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Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister)

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,A

Overall: AAA Required subjects: Mathematics, Music, and Physics. Music Technology A level together with ABRSM Music Theory grade 5 is acceptable in place of Music A level. Musical performance proficiency equivalent to ABRSM Grade 7 is desirable. Applicants taking an A level science subject with the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass the practical element. We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers.

Access to HE Diploma

D:45

Overall: QAA recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Distinction. Required subjects: Please contact us to discuss suitability.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE English Language at Grade C(4) and Mathematics at Grade C (4) (or equivalent).

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

35

Overall: 35. Required subjects: Maths Analysis and Approaches HL6/SL7 or Maths Applications and Interpretation HL6. GCSE or Equivalent: English, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths Studies, SL4.

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

D*DD

Overall: D*DD Required subjects: Please contact us to discuss suitability.

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,A,A

Overall: AAA Required subjects: Mathematics, Music, and Physics. Music Technology A level together with ABRSM Music Theory grade 5 is acceptable in place of Music. Musical performance proficiency equivalent to ABRSM Grade 7 is desirable.

Scottish Higher

A,A,A,A,B

Overall: AAAAB Required subjects: Mathematics, Music and Physics. Music Technology Higher (or Advanced Higher) together with ABRSM Music Theory grade 5 is acceptable in place of Music. Musical performance proficiency equivalent to ABRSM Grade 7 is desirable.

Overall: Pass overall with AAA from a combination of the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate and two A levels. Applicants taking an A level science subject with the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass the practical element. Required subjects: Please contact us to discuss suitability. We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers.

UCAS Tariff

144-168

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About this course


Course option

4years

Sandwich | 2024

Subjects

Audio technology

Film and sound recording

**Why choose this course**
Our prestigious course is unique in the UK. We blend rigorous musical study, advanced investigation of audio engineering and mastery of sound-recording operation and practice.

Our BMus/BSc Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister®) course is aimed at exceptional students who are primarily interested in engineering and music. You’ll gain a breadth of experience, numerous practical skills, and invaluable initiative and adaptability that will prepare you for a career in any area of the professional audio industry.

Our graduates have gone on to amazing careers; from equipment design to film composition; from computer game programming to writing and producing hit songs; from designing broadcast studios to mixing the broadcast sound from Glastonbury.

We are ranked 5th in the UK for music by the Guardian University Guide 2023. This course received an overall satisfaction score of 100% in the National Student Survey 2022.

Our award-winning Professional Training placements prepare students for roles in industry.

We were shortlisted for University of the Year in The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.

**What you will study**
Our course is made up of three areas of study:

-Technical understanding of audio
-Practical experience of recording
-Musical theory and practice.

The technical aspects of our course cover the engineering components that contribute to modern sound recording and reproduction. This includes acoustics, electroacoustics, electronics, computer audio systems, sound synthesis and signal processing.

The practical elements of your studies will provide you with tuition in recording techniques and critical listening. You’ll also apply technical theory by recording a wide range of music.

The musical components of the course will develop your analytical skills and provide the opportunity for detailed study of creative disciplines such as performance and composition.

Modules

To see the full range of modules for this course please visit our website – the link is under the Course contact details. You will also find full details of the programme, including programme structure, assessment methods, contact hours and Graduate prospects.

Extra funding

The University of Surrey offers a range of scholarships and bursaries to support our students, please visit https://www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-funding/scholarships-and-bursaries for more details.

The Uni


Course location:

Stag Hill

Department:

FASS - Department of Music and Media

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.

100%
Audio technology
100%
Film and sound recording

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.

Others in technology

Teaching and learning

100%
Staff make the subject interesting
100%
Staff are good at explaining things
100%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
96%
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

90%
Library resources
96%
IT resources
100%
Course specific equipment and facilities
100%
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?

92%
UK students
8%
International students
82%
Male students
18%
Female students
74%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

Cinematics and photography

Teaching and learning

100%
Staff make the subject interesting
100%
Staff are good at explaining things
100%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
97%
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

92%
Library resources
92%
IT resources
100%
Course specific equipment and facilities
100%
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?

92%
UK students
8%
International students
82%
Male students
18%
Female students
93%
2:1 or above
4%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

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.

Others in technology

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.

£27,000
med
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

68%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
10%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
7%
Engineering professionals

Cinematics and photography

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.

£21,000
high
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

49%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
8%
Other elementary services occupations
7%
Teaching and educational professionals

What about your long term prospects?

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

Others in technology

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

£32k

£32k

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.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (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?

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