Music and English Literature BA (Hons)

Cardiff University

The School of Music and the School of English, Communication and Philosophy offer challenging courses of modules in each subject. The flexibility of the course allows you to specialise and develop your own interests, while acquiring a solid, broad-based education and developing transferable skills. English Literature at Cardiff University offers access to the whole span of English literature, from the Anglo-Saxon period to the 21st century. Nor is the curriculum restricted to the printed word – we are intrigued by the connections between literature and film, art, music, history, language, and popular culture, and our teaching reflects these interests.

After a grounding in your first year, you are free to follow a traditional course covering multiple periods and genres or to build a more distinctive mix of modules combining literary study with analysis of other cultural forms.

Home to the arts, Cardiff is a great location for the study of music in the UK. The city has a professional opera company, Welsh National Opera, and a professional symphony orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The School of Music enjoys a fruitful relationship with both organisations that allows, for instance, students to attend dress rehearsals and buy cut-price tickets for concerts.

As a joint honours student, you will find that often there are complementary issues and perspectives as well as skills and that link subjects, be they critical analysis, historical contexts or recent research. You will spend a similar amount of time on each subject, benefiting from developing your music understanding and skills while studying the fascinating and challenging subject of English Literature.

You are expected to have gained or shown evidence of working towards Grade 8 in one or more instruments or voice at the time of your application. You may be considered if you are not taking A-level Music but have Grade 8 Practical and Grade 7/8 Theory and are studying appropriate Humanities subjects at A-level.

We do not routinely interview applicants for our undergraduate programmes. Applicants with a non-traditional qualification may be invited to attend an informal interview in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy which will have a bearing on the selection decision.

Distinctive features

• This course is especially suited to those interested in seeing music within a broad cultural context, embracing the literary, the social and the political
• The option in both subjects to write a dissertation lets you choose a topic that draws on both disciplines
• Instrumental tuition is fully funded by the School of Music on your principal study instrument
• Business of Music modules offer a short work placement
• Composition workshops, performance masterclasses, the University concert series, the John Bird lectures presented by visiting academics and the careers talks provides many opportunities for contact with active music professionals