BA Music and Theatre
Royal Holloway, University of London
About this course
BA in Music and Performance and Design for Theatre and Screen. Core topics include Design & Creative Practice, Historical Research, Fieldwork, Research Methods, and Ethics & Professional Practice. The course includes one-to-one instrumental or vocal tuition and collaborative film projects with directing students in the Department of Media Arts.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: ABB-BBC (Required subjects: A-level Music or pass in grade 7 Music Theory Applicants without A-level Music or pass in grade 7 Music Theory may be eligible for the Intensive Theory entry. This requires Music GCSE grade A/7 or equivalent, plus performance at ABRSM Grade 8 level. In term 1 you will be required to take Fundamentals of Music Theory, an intensive music literacy course. Students wishing to take Solo Performance options will need to be of Grade 8 ABRSM level, or equivalent, on the selected instrument at point of entry. We require English Language and Mathematics GCSE at grade 4 (C)) IB: 6,5,5 at Higher level or 32 points overall including Music at Higher Level or Grade 7 Music Theory plus Grade 7 in performance.
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What students say
Based on about 65 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 90%
- Learning opportunities: 83%
- Assessment and feedback: 86%
- Academic support: 90%
- Organisation and management: 70%
- Learning resources: 87%
- Student voice: 79%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 85 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- Continued on course: 85%
- Left higher education: 15%
What graduates do next
Based on about 13 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 70%
- Working and studying: 15%
- Further study: 10%
Most common jobs
- Artistic, literary and media occupations: 15%
- Leisure, travel and related personal service occupations: 15%
- Elementary occupations: 15%
- Teaching Professionals: 10%
- Teaching and Childcare Support Occupation: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 90%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 75%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 50%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 135 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North West: 3%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 3%
- East Midlands: 3%
- West Midlands: 2%
- East of England: 12%
- London: 38%
- South East: 27%
- South West: 7%
- Wales: 3%
- Scotland: 2%
Who gets in
Based on about 70 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 94%
- Baccalaureate: 4%
- A degree: 1%
- Other HE qualification: 1%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Theatre and Performance Making 1
- Theatre and Text 1
- Theory and Analysis
- Fundamentals of Music Theory
- Creative Composition Techniques
- Practical Composition Skills
- A Very Short History of Music
- Introduction to Historical Musicology
- Introduction to World Music
- Contemporary Debates in Music
- Solo Performance
- Creative Ensemble Performance
- Making Musical Theatre
- Theatre and Performance Making: Devising
- Theatre and Performance Making: Theatre Directing
- Theatre and Performance Making: Acting for Camera
- Theatre and Performance Making: Dance and Theatre
- Theatre and Performance Making: Scenography
- Theatre and Text: Staging the Real
- Theatre and Text: Decoding debbie tucker green
- Shakespeare, Ecology and Performance
- Theatre and Culture: Theatre for Young Audiences
- Theatre and Culture: Cultures of Memory
- Dancing Bodies, Global Culture
- Theatre and Ideas: Ideas of Gender and Sexuality
- Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of Tragedy
- Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of Adaptation
- Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of the Musical
- Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of Acting
- Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of Money
- Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of Casting
- Studies in Music Analysis
- Studies in Composition
- Studies in Music History
- Studies in Ethnomusicology
- Studies in Music, Media and Technology
- Practical Performance I
- Ensemble Performance
- Composition Portfolio
- Practical and Creative Orchestration
- Practical Conducting (Choral and Orchestral)
- Composing with Technology 1
- Introduction to Jazz: Theory, Practice and Contexts
- Popular Music and Musicians in Post-War Britain and North America
- Korean Percussion Performance
- Practical Ethics
- Musical Aesthetics
- Mozart's Operas
- Issues in Sound, Music and the Moving Image
- Intercultural Performance: Theory and Practice
- Music and Society in Purcell's London
- Contemporary Music Performance
- Music, Power and Politics
- Ideas of German Music from Mozart to Henze
- Music and Gender
- Hearing the Orient: Critical and Practical Approaches to the Middle East
- Love, Gender and Sexuality
- Race Relations in Theatre, Film and Television
- Shakespeare
- Naturalist Theatre in Context
- Creative Learning and Theatre
- Physical Theatre
- Shakespeare on Camera
- The Actor's Voice
- Actor Training in a Globalised World
- Group Project
- Final Year Project - Special Study
- Final Year Project - Dissertation
- Taught Dissertation
- Practical Performance 2
- Composing with Technology 2
- Special Study: Dissertation
- Special Study: Theory and Analysis
- Special Study: Solo Performance
- Special Study: Composition
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Music and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London earn?
The median salary is £25,000 after 15 months, £22,500 after 3 years, £28,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £23,000 and £34,500. The £28,000 median after five years is £3,500 more than the UK median for Music.
What do graduates of BA Music and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London do next?
95% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Music and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London?
90% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Music and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London?
The typical offer is ABB at A level, or 32 points in the IB. The average entrant had 142 UCAS points.
Does BA Music and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional placement year and an optional year abroad.
How many students continue on BA Music and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London?
85% of students continued into their second year, and 15% left higher education.