Music

Music can be studied from a wide variety of perspectives. We ‘study’ music by reading, listening, performing and composing. We investigate, through analysis, the relationships between the various parts of the composition. We use documentary evidence to explore how reliable and authoritative a score is and how to perform it. We investigate the various uses of music to see how a musical work (or repertory or style) has been shaped over time, and how it might differ from that of earlier ages or of different cultures.

• Music has been part of the life of Oxford for more than 800 years.
• 30 academic staff – scholars with distinguished reputations as musicologists, performers or composers.
• Numerous visiting speakers and professional performing ensembles.
• Students enjoy performance and composition workshops, and play an active part in the life of their colleges – in chapels, orchestras, ensembles, bands and stage performances.
• The faculty building incorporates practice rooms, electronic music and recording studios, and probably one of the best music libraries in a British university. The world-famous Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, housed in the faculty, lends historical instruments to students.
• The course is broadly based but allows increasing specialisation and choice as you proceed. Performance and composition are prominent, but you can concentrate on other areas such as history or analysis.
• Students graduate as mature and well-rounded musicians with an informed and lively sense of the contemporary study and practice of the subject.

Music Careers

Teaching, performance and arts administration are among the more popular destinations for Music graduates, but others include broadcasting, publishing, law, politics and the Civil Service. Many students undertake further study in performance, often at conservatoires in the UK and abroad.

After graduating, Fabienne secured a marketing and public relations internship with the Philharmonia Orchestra. She then worked for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra before being headhunted for her current role as Head of Communications and Marketing at Intermusica, an industry-leading international classical music management agency. She says; ‘Our roster includes Marin Alsop, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Daniil Trifonov, Sir Willard White, James MacMillan, Leonidas Kavakos and many others. Naturally my music degree has proved an extremely helpful foundation for a career in classical music management but, I would say that the most important thing I gained from Oxford was confidence and resilience and being able to meet people from all walks of life.’

• Four to six lectures a week
• One or two tutorials in college
• Practice, workshops and rehearsals
• More time for independent study in the summer terms.

• Attestat o Srednam Obrazovanii (Certificate of Secondary Education) would not be sufficient for candidates to make a competitive application. If your qualification is listed as being insufficient to make a competitive application to Oxford, then you will need to undertake further study if you wish to apply.You could take British A-levels (the British Council may know where you can take A-levels in your country), the International Baccalaureate (IB), or any other qualifications listed as acceptable on this page. The first year of a bachelor's degree from another university could also be an acceptable alternative.
• IELTS: overall score of 7.0 (with at least 7.0 in each of the four components)
• TOEFL (paper-based): overall score of 600 with a Test of Written English score of 5.5
• TOEFL (internet-based): overall score of 110 with component scores of at least: Listening 22, Reading 24, Speaking 25, and Writing 24.
• Cambridge English: Advanced, also known as the Certificate of Advanced English (CAE): grade A if taken before January 2015, or a score of at least 185.
• Cambridge English: Proficiency, also known as the Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE): grade B if taken before January 2015, or a score of at least 185.
• English Language GCSE, or O-level: grade B (for IGCSE, please see below)
• International Baccalaureate Standard Level (SL): score of 5 in English (as Language A or B)
• European Baccalaureate: score of 70% in English.

Hill Foundation Scholarship

Russian nationals wishing to study for a second undergraduate degree. 

Palgrave Brown Scholarship

Students must be ordinarily resident in and/or educated in the following countries:

Albania; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Czech Republic; Estonia; Georgia; Hungary; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Rep.; Latvia; Lithuania; Macedonia;  Moldova; Montenegro; Poland; Romania; Russia; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; Uzbekistan.