Music Therapy

Postgraduate School of Psychology

Become a qualified music therapist and learn to use music to improve wellbeing and to positively support people of all ages through diverse challenges.

Music Therapy
Duration

2 years (full-time)
3 years (part-time)

Number of Credits

180

Start date

September 2024

Degree Type

MA

Modules

These modules are those we currently offer and may be subject to change.

Skills

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This programme provides a contemporary psychodynamic music therapy training.

The programme delivers learning and teaching that equips students with a contemporary framework for practice in music therapy and the ability to gain employment and practice in all health and care settings.

Along with profession specific learning and teaching there is engagement in interprofessional learning across the Arts and Play Therapies programmes.

 

The curriculum uses central historical psychoanalytic concepts viewed through the lens of contemporary practice to provide a flexible and up to date framework for music therapy practice. A driving principle of interrogation of power and equality is embedded throughout the training and influences learning and teaching about theory, clinical skills and placement work. This approach supports students in understanding the centrality of the service user experience within all their work.

A unique aspect of the training programme is the shared teaching with other Arts and Play Therapies programmes which not only provides a rich learning environment but gives students critical perspectives and experience of interdisciplinary approaches.

The course encompasses theoretical, practical and experiential learning. With our holistic approach to teaching, you will be provided with thorough and systematic knowledge, experience, skills and the confidence to work as a professionally qualified Music Therapist.

The programme delivers the learning and teaching needed for students to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding and delivery of the therapeutic techniques and approaches required for professional registration purposes.

You will be taught by leading experts with years of teaching experience who will equip you with the skills, experience, and confidence to work as a Music Therapist in challenging, yet rewarding environments. Lecturers use a diverse range of learning and teaching approaches and assignment methods including lecture seminars, discussion groups, reflective practice groups, and experiential, music skills based and problem based learning.

The approach taught gives students a solid grounding in principles for safe and effective music therapy practice, alongside an ability to adapt, lead and innovate as required by the service users and settings within which they work. The training pathway follows a logical sequence that allows students to gain the skills and abilities that they need to integrate theory and practice, demonstrate clinical skills, develop innovation and evaluation skills and graduate with a high level of employability. In addition students are assisted in understanding and developing their own self-care in order to maintain an ethical, sustainable professional practice.

Work based placement learning and experiential learning is central to this training, particularly in the development of clinical (musical) and reflective therapeutic skills. Clinical placements are a central aspect of the training, embedded in the curriculum. All students complete 2 placements, supervised by Placement Educators who are Music Therapists in the placement setting, and supported at University by Reflective Practice Groups and lecture/seminars which provide additional learning opportunities.

Support is provide through academic guidance tutor (AGT) support and the considerable sources of support provided by the University. In addition, students are allocated timetabled studio time and Library time for independent study, and encouraged to access the University resources both online and on campus.

As part of the development of the reflective practitioner, all students are required to be in personal therapy.

Electronic music links and personal statement: instructions and guidelines

Please provide:

  • Two contrasting pieces on your preferred instrument
  • One piano/keyboard piece if this is not your preferred instrument*
  • One free improvisation which may be given a title if you prefer


The total playing time should be no more than 15 minutes. Extracts from longer pieces are therefore acceptable. If you do not have piano/keyboard skills you may provide a piece on another harmony instrument. Please ensure that you include the title, composer and any other relevant details for your music links. Please do not send links that require passwords or specific software to open them.

In all your playing you should attempt to demonstrate expressive qualities, musical imagination and depth as well as technical competence. In the free improvisation you should rely on your personal musicality rather than traditional tonalities and harmonic idioms.

Do not include music where you are a member of a group, unless you can clearly be identified as soloist (for example vocalist or other soloist where you are accompanied by piano or small ensemble). Please give details if this is the case. A piece where you are the drummer or guitarist in a band, for example, is unlikely to allow you to provide an adequate representation of your capabilities.

Your music is an initial indication of your skills and does not need to be a recording of professional quality. Any music provided should have been recorded within a year of the application date.

*Other harmony instruments may be accepted.

Short personal statement

500-1,000 words. The personal statement should cover the following main areas:

  • What has led you to wish to train as a therapist? You should demonstrate some insight into how your life experience has led to this application.
  • Your musical background, including the genres and styles of music making with which you have experience. (If you consider yourself to possess additional musical resources or greater versatility than demonstrated in your music you should say so here).
  • Your experience of work with people, particularly with those service users with whom music therapists generally work (such as children, adults or older adults with severe learning disabilities or autism, or mental health problems; many other areas of work may also be relevant). Such experience is a mandatory pre-requisite for training.
  • Your understanding, so far, of the nature of music therapy as a distinctive discipline (in particular as practised in the UK). Mention relevant courses, conferences and reading, any meetings with music or other therapists, personal therapy/development etc.

The personal statement is also an indication of how well you express yourself in writing and helps us consider issues we would like to explore with you during the interview.

Please read our page frequently asked questions regarding our MA Music Therapy course, prior to making your application. 

How you'll learn

All modules are designed to prepare you for music therapy practice that is theoretically and musically sound, ethical and self-reflective.

Learning and learning will enable you to comply with the Standards of Proficiency of the Health and Care Professions (HCPC), the regulatory body for Music Therapists in the UK.

This intense, rigorous and comprehensive programme is made up of six modules that provide a developmental pathway encompassing the theoretical, practical and experiential learning experience required to become a professional Music Therapist. Learning is delivered through taught days on campus, and continues through work based learning on placement.

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Our full-time course follows the following pathway:

YEAR ONE: Autumn term –1 day on campus (currently Tuesday) and approximately six day long visits to music therapy settings. Spring term – 2 days on campus (currently Monday and Tuesday) and 2 days on placement. Summer term – 2 days on campus (currently Monday and Tuesday) and 2 days on placement.

YEAR TWO: Autumn, Spring and Summer terms 1 day on campus (currently Wednesday) and 2 days on placement.

Our part-time course follows the following pathway:

YEAR ONE: Autumn, Spring and Summer terms 1 day on campus (currently Tuesday).

YEAR TWO: Autumn term – 1 day on campus (currently Wednesday) and 1 day visits to music therapy settings (usually on Mondays). Spring term – 1 day on campus (currently Monday) and 2 days on placement. Summer term - 1 day on campus (currently Monday) and 2 days on placement.

YEAR THREE: Autumn, Spring and Summer terms 1 day on campus (currently Wednesday) and 2 days on placement.

All students are required to be in personal therapy for the duration of the programme (full time students) and at least two years of the training (part time students).

Clinical work is central to the training. After visits to a variety of workplaces which offer music therapy, you will undertake individual and group work in two contrasting settings over six months, January to June (first placement) and from September onwards (second placement).

These clinical placements will provide you with music therapy work experience alongside qualified Music Therapists. Placements are available in a wide range of settings for example in the NHS, schools, social care, and in charitable and private organisations. Placement Advisors support you in securing a placement.

Short courses

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We also offer weekend introductory courses, 5 day Summer Schools, and 20 week part time evening Foundation Courses which provide a useful background in related professions. For more information, see our Psychology Short Courses. 

Career options

Graduating students are eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Music Therapists work in professional practice in diverse settings such as the NHS, social care, education the charitable sector and in private practice. They support service users who have a wide range of experiences, including children, adults or older adults in the areas of learning disabilities, mental health, trauma and emotional, behavioural and social difficulties, in hospice and end of life care, dementia care, neuro-disability, and in the areas of refugee and homelessness support.

To find out more, you can join the British Association for Music Therapy. 

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Our careers team is available to support you from the start of your studies until after you graduate. We will help you build your CV, prepare for interviews, and meet and learn from successful graduates working at the top of their careers.

Application Info

How to apply

Postgraduate programmes

If you need any help or advice with your application, or just want to ask us a question before you apply, please do not hesitate to contact us.

International students
Please note that most international applicants have to pay a deposit before securing their place.

  • See our Finance pages for more details

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Tuition fees and funding

September 2024 entry tuition fees

Full-time (2 years)
UK EU and International
Total fees for the course
£21,000
Total fees for the course
£34,650

 

Part-time (3 years)
UK EU and International
Total fees for the course
£21,000
Total fees for the course
£34,650

Specific Entry Requirements

  • Please read the "Your application" tab on this page prior to completing and submitting your application, as it contains important information on what to include. 
  • Applicants will normally be required to hold an honours degree, usually in music. Other clinically related disciplines such as psychology, teaching, nursing, or social work, and graduate level professional qualifications in appropriate disciplines such as the performing arts, Occupational Therapy and Social Work are also considered where music skills are demonstrably sufficient.
  • Applicants need to evidence that they can meet the academic demands of a Masters degree and will be required to prepare and submit a written personal statement to support their application.
  • A professional standard of proficiency on an instrument (including voice).
  • Keyboard/piano skills of approximately grade 5 (where piano is not the preferred instrument) or equivalent ability on another harmony instrument, and confidence with voice. The potential to use musical skills in professional Music Therapy practice and the ability to communicate musically.
  • It is expected that applicants will have extensive experience either having worked professionally or having practiced extensively within their specific arts modality.
  • An understanding of the nature of music therapy as a distinctive discipline (in particular as practised in the UK).
  • Applicants should demonstrate a maturity of personality and self-awareness compatible with training as a therapist. Applicants need an appropriate degree of psychological mindfulness including the capacity to form and maintain appropriate empathic relationships with clients. They should also demonstrate emotional literacy, robustness and an ability to be self-reflective. This is addressed through a combination of assessments, including a health screening form, searching questions at interview related to different parts of the training course and experiential work at interview/audition.
  • Applicants will be expected to have appropriate clinical experience of having worked within a setting and with clients relevant to the programme. This might include working with children, adults or older adults in the areas of learning disabilities, mental health, hospice care, dementia care, neuro-disability, homelessness etc (this is not an exhaustive list). This work can be undertaken either on a voluntary or employed basis.
  • An International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of at least 7 with no element below 6.5 for applicants for whom English is not their first language.
  • Applicants will be required to supply the names of two referees, normally one of these should be able to comment on the applicant’s academic suitability and the other the applicant’s clinical suitability for the programme. References are always taken up prior to offering a place.
  • In addition to these requirements, all students must be prepared to enter mandatory individual personal therapy. Payment for therapy is separate to course fees.
  • All successful applicants will need to complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Payment for this is separate to the course fees.
  • We also offer 20 week evening foundation courses which provide a broad oultine and introduction in the arts and play therapies.

Need help before you apply?

Course Facilities

Image -  Music Therapy Room  
  Much of your university learning will take place in our bespoke Music Therapy teaching room.   

Music Therapy Room 

Much of your university learning will take place in our bespoke Music Therapy teaching room. 

Image -  Manresa Hall in Whitelands College    
  On top of a 24 hour computer room, the College also has two dedicated quiet study areas.

Manresa Hall in Whitelands College 

On top of a 24 hour computer room, the College also has two dedicated quiet study areas.

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Our Research

For an overview of the research carried out by psychology academics within the School of Psychology, please visit the departmental research pages.

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