Course details

Summary

First-year New Music courses include learning the basics of music technologies, the music industry, songwriting, recording music and notational composition for live performances.

Further studies will include more advanced composition and songwriting skills and digital music composition.

‌Music in all its forms is used the world over as a means of leisure, communication and enlightenment. The music industry is prolific globally and offers paid work to a vast array of practitioners.

The Bachelor of Music (MusB) is a specialised three-year degree for those who want to concentrate their studies on Music.

Qualification structure and duration

The Bachelor of Music requires a total of 360 points:

• about 75% must be in Music courses, including compulsory courses at 100 and 200-level
• in the first year you must take four compulsory courses (60 points) as well as courses towards your chosen major
• a minimum of 60 points must be from 300-level Music courses.

Students have considerable flexibility in choosing their courses in the second and third years of the MusB degree.

Double Degrees

It is possible to combine a music degree with other degrees, such as the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws or Bachelor of Commerce.

Career opportunities

Majoring in music composition and songwriting will equip you with good notational and musical literacy skills, and set you on the path for a career in new music production. Students majoring in New Music have gone on into areas such as music recording, sound engineering and music technologies, as well as fields such as journalism, television and radio (planning and production), and publishing.

Entry criteria

Admission to UC with University Entrance, or equivalent, is required to enrol for a Bachelor's degree. Applicants must have completed New Zealand University Entrance through NCEA; or Cambridge International Examinations (CIE); or International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) or any other equivalent overseas qualification.

It is strongly recommended that you have NCEA Level 2 or 3 music, or the equivalent of these.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 550 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum C+ grade; CAE or CPE minimum score of 169 with at least 162 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 57 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50.