BA Music and East Asian Studies
About this course
BA in Music and East Asian Studies, an undergraduate degree centred on Chinese and Music. Core topics include Programming, Data Analysis, Research Methods, Fieldwork, Historical Research, Critical & Analytical Thinking, Ethics & Professional Practice, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Design & Creative Practice, Social & Cultural Analysis, and Global & Comparative Perspective. The course includes a third year spent studying abroad at a partner university. The first year covers foundations through compulsory modules such as Digital Skills for Music, History of Western Music, Key Questions in East Asian Studies, and Inventing Traditions in China, Japan and Korea. Optional modules in the first year allow students to study areas such as Composition, Popular Music Studies, or language options like Chinese 1, Japanese 1, and Korean 1. The second year continues with compulsory modules including Western Music in Context, Work in Music, Global Citizenship and East Asia: Responding to Contemporary Challenges, and Mapping East Asia, alongside optional choices such as Studio Practice, Chinese 2, and Music and Sound in East Asia. Later stages feature a year abroad at a partner institution and a minor project involving options like Composition, Performance, Dissertation, or a special project. Further optional modules span topics including Orchestration and Arrangement, Community, Music and Education, and Reading Early East Asian Sources and Contexts.
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; BBB IB: 33, with 5 in Higher Level Music; 32 + Grade 8 in either Practical (ABRSM/Trinity/Rockschool/LCME or equivalent) or Performance (ABRSM/ARSM/Rockschool/Trinity) + Grade 5 Theory (ABRSM/Trinity/LCME); 32, with 5 in Higher Level Music, and B in a music-based extended essay
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What students say
Based on about 10 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 98%
- Learning opportunities: 87%
- Assessment and feedback: 95%
- Academic support: 95%
- Organisation and management: 82%
- Learning resources: 82%
- Student voice: 86%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 15 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 95%
- Left higher education: 5%
What graduates do next
Based on about 6 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 50%
- Working and studying: 10%
- Further study: 15%
Most common jobs
- Business and public service associate professionals: 19%
- Administrative occupations: 16%
- Teaching Professionals: 12%
- Elementary occupations: 7%
- Finance Professionals: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 65%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 56%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 39%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 25 graduates, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- North West: 10%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 50%
- East Midlands: 5%
- West Midlands: 10%
- East of England: 10%
- London: 5%
- South East: 5%
- Wales: 5%
Who gets in
Based on about 35 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 90%
- A degree: 5%
- Other HE qualification: 5%
- Other qualifications: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- School of Languages, Arts and Societies Year Abroad
- Core Modules: Minor project: - Composition / Performance / Dissertation / Special project
- Analysis and Criticism of Western Art Music
- Orchestration and Arrangement
- Community, Music and Education
- Sound and Moving Image
- Traditional Music in the Modern World
- Creative Performance and Improvisation
- Music Psychology in Everyday Life
- Digital Platforms and Alternative East Asia
- History, Memory and Heritage in East Asia
- Transnational Activism Beyond East Asia
- Curating East Asia: Culture, Media and Creative Practice
- East Asian Futures: Sustainability and Transformation
- Interrogating Identity in East Asia
- Reading Early East Asian Sources and Contexts
- Korean 3
- Japanese 3
- Chinese 3
- Digital Skills for Music
- History of Western Music
- Key Questions in East Asian Studies
- Inventing Traditions in China, Japan and Korea
- Composition
- Popular Music Studies
- Music in a Global Context
- Performance
- Music Analysis
- Psychological Foundations of Music
- Korean 1
- Japanese 1
- Chinese 1
- Thinking Cross-culturally
- Arts, History and Culture in East Asia
- Politics, Economy and Society in East Asia
- Western Music in Context
- Work in Music
- Global Citizenship and East Asia: Responding to Contemporary Challenges
- Mapping East Asia
- Topics in Popular and Contemporary Music
- Composition and Instrumentation
- Music Psychology in Practice
- Performance
- Writing Musical Culture
- Studio Practice
- Korean 2
- Japanese 2
- Chinese 2
- Twentieth-Century East Asian History: Dynamism, Destruction and Dissent
- Film, Television and Screen Cultures in East Asia
- Music and Sound in East Asia
- International Relations in East Asia: Power, Identity and Security
- Everyday East Asia: Ethnographic Approaches
- East Asia Inc: Business, Competition and Innovation
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Music and East Asian Studies at University of Sheffield earn?
The median salary is £27,000 after 15 months, £23,500 after 3 years, £27,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £22,500 and £34,000. The £27,500 median after five years is £3,500 less than the UK median for Asian studies.
What do graduates of BA Music and East Asian Studies at University of Sheffield do next?
75% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Music and East Asian Studies at University of Sheffield?
98% 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 East Asian Studies at University of Sheffield?
The typical offer is ABB at A level. The average entrant had 154 UCAS points.
Does BA Music and East Asian Studies at University of Sheffield include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has a compulsory year abroad.
How many students continue on BA Music and East Asian Studies at University of Sheffield?
95% of students continued into their second year, and 5% left higher education.