Music & Culture

The cutting-edge research that lies at the heart of our taught MMus programme has both an Irish grounding and a worldwide reach. We offer students the opportunity to work closely with scholars of international standing in the School’s core disciplines of ethnomusicology, historical musicology and composition. Students take foundation modules in two of these three areas. This provides a solid and diverse methodological foundation from which to progress to specialist modules, where students choose from a wide range of topics based on the research specialisms of our staff. Some of these, including “Sounding Ireland Onscreen” and “Contemporary Music in Ireland, Britain and North America,” display the programme’s deep engagement with Irish musical culture. Others enable students to explore musical practices stretching through history and across the globe, from ‘Creating the Musical Self in Medieval Europe’ to ‘A History of Electronic Music’. These specialist studies provide the perfect springboard for students to carry out their own independent research project, with which the programme culminates, resulting either in a dissertation or a portfolio of compositions.



Overall, the degree furnishes students with the core intellectual tools for pursuing research and creative practices in musicology, ethnomusicology or composition, while also facilitating specialisation and encouraging independent scholarship. Students form an integral part of our lively, collaborative research culture and engage regularly with visiting seminar speakers. For those students who want to go on to doctoral study, our faculty are experienced in supporting them to develop research ideas and funding proposals. Our graduates also go on to a range of related careers in the arts and cultural heritage sector, media, teaching, and many other professions. The UCD School of Music is one of the leading centres for graduate musical study in Ireland and a QS World Top 100 Performing Arts department.



What Will I Learn?

On completion of the programme, students should:

• have developed a specialised understanding of the principal recent developments and trends within at least two of the core disciplines of historical musicology, ethnomusicology and composition, and be conversant with a wide range of methodological and interdisciplinary approaches;

• have acquired an understanding of how current Irish musical and musicological discourses relate to those in broader international contexts;

• have developed, if taking composition options, a good command of a range of compositional techniques in different styles and genres;

• be able to undertake independent research and deal confidently with the various forms of primary evidence available for research in historical musicology and ethnomusicology;

• demonstrate critical understanding of diverse academic viewpoints;

• be able to deliver oral presentations clearly and confidently, and to engage constructively in group discussions;

• be able to analyse primary and secondary evidence, place it in context, and assess its reliability;

• demonstrate the ability to participate appropriately in an academic community;

• have developed solid writing skills including the ability to engage in rigorous and original research-based work;

• have developed a range of transferable skills and experience, including disciplined work methods, rigorous, and analytical and imaginative thinking, which would facilitate scholarly progression in music and musicology, but also within a wide range of professional contexts

Module/Trimester/Credits



Stage 1 Core Modules

MUS40340 Doing Research Autumn 5

MUS41220 New Ideas in Musicology Autumn 5

MUS41210 Graduate Colloquium Spring 10



Stage 1 Options - A) Min 2 of:

Select 2 of

MUS41070 Foundations in Ethnomusicology Autumn 10

MUS41080 Foundations in Hist Musicology Autumn 10

MUS41260 Foundations in Composition Autumn 10



Stage 1 Options - B)20CR:

To fill out remaining credits students select: (a) the 10-credit module and two 5-credit modules OR (b) four 5-credit modules.

MUS31490 Music and Sexuality in Early European Musical Cultures Spring 10

MUS31510 Music & Place Spring 10

MUS41050 Sounding Ireland Onscreen Spring 5

MUS41240 A History of Electronic Music Spring 5

MUS41250 Contemporary Music in Ireland, Britain, and North America Spring 5

MUS41290 Ethnographic Methods Spring 5

MUS41300 Creating the Musical Self in Medieval Europe Spring 5

MUS41310 Issues in Ethnomusicology Spring 5



Stage 1 Options - C) Min 1 of:

Select 1 of

MUS41130 Dissertation Summer 30

MUS41270 Composition Portfolio Summer 30

A Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor in a cognate area with a minimum 2.1 or an equivalent of a UCD GPA of 3.08 (NFQ Level 8) or equivalent. Cognate areas include Music, Musicology, Ethnomusicology, Music Education and Performance Studies. In some cases the School of Music will accept applicants from English, History, Sociology and Anthropology. However, the School will first assess the applicant's ability to read musical notation and engage with Music Theory. Written sample work (1000-4000 words) and two positive academic references will be required. Personal statement (max 500 words) that specifies which two of the three core disciplines (historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and composition) you hope to pursue during your studies. Please also outline your motivation for choosing these two disciplines.



Applicants whose first language is not English are also required to submit evidence of their English language proficiency. It is expected that applicants will normally have reached an overall 7.0 in IELTS, with no individual band lower than 6.5, or equivalent.



These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes.



You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information at: https://www.ucd.ie/registry/prospectivestudents/admissions/rpl/ Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage.

Online Application.



Who Should Apply?

Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes

International (Non EU) applicants: Yes



Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes

International (Non EEA) applicants: No

Z357 - 1 year full-time,

Z358 - 2 years part-time.

Delivery: On Campus

MMus Musicology Music and Culture (Z357) Full Time

EU fee per year - € 7315

nonEU fee per year - € 19900


MMus Musicology Music and Culture (Z358) Part Time

EU fee per year - € 4390

nonEU fee per year - € 9950


***Fees are subject to change


Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.

Z357 MMus Music & Culture Master of Musicology Full-Time

Commencing September 2026

Graduate Taught



Z358 MMus Music & Culture Master of Musicology Part-Time

Commencing September 2026

Graduate Taught

Career & Graduate Study Opportunities

Many alumni of the MMus Degree have progressed to successful careers in arts administration, teaching, and arts journalism and broadcasting, with recent graduates going on to the BBC, RTÉ (radio and television) and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. Other former students have gone on to pursue doctoral work in musicology and ethnomusicology at internationally-renowned institutions such as The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, King’s College London, and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Our graduates occupy academic posts throughout Ireland and the UK (including Royal Holloway, Goldsmiths, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester) and further afield (including Queensland and Sydney)