MA
Music Education
1-YEAR, ON-SITE (BRIGHTON & SHEFFIELD)
NAVIGATE THE EVOLVING LANDSCAPE OF MUSIC EDUCATION
The MA Music Education is designed for musicians, music teachers and educators looking to develop their teaching practice and improve their understanding of teaching pedagogy. Those who study this course will deepen their knowledge of teaching methodologies, curriculum development, and educational leadership. Digital pedagogy, classroom technology, and the integration of contemporary music practices into education are all included areas of study.
The programme is designed to create opportunities for career progression, supporting your ideas for generating additional income or improving your profile and CV to aid job applications for teaching and learning roles. There will also be the opportunity to apply for membership of various professional bodies, such as Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) from Advance HE. Ultimately, this MA will empower you to establish yourself as a confident professional in the world of music education.
Taught by experienced music industry professionals, you’ll become part of a vibrant community of creatives and benefit from a flexible, hands-on learning experience. You’ll also have access to areas such as career development, one-to-one mentoring, academic sessions, live performance, and industry networking and events, all designed to support your development professionally, artistically and academically.
Join us September 2026 in Brighton. To find out more, apply today.
Select the links below for individual module study on this course.
Modules
LEVEL 7
This module equips you with the skills and strategies needed to create thriving learning environments that maximize engagement, inclusivity, and student success. Whether teaching one-to-one or group sessions, face-to-face or online, in formal or informal settings, you will explore the core principles of effective teaching and learning to ensure every student reaches their full potential.
A strong emphasis is placed on differentiation strategies, enabling you to tailor instruction to varied learning preferences and needs, interests, abilities and group sizes. You will explore pedagogical theories and their practical applications, including a range of music education philosophies. You will gain evidence-informed strategies for student-centred learning, active engagement, resilience-building, critical practice, transformative pedagogy and ownership of the learning process. Drawing on critical pedagogy in music education, you will examine how critical thinking, critical action and critical feeling can empower learners and foster deeper connection, agency, and social awareness through musical experiences.
Through an exploration of motivation, psychology, safeguarding, collaboration, and equity, you will develop the skills to foster well-being, engagement, and achievement in your students. You will also examine the impact of mindset, resilience, and self-efficacy on student success.
The module includes an introduction to research methodology and postgraduate research skills, enabling you to critically evaluate and apply educational research to improve your teaching practice. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to reflect on your creative practice in relation to your career aspirations and employability and create strategies for a sustainable career and adaptability to industry shifts.
Emphasis is placed on facilitating real-time feedback and enhancing data-driven decision-making. You will explore workflow optimisation techniques to reduce administrative load, increase teaching efficiency, and maximise student engagement. Educational technology will be included to support streamline assessments, resource digitisation, and enhanced curriculum delivery.
In addition, you will develop foundational research methodologies and postgraduate-level research skills. Through case study analysis and critical reflection, you will learn to interpret and apply educational research to inform evidence-based assessment strategies tailored to music education contexts.
By the end of the module, you will have built a comprehensive toolkit to enhance your effectiveness as an educator and contribute meaningfully to student achievement and educational innovation.
This module explores emerging technologies and modern teaching methodologies, such as coaching, flipped learning and gamification, equipping you with the tools to create innovative and sustainable music education programs. You will develop strategies to integrate these approaches into your teaching practice, ensuring real-world application and long-term impact.
A strong emphasis is placed on adapting to future educational trends, enabling you to design learning experiences that evolve with technological advancements, modern pedagogy, and changing student needs to support the ongoing conversation around decolonisation, sustainability and employability.
After identifying an area of innovation, you will explore the question: “How can this innovation be effectively implemented in music education?” Through action research, you will systematically test, refine, and assess your chosen innovation demonstrating skill development and educational impact. This process fosters significant professional and personal growth, helping you develop confidence in research-driven teaching practices.
To support this journey, WaterBear provides access to expert mentors within the music education sector, helping you connect theory with real-world application. This hands-on experience ensures you gain valuable research and implementation skills, fully preparing you for your final educational project and a successful sustainable career in innovative music education.
This module explores the key drivers behind decision-making in music education, equipping you with the skills to navigate change, propose innovative solutions, and lead progressive transformation. You will examine leadership strategies, communication techniques, policy evolution, and the frameworks that shape education, ensuring you are prepared to make impactful and sustainable decisions that align with evolving industry needs.
A strong emphasis is placed on situating music education within its socio-political and economic context, examining key external influences such as government policies, industry trends, and institutional frameworks. By critically analysing policy, governance structures, and industry trends, you will develop the ability to make strategic decisions, navigate challenges, advocate for change, cultural equity, and social justice, and align your vision with the evolving education sector.
As part of your professional development, you will reflect on your current position in music education, assessing your experience, skill set, and professional value. You will chart a career trajectory by identifying where you are now and where you want to be, mapping out the skills, knowledge, and strategies needed to achieve your goals and a sustainable career.
By analysing successful education programs, frameworks, benchmarks, and assessment models, you will gain insights into how strategic decisions shape curriculum effectiveness, institutional growth, and long-term educational impact. This module also explores the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in leadership, ensuring that educators—whether in institutions or independent settings—can drive growth through strategic decision-making, sustainable business models, and innovative funding approaches.
By engaging with real-world case studies and applied business strategies, you will gain insights that will equip you with the tools to build innovative and financially viable music education programs that align with policy shifts, institutional goals, and evolving funding landscapes. Whether your focus is institutional leadership, self-employed teaching, or a hybrid approach, this module enables you to provide clear strategies for long-term career development.
This module aims to empower you to develop an ambitious and innovative music education project that aligns with your future career aspirations, positioning you for a sustainable and impactful career in the field.
This final double module concludes the MA programme by integrating all strands of work, reflection, research, and analysis to deliver a major education project. Serving as a bridge to your future, this module is designed to position you for a sustainable and impactful career in music education. You will be encouraged to be ambitious from the outset, with the delivery of the project varying based on its direction.
This module emphasises autonomous learning, enabling you to tackle complex issues systematically and creatively, demonstrate self-direction and originality and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional level.
*Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. Any changes affecting students’ expected programme delivery are communicated in advance. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Programme Manager.
The assessments are coursework based.
There are many different forms of formative and summative assessments on the programme:
• Coursework
• Practical activities (group and/or individual)
• Oral presentations
• Production and/or technical outputs (for example online teaching programmes with recordings, etc.)
• Digital platforms and formats
• Essays
• Critical evaluations
• Journals/portfolios
• Project reports
• Research projects
• In-class tests
• Live and studio music performances
This 1-year master’s programme consists of five modules. The assessments will be placed throughout the year.
Feedback
There are plenty of opportunities for feedback:
• Informal feedback occurs during seminars, tutorials and workshops and in formative assignment submissions.
• Formal feedback is provided on your assignments three weeks after your submission dates.
By the end of the year, you’ll be an innovative educator, with the leadership skills ready to shape the future of education. You will be skilled in crafting engaging lessons and assessments, ready to create engaging learning environments that spark passion for learning in your future students and develop impactful projects that align with your career aspirations.
FAQs
This MA is tailored to support the development of your personal teaching practice and experience. You course of study will encompass innovation in education, the construction of a teaching ‘toolkit’ and how to foster engaging and supportive learning environments. The commercial realities of crafting a career in music education are also studied in depth.
The course is constructed to focus on three fundamental elements:
- Your teaching practice:
You will learn tools, techniques and methodologies to hone your teaching practice.
- Your business:
You will understand your own personal brand and target market, to sharpen your commercial focus.
- Your career:
You will gain the confidence and knowhow to become a professional educator in the creative sector.
This course is approved and awarded by Falmouth University, one of the UK’s leading specialist universities for the creative industries.
The MA Music Education has been designed specifically for music practitioners with a keen interest in both music and education, and who are interested in overseeing the musical development of others. The course focuses on how to improve teaching practice to get the best results. Leading music educators will attest to the transformative potential of a great education, and witnessing tangible results can be one of the most powerful and rewarding things educators can experience.
It’s ideal for aspiring educators passionate about using modern approaches in teaching, as well as those more experienced practitioners seeking to improve their practice. It’s also relevant to those interested in a career change into the field of music education.
Anyone passionate about their music and craft who is also interested in becoming a qualified music educator should consider this course of study.
These can include:
- Experienced music educators seeking advancement and looking to deepen their knowledge in curriculum design, tech integration, and reflective practice.
- Aspiring music educators with a background in music, looking to transition into teaching and set up and run their own teaching practice.
- Music programme administrators
- Private music instructors.
- Graduate music students who want to specialise in music education.
- Community music leaders.
- Career changers looking to gain foundational understanding and practical experience for an education career.
This qualification belongs to a suite of qualifications that have been designed to encourage the professional development needed to navigate through a complex landscape of a performing arts career. The unifying element of work within modern creative industries is the expectation for practitioners to undertake a portfolio career. This MA supports this approach and is aimed at educators looking to progress in their career.
The 1-year MA Music Education course consists of 3 study blocks, each of 12 weeks. Your timetable of structured activity is made up of seminars, lectures, 1-1 mentoring and support sessions, for both on-campus and online students, throughout the duration of the course. You’ll get access to all content and materials via WaterBear’s dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and you’ll also be able to participate in tutorials, discussions and meetings remotely, or in person.
You’ll get the chance to engage with lots of additional activity going on at WaterBear throughout the duration of your course too. How much you want to get involved with up to you. The Music Industries teams are there to help you with work and career development opportunities, live performance slots, festivals, conferences and industry showcases. There are also social events, clubs and societies, virtual meetups, networking opportunities, development weeks, songwriting camps, masterclasses and various kinds of other activities to explore.
The MA Music Education course also includes an optional free DBS check and organised paid or unpaid teaching experience placements.
In summary, regular teaching and learning activities include:
- Lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops
- One-to-one mentoring
- Assignments, assessments and feedback sessions
- Masterclasses
- Special events and conferences
- Performances and gigs
- Peer collaboration
- Networking and social events
The programme is designed to open opportunities for career progression, supporting you in creating your own ideas for generating additional income streams or in positioning you to go about securing full-time offers in further and higher education institutions. There will also be the opportunity to help you prepare applications for recognition from various professional bodies, such as the Associate Fellowship (FHEA) from Advance HE. Ultimately, this MA will empower you to establish yourself as a confident professional in the world of music education.
It is suitable for candidates who wish to teach:
- one-to-one
- group settings
- as a peripatetic teacher
- in HE settings
- in adult or community settings
- private, voluntary or community organisations
Traditional education settings:
- Curriculum developer/designer: Design engaging and innovative curricula for educational institutions.
- Educational technology specialist: Integrate technology tools effectively into classroom learning.
- Learning support: Support students with diverse learning needs.
Beyond traditional settings:
- Corporate trainer/instructional designer: Create and deliver training programmes for businesses and organisations.
- Museum or science centre educator: Design and deliver engaging educational experiences in non-traditional settings.
- Educational content creator: Develop online learning resources, courses, or educational games.
- Educational policy analyst/consultant: Research and advise on educational policies and practices.
- International teacher: Teach in international educational establishments around the world, fostering global understanding.
Entrepreneurial paths:
- Found an EdTech start-up: Develop innovative educational technology solutions.
- Create your own online tutoring service: Share your expertise and provide individualised support to students.
- Online educational influencer: Create engaging content on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok.
- Become a freelance educational consultant: Offer specialised expertise to schools, organisations, or individual learners.
This MA is focused on private teaching, as well as Further and Higher Education. It does not provide a direct route into teaching in primary or secondary schools, where Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is typically required. If you are interested in this pathway please find further information at getintoteaching.education.gov.uk.
You will develop your teaching career:
- Gain hands on experience and mentorship in various educational settings (including WaterBear).
- On-site and online campus opportunities: Assist our education department, shadow experienced teachers, and contribute to college initiatives.
- Network and explore: Seek placements with museums, science centres, or EdTech companies. Choose local or remote experiences to broaden your horizons.
- Design your own project: Tailor your experience to your career goals with faculty support.
Please note: On-campus placements are for students with UK visas only.
Initial applications for the MA Music Education course can be made via the Apply Now button above.
We consider all applications on their own merit and potential. We’ll invite you to a 1-1 session, either in person or by video conference. This is where you’ll have the opportunity to find out all about WaterBear and talk about your music, achievements, and career goals.
Falmouth University Terms and Conditions can be found at https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/student-regulations.
The MA Music Education 1-year master’s course tuition fee is £11,250. UK residents may be eligible for a postgraduate tuition fee loan.
Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The College may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible. For more information on fees and finance, please visit Falmouth’s tuitions fees page here.
Typically, you’ll have an undergraduate honours degree in a relevant subject area and a clear interest in your subject. If you don’t have an honours degree, you may be able to satisfy entry requirements through the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) process. This provides an entry route for those who have a significant amount of music industry-relevant experience but may not have a degree.
Further academic study routes available include postgraduate practice and research (e.g. PhD, Professional Doctorate in Music Education, Musicology, Ethnomusicology, Music Theory or Music Therapy).
This course is also available to international students if they are based in the UK with settled status (no restrictions on how long you can stay). Students based outside of the UK may also study this course online.
Language requirements
If English isn’t your first language, you’ll need to achieve an equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.5 overall score, a minimum of 5.5 in Reading, Writing and Listening, and a minimum of 6.0 in Speaking. We accept a range of equivalent approved tests too. Visit the English Language Requirements page of the Falmouth University website for more information. https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/study/international/english-language-requirements.
In order to get the most out of the MA Music Education programme, it is essential that you have regular access to the correct resources. Having your own equipment will provide maximum flexibility to support both your college and personal project work.
Essential basics:
- Computer (desktop, laptop, tablet, etc.) (purchase cost around £250-£400)
- Note-taking materials (pens, notepad, etc.) (purchase cost around £20)
- USB memory stick (purchase cost around £10)
- Reliable Internet connection
- If teaching practice is with U18s, there is potential for a DBS check requirement
We offer various scholarships and bursaries, which can be applied for by anyone studying related courses at WaterBear. Our scholarships are reviewed yearly, with applications generally opening 3-6 months prior to the course starting. Scholarship awards generally cover the cost of all course tuition fees.
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