MA Songwriting

• Course duration: 1 year, full time
• Course location: Delivered on campus in Brighton, Sheffield, and online.
• Suitable for: Music degree graduates and industry professionals
• Course tuition fees: £10,750
• Tuition fee loan available: Yes
• Maintenance loan available: No
• Bursaries available: All students can apply for innovation cash bursaries
• Course entry requirements: An undergraduate degree or via accreditation of prior learning

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The MA Songwriting is a 1-year course. The course is delivered on-site in Brighton, Sheffield, and online.

The course is constructed to focus on three fundamental elements:

• Your Music:
Create and craft your music to record and mix in professional studios.
• Your Business:
Understand your artistic vision, your product and market, to sharpen your commercial edge.
• Your Career:
Gain the confidence and knowhow to become a professional in the creative sector.

Who’s it for?

This course is for musicians, artists and producers who want to take their musical output to the next level and hone their songwriting craft, as well as boost the commercial and entrepreneurial side of their music activity. You’ll work on creating high-quality songs and compositions, and upskill in other areas like contract negotiation, sync and publishing.

The course will take you on a journey of high-level skills development, critical reflection and the development of professional practice, culminating in the completion of a major commercial project. Areas of focus include music creation, storytelling, audio production and publishing, the development of personal skills and the realisation of ideas through submission of a major project.

You will develop autonomy whilst learning to apply critical thinking and research skills to your work. You'll gain academic proficiency and professional credibility. You'll also develop your entrepreneurialism to maximise areas of potential revenue and enterprise.

Building your portfolio

You’ll craft your songwriting skills alongside like-minded artists. Beyond classroom learning (around 4 hours weekly), you'll have dedicated time to involve yourself with:

· Professional Studio Sessions: Hone your recording and mixing skills in industry-standard facilities, transforming demos into polished masterpieces.
· Songwriting Jams: Ignite your creativity alongside fellow musicians in these energising sessions, fuelling collaboration and spontaneous song explorations.
· In-house Songwriting Bootcamps: These mini-festivals of songwriting provide uninterrupted time to focus, experiment, and push your creative boundaries.
· Immersive Songwriting Residential: This dedicated getaway gives you the rare opportunity to completely immerse yourself in your art, refine your craft to new heights, and emerge with a portfolio brimming with polished, ready-to-share songs.

*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.

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 3 weeks after your submission dates.

Career pathways

This course is designed to develop songwriting careers in various areas of the music industry, across a wide range of specialisms, including:

· Music performance and composition
· Audio production
· Studio recording
· Music production and engineering
· Artist, label and publishing services
· A&R and artist development
· Music education
· Band / artist management
· Games music composition
· Film music composition

Further study

Further academic study routes available include Postgraduate Practice & Research (e.g. PhD, Professional Doctorate) and PGCert HE (teaching programme).

More than just writing songs, this programme guides you through the entire spectrum – from mastering core songwriting and composition methodologies, to refining production skills, navigating the path from demo to master, generating income streams, and finally, realising your artistic vision through a commercial project.

Songwriting Methodology

Push your songwriting boundaries. In this intensive module, you will explore diverse methodologies to refine your critical and analytical skills, unlock your creative potential, and develop a personalised, artistic and commercial approach to crafting truly great songs.

Demo to Master

This is where you’ll learn all about what it takes to create a truly high-quality record. You’ll develop a deeper understanding and awareness of your musical references and sonic signature.

Writing to a Brief

Develop your commercial songwriting skills through practical exercises, collaborative projects, and expert guidance. This module equips you with the in-demand skills to thrive in the commercial music industry. You’ll use your artistic expression for commercial gain by writing to briefs, creating songs for specific artists, composing music for film, writing jingles, and crafting compelling music for advertisements. This module includes a residential studio experience, where you'll immerse yourself in a focused songwriting environment alongside your peers. Push creative boundaries, hone your technique, and elevate your songwriting to a higher professional level.

Creating Income

This module focusses on the commercial realities of making and releasing music. You’ll develop a greater understanding and awareness of how to develop and control various income streams relating to your music.

Commercial Project

This is the final double module that concludes the MA. Here we bring all the strands of work, reflection, research and analysis together to deliver a major professional project. This module is the bridge into your future and is designed to position you for a sustainable career in the music industry.

*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.

Assessments

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 compositions, performances, recordings, etc.)
· Digital platforms and formats
· Essays
· Critical evaluations
· Journals/portfolios
· Project reports
· Research projects.
· In-class tests
· Live and studio music performances

In the master's year there are 5 modules, with 1 – 2 assessments per module. The assessments tend to be placed towards the end of the term.

How you will learn

You'll also get access to all supporting module resources after your class lectures via WaterBear's dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

You will study core modules that focus on music and industry practice. This master’s course encourages creativity, entrepreneurialism, and personal development.

On-site teaching and learning activities can include:

Lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops
· One-to-one mentoring
· Assignments, assessments and feedback sessions
· Masterclasses
· Conferences and events
· Live performances and gigs
· Peer collaboration via 'Jam Cloud' (VLE)
· Free rehearsal and recording time in professional studios
· Networking and industry conference events

Initial applications for the MA Songwriting course can be made via the Apply Now button below.

Apply Now

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 & Conditions

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 via online distance learning.

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.

In order to get the most out of the MA Songwriting course, it's essential to have regular access to the resources below. Having your own equipment will provide maximum flexibility for both your college and professional work.

Essential basics:

- Your instrument (instrumentalists)
- Expendables (strings, sticks, picks, leads, etc.)
- Note-taking materials (pens, notepad, manuscript paper, etc.) (Purchase cost around £20)
- Computer (desktop, laptop, tablet, etc.) (Purchase cost around £250-£400)
- DAW software (Purchase cost around £50-£100)
- Reliable Internet connection

We recommend:

- Computer (laptop / desktop) capable of running DAW, audio interface, plug-ins and A/V processing software (recommended 8-16GB RAM, 7,200 RPM Hard Drive, 8MB buffer, 1TB hard drive (Purchase cost around £600-£800)
- Reliable, high speed Internet connection
- Professional DAW software (ProTools, Logic, Cubase, Ableton, etc.) (Purchase cost around £200-£450)
- External hard drive (Purchase cost around £25-£50)
- Dynamic microphone(s) (e.g. Shure SM57 / SM58) (Purchase cost around £80-£100)
- Audio interface (e.g. Focusrite Scarlett 2i2) (Purchase cost around £100-£200)
- Headphones (e.g. Sennheiser HD 200, Beyerdynamic DT770) (Purchase cost around £75-£150)