Music & Culture

The cutting-edge research that lies at the heart of our taught MMus programme has both an Irish grounding and a worldwide reach. We offer students the opportunity to work closely with scholars of international standing in the School’s core disciplines of ethnomusicology, historical musicology and composition.

A Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor in a cognate area with a minimum 2.1 or an equivalent of a UCD GPA of 3.08 (NFQ Level 8) or equivalent. Cognate areas include Music, Musicology, Ethnomusicology, Music Education and Performance Studies. In some cases the School of Music will accept applicants from English, History, Sociology and Anthropology. However, the School will first assess the applicant's ability to read musical notation and engage with Music Theory. Written sample work (1000-4000 words) and two positive academic references will be required. Personal statement (max 500 words) that specifies which two of the three core disciplines (historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and composition) you hope to pursue during your studies. Please also outline your motivation for choosing these two disciplines. Applicants whose first language is not English are also required to submit evidence of their English language proficiency. It is expected that applicants will normally have reached an overall 7.0 in IELTS, with no individual band lower than 6.5, or equivalent. These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes. You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information at: https://www.ucd.ie/registry/prospectivestudents/admissions/rpl/ Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage.