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Commercial Music

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,C

Please see our website for information.

Access to HE Diploma

D:15,M:30

Please see our website for information.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

29

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

Please see our website for information.

Please see our website for information.

Entry Requirements: A typical offer would be BBC at A- Level or BTEC DMM or equivalent. Please see our website for information

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

Perform an audition

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Music

**Studying Commercial Music will give you a firm grounding in the key knowledge and skills needed to work professionally in the music industry.**

Wherever your passion in music lies, our course offers you plenty of opportunity to hone your skills and study areas of commercial music that are new to you. Popular music is at the heart, and you'll develop strong skills in performance, instrumental technique, song writing and composition.

You’ll be able to apply what you learn in a wide range of practical briefs that mirror real-world music industry work, and you’ll have the chance to collaborate with students from other courses in the School of Creative Arts and Industries.

As you progress through the degree, you'll have opportunities to perform, record, produce and compose music in specialist facilities. Once you've gained a firm grounding in different aspects of commercial music, you'll be able to select optional modules that focus on specialist areas such as media music, music leadership and teaching, film music and education, music and psychology.

**Top reasons to study with us**

- You’ll learn in our purpose-built creative arts building, Daphne Oram, which provides the latest facilities, including professional-grade rehearsal, recording, and performance spaces.

- From our Canterbury Campus you’ll have access to the vibrant live music scenes in Canterbury, Margate, and Ramsgate, home to a variety of venues and international music festivals.

- You’ll be supported by tutors who are highly skilled musicians with international experience and whose teaching is informed by their work as active performers, producers and composers.

- 92% of our Commercial Music students were satisfied overall with their course. National Student Survey 2022

- A year-round programme of events will offer you the opportunity to showcase your talents in a variety of venues, including Canterbury Cathedral.

- You’ll have regular one-to-one vocal and/or instrumental lessons.

**Specialist facilities**
You’ll have access to excellent facilities, including:

- St Gregory’s, a historic church that has been converted into a beautiful music venue which seats 150 and has been designed to enhance the experience of the audience and performer.

- Music studios, in our dedicated creative arts building, are kitted out with in-house instruments and state-of-the-art control rooms sporting both digital sound and video editing software.

- Performance areas for large and small gigs, and stunning venues, including Canterbury Cathedral.

**Location**
This course is run at our Canterbury Campus in Kent. Canterbury is just 50 miles south-east of London and less than an hour by high-speed train from St Pancras. Located on a UNESCO World Heritage Site the campus offers state-of-the-art buildings, right in the centre of a vibrant and world-famous cathedral city. You’ll benefit from a campus with excellent learning and teaching resources, music venues, a superb sports centre, a well-stocked bookshop and plenty of coffee bars and places to eat. A short walk away is Augustine House our award-winning library and home to a vast range of learning resources and student support teams.

**Modules**
For a list of core and likely optional modules, please visit our website.

Modules

For a list of core and likely optional modules, please visit our website.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Canterbury Christ Church University

Department:

School of Music and Performing Arts

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

73%
Music

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Music

Teaching and learning

93%
Staff make the subject interesting
98%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
77%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

72%
Library resources
70%
IT resources
72%
Course specific equipment and facilities
63%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
63%
Male students
37%
Female students
70%
2:1 or above
17%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

D
E
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Music

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£16,800
med
Average annual salary
91%
low
Employed or in further education
38%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

24%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
12%
Teaching and educational professionals
11%
Other elementary services occupations

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Music

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£15k

£15k

£19k

£19k

£22k

£22k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here