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Start Dates

21 September 2026

Duration

1 year full-time 2 years part-time


Recent Awards For Excellence

Performing Arts - QS 2025
Find out more about these awards
About this course

Overview

Why choose Huddersfield for this course?

  • Learn from active performers - receive one-to-one tuition and mentoring from professional musicians.
  • Perform, record and research - take part in concerts, ensembles and scholarly projects that enhance your artistry.
  • Join a vibrant music community - connect with fellow performers, composers and researchers at all levels.

Accreditation and Professional Links

Recognised connections to give you an extra edge when you graduate. Read More

This course is designed to enable you to pursue music performance at an advanced level, allowing you to specialise in particular areas and genres of music performance as well as develop your skills as a rounded and expert performer. You will do so as part of a vibrant, stimulating and energetic community for music performance at the University of Huddersfield.

As well as advancing your technical skills and confidence as a performer, you will work to gain a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the repertoire you perform, develop your intellectual and creative skills required for a high level of performance, and apply research skills with a view to making an original contribution to the professional context of music performance.

You may choose to specialise in the following areas, reflecting and drawing upon the expertise within Music and Music Technology at the University of Huddersfield:

  • Brass Band performance

  • Choral Conducting

  • Conducting (1 place per year)

  • Historically Informed Performance

  • Improvisation

  • New Music Performance

  • Organ Studies

  • Piano Accompaniment

  • Popular Music performance

Alternatively, you may also select to pursue a broad programme of study within classical music.

Staff teaching on the MMus Music Performance are themselves active as performers, as soloists and ensemble members, giving regular live concerts and releasing recordings to international critical acclaim. We offer expert instrumental/vocal tuition appropriate to the specialisms from tutors who are experienced and highly regarded in their fields.

Performing Arts at the University of Huddersfield has an international reputation, and hosts one of the largest postgraduate music communities in the UK. You will benefit from our regular research seminars and workshops, and will be a member of the Centre for Research in Music and its Technologies (CRMT)  which provides a focus for popular music research in the department.

The University presents regular concerts throughout the academic year, hosting a wide variety of professional performers across a range of genres and styles. Additionally the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Electric Spring offer performances given by leading practitioners within the field of new music.

Career opportunities after the course *

Piano Technician

Musician

Director of Music Arts

Guitar Technician

Choir Director

*Lightcast

Who can apply?

Entry Requirements

You are required to have a minimum of a 2:2 honours degree from a recognised University or equivalent institution. Your application materials (or previous qualifications ) and live audition (or documentation of your performance) should be able to demonstrate a strong understanding of performance and instrumental/vocal/other technique. Auditions should comprise of two contrasting pieces, one of which should relate to the your proposed specialism in performance.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

What will you learn?

Course Details

On this module you will be introduced to a range of significant and contemporary scholarship relating to the study of music, including that pertaining to music production, composition and sonic arts, and all kinds of performance. You will learn about diverse approaches to music research, and receive training in managing research professionally and ethically. Central to the module is the development of research skills appropriate to postgraduate level work and to your own research interests and creative practices. Attendance at research seminars will offer diverse models for your own research in performance, musicology, or creative music production.

On this module, you will explore and perform a range of repertoire and skills appropriate to your instrument/voice or specialist route. You will identify areas of performance that are innovative, or which explore a particular dimension of the specialism, such as ensemble performance, performance utilising particular techniques or approaches to  style, use of electronics, and many others. Example performance specialisms might include: Historically Informed Performance, New Music Performance, Brass Band Performance, Popular Music Performance, and more. You will identify appropriate research questions relevant to your specialism and design a recital which addresses  one or more of these.

On this module you will examine recent and current scholarship relating to music performance and performance studies. You will compare the key texts and methodologies in the field as well as more specialism-specific texts and approaches. You will apply methods and approaches learned about through research to your practice and will articulate the ways in which practice and research impact upon the other, such that your practice informs your understanding and discussion, and your research conditions and develops your practice.

This module is worth 60 credits in total (therefore comprising one-third of your degree) and along with Performance 1, it is the primary context within which you will develop your performance skills, focusing upon repertoire appropriate to your specialism. You will give three recitals in total, the final one of which will represent the culmination of your research and development as a performer.

Teaching and Assessment

Discover what to expect from your tutor contact time, assessment methods, and feedback process.

Where could this lead you?

Your Career

Graduates of the Music Performance MMus are prepared for a broad range of creative, technical and community-focused careers across the music and arts sectors. Many develop professional pathways as Musicians, Composers or Creative Producers, contributing to live, recorded and digital performance. Opportunities also include roles such as Teacher, Youth Worker or Community Engagement Officer/Coordinator, supporting access to music and creative learning. Technical career routes span Audiovisual Technician, Theatre Technician, Studio Manager/Technician, Instrument Technician and general Technician, while screen-based roles such as Video Editor and Video Producer offer further avenues. Skills are valued by venues, studios, arts organisations, education providers and through freelance practice.

Source: Lightcast data extracted from the Graduate Career Explorer

98%
Percentage of the University's postgraduate students go on to work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduating.

* HESA Graduate Outcomes 2022/23, UK domiciled.

£38.5k
The average salary of our postgraduates fifteen months after graduating.

* HESA Graduate Outcomes 2022/23, mean salary, UK domiciled, full-time UK employment as main activity.

How much will it cost?

Fees and Finance

Full-time: £10,305 per year
Part-time: £859 per 15 credits

This information is for Home students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27, both on-campus and distance learning.

Modules credits can range from 15 to 60, dependent on the content of the module. Read more about total credits required for a range of degrees, to allow you to calculate the potential total cost.

Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy.

For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/study/fees/

£18,700 per year

This information is for international students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.

Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy. 

For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/international/fees-and-funding/

Scholarships and Bursaries

Discover what additional help you may be eligible for to support your University studies.

Tuition Fee Loans

Find out more about tuition fee loans available to eligible postgraduate students.

What’s included in your fee?

We want you to understand exactly what your fees will cover and what additional costs you may need to budget for when you decide to become a student with us.

If you have any questions about Fees and Finance, please email the Student Finance Team.

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Why Hud

Explore the unique opportunities and resources that make our institution a top choice for students seeking a well-rounded and future-focused education.

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Careers support

We know you’re coming to university to study on your chosen subject, meet new people and broaden your horizons. However, we also help you to focus on life after you have graduated to ensure that your hard work pays off and you achieve your ambition.

Find out more about careers support

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you’ll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you’ll soon discover that you’re never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey.

See our support services

Teaching Excellence

Great teaching is engaging and inspiring — it helps you reach your full potential and prepares you for the future. We don’t just teach well — we excel — and we have the awards and recognition to prove it.

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Inspiring Academics

Our researchers carry out world-leading work that makes a real difference to people’s lives. Staff within the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts may teach you on this course.

Find out more about our staff

Research Excellence

You’ll be taught by staff who want to support your learning and share the latest knowledge and research.

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Accommodation

Looking for student accommodation? Huddersfield has you covered. HudLets has a variety of accommodation types to choose from, no matter what your preference. HudLets is the University’s approved accommodation service, run by Huddersfield Students’ Union.

Take a look at your options

Further Study

Many of our graduates stay at Huddersfield to complete postgraduate research degrees at Masters or PhD level.

Discover research degrees
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