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Taught Masters

Students on our Taught MA programme join a vibrant international postgraduate community and study with scholars, composers, and performers who have achieved international recognition in their fields. The flexible modular structure of our taught MA programme (1 year full-time, 2 years part-time) allows students to focus on a chosen area of specialism but simultaneously facilitates exploration of a wide range of research areas relating to music. It will provide an excellent foundation for undertaking postgraduate research at the doctoral level, but will also benefit the professional development of musicians intending to pursue careers in performance, teaching, arts administration, broadcasting, and other domains.

Full details about the overall course structure, entry requirements, etc can be found here.

But first you might want to take a look at the five pathway specialisms you can choose between.

What do our students think?

University student
"The MA definitely lived up to my expectations: I was challenged and pushed academically but…there was a lot of guidance and support throughout. I now work in the music publishing industry…a broad range of knowledge and musical understanding comes in really handy."

Alice Benton, 2017-18
University student
“The MA Ethnomusicology programme became the cornerstone of my future. It was a perfect combination of research methodology and a miscellany of tasks that laid a strong foundation for my PhD. Outside university, I was very warmly welcomed by Durham’s locals.”

Tat Amaro, 2014-15