compositional and practical skills, plus the theoretical knowledge and transferable skills you need to succeed professionally. Graduates can progress to roles in the music industry, choose to continue their academic studies, go on to work in theatre, undertake studio-based technical and creative work, or start portfolio careers as composers, producers, performers or educators.
Teaching and assessment
As a music student, you'll be taught a range of musical styles and encouraged to explore a wide range of genres, taking a hands-on, practical and creative approach to learning and develop your critical skills through engagement with new ideas and methods. Assessment is primarily through practical work: composing music and sound art, complemented by written and presentation assignments that will help you hone your analytical skills and your ability to communicate the value of your artistry.
Fees and funding
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Fees for future course years
Part time
If you start your second year straight after Year 1, you will pay the same fee for both years.
If you take a break before starting your second year, or if you repeat modules from Year 1 in Year 2, the fee for your second year may increase.
Funding support for postgraduate students
If you are a UK student living in England and under 60, you can apply for a loan to study for a postgraduate degree. Find out more through the government's website.
Scholarships and bursaries
Interested in studying a Music MA at Kingston? The following funding support is available:
How to apply
Before you apply
Please read the entry criteria carefully to make sure you meet all requirements before applying.
How to apply online
Use the course selector drop-down at the top of this page to choose your preferred course, start date and mode, then click 'Apply now'. You will be taken to our Online Student Information System (OSIS) where you will complete your application.
If you’re starting a new application, you’ll need to select ‘new user’ and set up a username and password. This will allow you to save and return to your application.
Application deadlines
We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Applications will close when the course is full.
After you apply
If the admission tutor wants to see your portfolio, we will email asking you to upload your zipped portfolio to the OSIS portal within three weeks. If we need more information or want to invite you for an interview, we will be in touch directly. After that you will then hear whether your application has been successful.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
What our students and graduates say
I loved working alongside other students in a collegiate and friendly atmosphere. Many of the students were international and from varied backgrounds. I also found the teachers each had their own unique knowledge and skill to impart.
