What A-levels do you need to study music?

What A-level subjects are needed or essential for music?

• music and Grade VII/VIII for your main instrument (for most traditional courses).

Find out more about university entry requirements.

What A-levels are useful for music?

• some universities have a preference for at least one essay-based subject such as history or English.

Choosing your A-levels? See where different combinations can lead with our Explorer tool.

Other typical A-levels taken by current music students

• maths

• French

• physics

Take a look at individual music courses on The Uni Guide to find out the most popular subjects students studied before taking a degree in music.

Examples of music degree requirements

Below is a range of Bachelor of music (with Honours) courses offered by different universities and the A-level entry requirements they ask for (as of 11 April 2018):

The University of Cardiff: ‘A,A,B-B,B,B. To include grade B in A-Level Music, excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking.

University of Oxford: 'A,A,A. A in Music Excluding General Studies (if taken).'

Royal Holloway, University of London: 'A,A,B-A,B,B. Where an applicant is taking the EPQ alongside A-levels, the EPQ will be taken into consideration and result in lower A-level grades being required. Socio-economic factors which may have impacted an applicant’s education will be taken into consideration and alternative offers may be made to these applicants. Required: Grade A in Music A-Level or Grade 8 Music Theory at Pass A Level English Literature or English Language & Literature Preferably Grade 7 ABRSM (or similar practical exam) Five GCSEs graded A* - C (or 9-4) including English and Maths'

Other similar degree subjects

• music technology

• commercial music

• performing arts

These subjects may have slightly different A-level requirements to music, so if you want to keep your degree options open, be sure to check the entry requirements of specific courses before you finalise your choices.