MA Music Production.

Our Music Production masters degree will provide you with the skills to realise your musical goals and produce the very best recordings possible. In 12 months, you’ll learn technical studio skills, advanced mixing and mastering, have access to employment opportunities in the music industry and more - Don't let your skills go unrecorded.

Masters in Music Production: Rachel K Collier

MA Music Production Course Overview

MA Music Production is a comprehensive postgraduate programme designed to enable you to advance your skills in music composition and production, with a focus on advanced music production, sound design, recording, mixing, and mastering techniques.  Post-graduate students will be exposed to a wide range of creative music production methods and studio practice to shape and define their own specific area of research whilst working towards their master’s degree.

Throughout the programme you will benefit from access to a range of music technology, including our state-of-the-art advanced studios with industry-standard equipment, and an array of sign-out equipment including instruments, amplifiers and microphones. You’ll also learn from experienced music industry professionals and music academics, deepening your understanding of the discipline and expanding your career opportunities in the music and creative industries.

In addition to practical skills, you will explore the industry-facing professional practice and creative research methods, ensuring that you’ll be well-prepared to pursue a range of career opportunities, including music producer, audio engineer, sound designer, and more. 

With our Master’s in Music Production degree, you will widen the skills and knowledge you need to take your career to the next level.

Key info

  • Qualification: MA Music Production
  • Duration: 1 year Full-time; 2 or 3 years Part-time
  • Start dates: 18 September 2023, 16 September 2024
  • Fees: £7,800
  • Entry Requirements: Higher second-class Bachelor degree. Find out more

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Get in touch

Get in touch

If you have any questions about this course, your application or if you'd like to arrange a tour of Spirit Studios, please get in touch on:

0161 276 2100 OR Contact us
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Benefits of studying MA Music Production with Spirit Studios

Freedom to explore your individual interests icon

Freedom to explore your individual interests

Through expert supervision and guidance, you’ll hone in on a research topic that is bespoke to your own creative interests and intellectual curiosities. You’ll have the autonomy to choose a research topic that best suits your goals.

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Unrivalled studio access

You’ll benefit from a variety of recording studio facilities, ensuring you gain a broad understanding of their different configurations and resources to help expand your musical output.

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Relaxed and nurturing learning environment

You’ll build strong working relationships with your tutors, studio technicians and peers. We understand that in order for your creativity to flourish, you need to feel supported and at ease in the studios. Our community is welcoming and kind, helping you feel at home from day one.

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One-to-one mentorship

We’ll keep your class sizes small so that you benefit from tuition shaped around your interests. It’s vital that you have the space to explore and experiment, and receive one-to-one guidance from expert tutors – all with years of experience in the music industry.

MA Music Production Course details

The course module details for your Masters in Music Production below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course to study.

Year 1

Through the production of a relevant portfolio, this module of your MA Music Production course will highlight various employment opportunities in the creative industries, helping you to forge a clear career path.

Assessment: Professional portfolio with written evaluation. 40 credits.

With complete freedom to choose a specialism within your own areas of interest, you’ll identify an individual research pathway. We’ll help you apply effective research skills and develop your critical analysis to help prepare you for your final project.

Assessment: Written research design for the subsequent Masters Project. 20 credits.

In the final stages of your course you’ll complete a large-scale final project. This extended project will test your ability to identify a research topic, to carry out the necessary research, to synthesize and analyse the theoretical and practical skills, and to present your findings in a clear archive. It can take a variety of forms; from a dissertation to a portfolio of productions.

Assessment: Proposal, negotiated production portfolio and evaluative viva voce. 60 credits.

Through this module, you’ll produce professional-standard recordings using appropriate mix techniques and technologies. You’ll deliver a mastered recording project to the highest standard following a client brief. You’ll master specific software packages and develop your unique approach to mixing in both digital and analogue environments, developing a clearly identifiable, unique sound.

Assessment: Portfolio of practical work and written technical report. 60 credits.

Teaching and learning

Teaching for our MA Music Production course takes place in a variety of formats including lectures, workshops, demonstrations, peer reviews and one-to-one tutorial support. Our aim throughout is to encourage your creative exploration and hone your technical  skills, all so you’ll leave us as a confident, independent professional ready for the music industry.

What careers will a Masters in Music Production prepare me for?

  • ADR Mixer
  • Artist
  • Audio Director
  • Audio Editor
  • Audio-Visual Technician
  • Composer
  • Compositior for Moving Image
  • Digital Content Creator
  • DIY Label Manager
  • DJ
  • Dubbing Mixer
  • Educator
  • Mastering Engineer
  • Mixing Engineer
  • Music Editor
  • Music Producer
  • Music Production Coordinator
  • Radio DJ
  • Recording Engineer
  • Recording Studio Manager
  • Remixer
  • Songwriter
  • Sound Artist
  • Sound Designer
  • Sound Editor
  • Sound Engineer
  • Sound Technician
  • Studio Engineer

Your tutors

Josh Horsley

Josh Horsley

Programme Leader

Josh is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer whose work explores temporality within music. His main focus is the sonic arts, and often uses architecture, film and design for inspiration.

Steve Boyce-Buckley

Steve Boyce-Buckley

Tutor

Steve is a professional recording engineer, producer, arranger and classically trained musician with over 4 decades of industry experience.

Our studios are your classroom

With ten recording and mixing studios, a live venue, DJ booths, edit suites and more, our facilities are one of the main reasons students choose to study a Masters in Music Production with us year after year

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MA Music Production entry requirements

  • Higher second-class Bachelor degree preferred
  • Lower-class degrees are also considered

MA Music Production applications are welcome with qualifications in subjects other than music production but are required to demonstrate understanding of and commitment to the various processes within music production, music technology and/or sound engineering. Non-native English speakers require IELTS: 6.0 with no component lower than 5.5.

MA Music Production fees and funding

  • £7,800 per year (full-time)
  • £867 per 20 credit module (part-time)

Tuition fees for all our postgraduate courses are eligible for government funding through Student Finance England, subject to a successful application.

More info on fees and finance

How to apply

Click below to start your application for MA Music Production

Any questions? Speak to one of our course advisors

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If you have any questions about this course, your application or if you'd like to arrange a tour of Spirit Studios, please get in touch on: