Music Journalism BA Hons | University of Chester

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Course Summary

Our Music Journalism degree offers an immersive and deep dive into a world where music and writing collide! This dynamic course will provide you with an unparalleled opportunity to capture the essence and electricity of live music, from concerts to club nights. It is your backstage pass to the best gigs, biggest festivals and the most spectacular nightclubs on the planet. While you study with us, you will discover how to effectively capture the energy of music in words.

Studying music journalism provides a platform to combine your passion for music and writing to express yourself creatively, articulating your thoughts, observations and opinions on musical culture. It offers a lens through which to explore and comment on societal trends and the latest movements. As a music journalist, you have the power to shape public opinion, highlight emerging artists, and contribute to the discourse around sounds and society.

Early on in your studies, you will begin engaging with seasoned professionals across various genres, acquiring insights and hands-on experience, as well as writing and publishing music reviews. You will gain a great deal of practical experience, with music industry experts playing a key role in your learning throughout the curriculum. You'll be immersed in the industry from day one and will benefit from real-world opportunities, including placements at renowned publications. Recently, some of our students enjoyed placements at Mojo and Mixmag, and our Journalism graduates found staff positions on the payroll at NME and Kerrang!

BA Music Journalism shares a common first year with students on our BA Journalism, BA Sports Journalism and BA Creative and Professional Writing courses. This means that you’ll learn alongside students studying a similar discipline, helping to broaden your knowledge and exposure to other concepts, perspectives and professions in the first year of your degree. As you learn and collaborate with students from other courses, you'll not only widen your social and professional network but also learn new skills that will set you up for success in your industry. In your second and third years, you will progress to studying more specialist modules within music journalism, developing your skills to become a world-ready graduate.

Why You'll Love It

Learn from journalists who are experts in the field

Access the latest technology and immersive equipment

Cropped shot of the paparazzi snapping pics of the band backstage

Supportive and professional environment

Student attending a library one-to-one session

BA (Hons) Music Journalism

What You'll Study

The Music Journalism pathway contains a combination of core and specialist modules at each level of study.

In Year 1 (Level 4), you will be introduced to industry-embedded practice, including basic storytelling techniques, digital production skills and critical reflection.

Year 2 (Level 5) builds on these skills further with more developed applications integrating advanced critical thinking around relevant issues.

In Year 3 (Level 6), you will integrate expertise in practice, theory and real-world experiences, ensuring you achieve industry-standard competencies and are curious and prepared for employment.

The pathway contains several optional modules which include areas such as:

publishing
digital media skills
social media
design
sustainability
opportunities to explore the broader socio-political and cultural contexts that Music Journalism operates within.

This pathway is delivered in three terms of 10 weeks each. By the end of each year, you will have completed 120 credits of learning. You will gradually gain greater independence in your learning throughout the three years, with a view to achieving positive graduate outcomes.

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

This pathway is delivered predominantly in person. You can expect to take part in lectures, workshops, seminars and a range of experiential activities both on and off campus – in the UK and abroad to locations such as Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid and Prague. Activities on these trips include visits to a range of music media, cultural and political institutions.

Music Journalism is located in Gateway House in Chester city centre and features a range of facilities, including lecture and seminar rooms, two newsrooms, radio studio, a multimedia broadcast suite, two podcast studios and a student common room.

You should expect to undertake about 40 hours per week of study in total, which comprises scheduled sessions, independent study including engaging with learning material on the University’s VLE, tutorials with staff, researching and producing stories, using the University’s library and other resources, working with peers and preparing work for assessment.

Teaching is delivered by experienced academics and practitioners in the subject. This will be supplemented by occasional guest lecturers and speakers.

There will be a broad range of assessment methods so that you are exposed to the different types of tasks you might encounter in the workplace. These will include coursework in the form of portfolios, essays, presentations, digital productions and online tasks. We continuously review the assessment methods used so that they adequately prepare you for graduate-level employment.

The University’s terms and regulations are updated regularly; you will be notified of any changes annually upon enrolment. Additionally, at enrolment, you will be directed to the latest version of the Course Specification, which details any improvements or changes that have been made to the delivery of the course.

There will be an opportunity to take part in study trips, including one trip outside the UK, which may have additional costs associated with it. We do endeavour to support students who may not be able to afford to take part. The field trip is optional and students are not required to participate in order to successfully complete the course.

All teaching is delivered by experienced academics and practitioners, with the fundamental principles of the Chester Future Skills Curriculum at its core - building your subject competence, confidence, and key transferable skills to shape you into a world-ready Chester graduate.

Study a Common First Year

This course shares a common first year with students on Journalism, Sports Journalism and Creative and Professional Writing courses.

This means that you’ll learn alongside students studying a similar discipline, helping to broaden your knowledge and exposure to other concepts, perspectives and professions in the first year of your degree.

As you learn and collaborate with students from other courses, you'll not only widen your social and professional network but also learn new skills that will set you up for success in your industry.

In your second and third years, you will progress to studying more specialist modules within music journalism, developing your skills to become a world-ready graduate.

Entry Requirements

104UCAS Points

UCAS	104 UCAS points
GCE A Level	104 UCAS points from GCE A Levels or equivalent. Typical offer - BCC/CCC
BTEC	BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM
T Level	Pass (C or above on the core)
Irish / Scottish Highers	Irish Highers - H3, H3, H3, H4, H4 Scottish Highers - BBBB
International Baccalaureate	26 points
Access requirements	Access to HE Diploma, to include 45 credits at level 3, 30 of which must be at Merit
OCR	OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma - DMM
Extra Information / General Entry Requirements	Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs. Applicants will be required to attend an interview/workshop day.

Students from countries outside the UK are expected to have entry qualifications roughly equivalent to UK A Level for undergraduate study and British Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) for postgraduate study. To help you to interpret these equivalents, please click on your country of residence to see the corresponding entry qualifications, along with information about your local representatives, events, information and contacts.

We accept a wide range of qualifications and consider all applications individually on merit. We may also consider appropriate work experience.

English Language Requirements

IELTS Academic: Undergraduate: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each band)
Postgraduate: 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each band)

For more information on our entry requirements, please visit International Entry Requirements.

72UCAS points

UCAS Tariff	72 points
GCE A level	72 points overall, including grade D in A level
BTEC	BTEC Extended Diploma: MMP
International Baccalaureate	24 points
Irish / Scottish Highers	Irish Highers: H4 H4 H4 H4 H4 Scottish Highers: CCDD
Access requirements	Access to HE Diploma – Pass overall
T Level	T Level: Pass (D or E on the core)
OCR Cambridge Technicals	OCR Extended Diploma: MMP
Extra Information	Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs. If you are a mature student (21 or over) and have been out of education for a while or do not have experience or qualifications at Level 3 (equivalent to A Levels), then our Foundation Year courses will help you to develop the skills and knowledge you will need to succeed in your chosen degree.

Fees and Funding

£9,250 per year (2024/25)

Our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for Home students entering University in 2024/25 are £9,250 a year, or £1,540 per 20-credit module for part-time study.

The University may increase these fees at the start of each subsequent year of your course in line with inflation at that time, as measured by the Retail Price Index. These fee levels and increases are subject to any necessary government, and other regulatory, approvals.

Students from the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey and the Republic of Ireland are treated as Home students for tuition fee purposes.

Students from countries in the European Economic Area and the EU starting in or after the 2021/22 academic year will pay International Tuition Fees.

Students who have been granted Settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans.

Students who have been granted Pre-settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans.

Irish Nationals living in the UK or Republic of Ireland are treated as Home students for Tuition Fee Purposes.

£13,950 per year (2024/25)

The tuition fees for international students studying Undergraduate programmes in 2024/25 are £13,950.

This fee is set for each year of study. All undergraduate students are eligible for international and merit-based scholarships which are applicable to each year of study.

For more information, go to our International Fees, Scholarship and Finance section.

Irish Nationals living in the UK or ROI are treated as Home students for Tuition Fee Purposes.

Your course will involve additional costs not covered by your tuition fees. This may include books, printing, photocopying, educational stationery and related materials, specialist clothing, travel to placements, optional field trips and software. Compulsory field trips are covered by your tuition fees.

If you are living away from home during your time at university, you will need to cover costs such as accommodation, food, travel and bills.

The University of Chester supports fair access for students who may need additional support through a range of bursaries and scholarships.

Full details, as well as terms and conditions for all bursaries and scholarships can be found on the Fees & Finance section of our website.

Who You'll Learn From

Dr Simon Morrison

Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for Music Journalism

Mark Hannaby

Senior Lecturer in Journalism

Dr Mark Duffett

Associate Professor

Ato Erzan-Essien

Programme Leader for: Sports Journalism, Single and Combined Honours Journalism, and MA Journalism

Your Future Career

Careers Service

The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.

Careers and Employability aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.

We are here to help you plan your future, make the most of your time at University and to enhance your employability. We provide access to part-time jobs, extra-curricular employability-enhancing workshops and offer practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications and mock interviews. We also deliver group sessions on career planning within each course and we have a wide range of extensive information covering graduate jobs and postgraduate study.

Music Journalism BA (Hons)

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