BA Music and Modern Languages & Cultures
About this course
BA in Music and Modern Languages & Cultures, a Modern Languages and Music degree combining language acquisition with historical, cultural and musicological studies. Core topics include Data Analysis, Research Methods, Historical Research, Critical & Analytical Thinking, Ethics & Professional Practice, and Global & Comparative Perspective. The programme incorporates a compulsory third year spent studying or working abroad in a country relevant to the chosen language. The first year introduces foundational studies through modules such as Digital Skills for Music, History of Western Music, and Understanding Modern French and Francophone Cultures, alongside optional choices like Music in a Global Context or Composition. The second year advances linguistic proficiency alongside core studies in Arts of Persuasion, Musicology, and Work in Music, with options including Translation and Revolutions and Revolutionary Trends. The third year consists of an international placement abroad for language immersion. The final year focuses on advanced language proficiency and professional competencies alongside compulsory modules like Composition and Performance, while optional modules allow specialisation in areas such as Orchestration and Arrangement, Ensemble Performance, and Social Approaches to Multilingualism.
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 IB: 33, typically with 5 in Higher Level Music and a modern foreign language; 32, typically with 5 in Higher Level Music and a modern foreign language, and B in the extended essay
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Admissions (2022 entry, home applicants)
Offer rate 93%: 25 offers from 27 applications, from the university's Freedom of Information return.
What students say
Based on about 21 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 93%
- Learning opportunities: 86%
- Assessment and feedback: 89%
- Academic support: 93%
- Organisation and management: 73%
- Learning resources: 90%
- Student voice: 82%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 15 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 85%
- Left higher education: 15%
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
- Teaching Professionals: 20%
- Administrative occupations: 20%
- Business and public service associate professionals: 15%
- Elementary occupations: 5%
- Managers, directors and senior officials: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 70%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 50%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 50%
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 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 100%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Digital Skills for Music
- History of Western Music
- French Advanced
- French Beginner Intensive
- Understanding Modern French and Francophone Cultures
- German Advanced
- German Beginner Intensive
- Understanding German and Dutch Histories and Cultures
- Dutch Beginner
- Russian Advanced
- Russian Beginner Intensive
- Russian and Czech Cultures in the Age of Empire and beyond
- Czech Beginner
- Spanish Advanced
- Spanish Beginner Intensive
- Understanding Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese Histories and Cultures
- Catalan Beginner
- Portuguese Beginner
- Music in a Global Context
- Composition
- Popular Music Studies
- Psychological Foundations of Music
- Performance
- Music Analysis
- Euro-Visions: Imagining and Questioning Europe
- Language at Work
- Resist! The Art of Protest in Berlin and Amsterdam
- You will also have the option to select 20 credits of Languages for All modules in your chosen language: https://sheffie
- Arts of Persuasion
- Musicology
- Work in Music
- French Higher Advanced
- French Intermediate Intensive
- German Higher Advanced
- German Intermediate Intensive
- Dutch Intermediate
- Russian Higher Advanced
- Russian Intermediate
- Czech Intermediate
- Spanish Higher Advanced
- Spanish Intermediate Intensive
- Catalan Intermediate
- Portuguese Intermediate
- 'That is not my (hi)story'. Shaping the future of our inherited past
- Languages of Gender and Sexuality
- Language and the Self
- Translation
- Revolutions and Revolutionary Trends
- You will also have the option to select 20 credits of Languages for All modules in your chosen language: https://sheffie
- French Year Abroad
- Germanic Studies Year Abroad
- Hispanic Studies Year Abroad
- Russian and Slavonic Studies Year Abroad
- Luxembourg Studies Year Abroad
- Composition
- Performance
- French Proficient
- German Proficient
- Dutch Proficient
- Russian Proficient
- Czech Proficient
- Spanish Proficient
- Catalan Proficient
- Portuguese Proficient
- Orchestration and Arrangement
- Sound and Moving Image
- Community, Music and Education
- Ensemble Performance
- Social Approaches to Multilingualism
- Comparative Critique of Consumer Culture
- Tales of Cities. Mapping and Marketing the Urban as a Site of Encounter and Conflict
- Migration and its Representations Across Cultures
- Global Careers in Languages
- Music and Performance
- You'll also have the option to select 20 credits of Languages for All module in a language of your choice from several o
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Music and Modern Languages & Cultures 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 £5,500 less than the UK median for Language and area studies (other).
What do graduates of BA Music and Modern Languages & Cultures 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 Modern Languages & Cultures at University of Sheffield?
93% 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 Modern Languages & Cultures at University of Sheffield?
The typical offer is ABB at A level. The average entrant had 151 UCAS points.
What is the offer rate for BA Music and Modern Languages & Cultures at University of Sheffield?
93% of home applicants received an offer for 2022 entry: 25 offers from 27 applications, according to the university's Freedom of Information return.
Does BA Music and Modern Languages & Cultures 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 Modern Languages & Cultures at University of Sheffield?
85% of students continued into their second year, and 15% left higher education.