Music Journalism (including a Foundation Year)

UCAS code: PW63

Here's what University of Chester says about its Music Journalism (including a Foundation Year) course.

Foundation Year courses have been designed for students who do not have the necessary academic qualifications needed to enter directly into the first year of a degree but who have the ability and commitment to do so. Once the Foundation Year has been completed successfully, you can then go on to complete your degree.

Our Music Journalism degree offers an immersive and deep dive into a world where music and writing collide! This dynamic course will provide you with an unparalleled opportunity to capture the essence and electricity of live music, from concerts to club nights. It is your backstage pass to the best gigs, biggest festivals and the most spectacular nightclubs on the planet. While you study with us, you will discover how to effectively capture the energy of music in words.

Studying music journalism provides a platform to combine your passion for music and writing to express yourself creatively, articulating your thoughts, observations and opinions on musical culture. It offers a lens through which to explore and comment on societal trends and the latest movements. As a music journalist, you have the power to shape public opinion, highlight emerging artists, and contribute to the discourse around sounds and society.

Early on in your studies, you will begin engaging with seasoned professionals across various genres, acquiring insights and hands-on experience, as well as writing and publishing music reviews. You will gain a great deal of practical experience, with music industry experts playing a key role in your learning throughout the curriculum. You'll be immersed in the industry from day one and will benefit from real-world opportunities, including placements at renowned publications. Recently, some of our students enjoyed placements at Mojo and Mixmag, and our Journalism graduates found staff positions on the payroll at NME and Kerrang!

BA Music Journalism shares a common first year with students on our BA Journalism, BA Sports Journalism and BA Creative and Professional Writing courses. This means that you’ll learn alongside students studying a similar discipline, helping to broaden your knowledge and exposure to other concepts, perspectives and professions in the first year of your degree. As you learn and collaborate with students from other courses, you'll not only widen your social and professional network but also learn new skills that will set you up for success in your industry. In your second and third years, you will progress to studying more specialist modules within music journalism, developing your skills to become a world-ready graduate.

The Music Journalism pathway contains a combination of core and specialist modules at each level of study.

In Year 1 (Level 4), you will be introduced to industry-embedded practice, including basic storytelling techniques, digital production skills and critical reflection.

Year 2 (Level 5) builds on these skills further with more developed applications integrating advanced critical thinking around relevant issues.

In Year 3 (Level 6), you will integrate expertise in practice, theory and real-world experiences, ensuring you achieve industry-standard competencies and are curious and prepared for employment.

The pathway contains several optional modules which include areas such as:

publishing digital media skills social media design sustainability opportunities to explore the broader socio-political and cultural contexts that Music Journalism operates within. This pathway is delivered in three terms of 10 weeks each. By the end of each year, you will have completed 120 credits of learning. You will gradually gain greater independence in your learning throughout the three years, with a view to achieving positive graduate outcomes.

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

This pathway is delivered predominantly in person. You can expect to take part in lectures, workshops, seminars and a range of experiential activities both on and off campus – in the UK and abroad to locations such as Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid and Prague. Activities on these trips include visits to a range of music media, cultural and political institutions.

Music Journalism is located in Gateway House in Chester city centre and features a range of facilities, including lecture and seminar rooms, two newsrooms, radio studio, a multimedia broadcast suite, two podcast studios and a student common room.

You should expect to undertake about 40 hours per week of study in total, which comprises scheduled sessions, independent study including engaging with learning material on the University’s VLE, tutorials with staff, researching and producing stories, using the University’s library and other resources, working with peers and preparing work for assessment.

Teaching is delivered by experienced academics and practitioners in the subject. This will be supplemented by occasional guest lecturers and speakers.

There will be a broad range of assessment methods so that you are exposed to the different types of tasks you might encounter in the workplace. These will include coursework in the form of portfolios, essays, presentations, digital productions and online tasks. We continuously review the assessment methods used so that they adequately prepare you for graduate-level employment.

The University’s terms and regulations are updated regularly; you will be notified of any changes annually upon enrolment. Additionally, at enrolment, you will be directed to the latest version of the Course Specification, which details any improvements or changes that have been made to the delivery of the course.

There will be an opportunity to take part in study trips, including one trip outside the UK, which may have additional costs associated with it. We do endeavour to support students who may not be able to afford to take part. The field trip is optional and students are not required to participate in order to successfully complete the course.