Music Therapy Postgraduate degree

Music Therapy

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

Start Date:

September 2023

Duration:

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

Degree Type:

MA

Number of credits:

180 (subject to validation)

School:

Psychology

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.

Postgraduate, Master's and Doctoral On-Campus Open Evening

Wednesday 1 November 2023, 5–7.30pm

University of Roehampton London is ranked top 10 in the UK for postgraduate student satisfaction (PTES 2022)

Course and Module Details

Overview

The Music Therapy programme offers training for competent, practising musicians to become therapists, bringing together their skills, education and other life experiences. On completion of the training, graduates are eligible to apply to the HCPC for registration, with the ability and flexibility to practice within the NHS, Social Services, education or private sector. 

 

ECArTE full member logo 2020.png HCPC Master Logo (png).png
 

Music therapists draw on the innate qualities of music in order to support people of all ages and at all stages of life who are facing diverse challenges. Music therapy facilitates positive changes in wellbeing through engagement in musical interaction. Essential to music therapy is the relationship between client and therapist. At Roehampton we have chosen to base our Music Therapy training programme on the use of psychoanalytic ideas to inform our understanding of the therapy process and the ways the person in therapy uses the environment, the therapist and the music. Supporting theories and ways of working are also studied in order to equip students to meet a range of clinical needs, including an infant observation which assists students in developing their observation and analysis skills. 

Music therapy as practised in Great Britain is largely based upon improvisation, the music being the shared and spontaneous creation of the person in therapy and the Music Therapist. Other styles of music, including song writing, the use of technology and pre-composed music are also used as appropriate to the need of the individual. 

The programme emphasises your emotional development as a practitioner, together with clinical exploration through critical enquiry. In addition to this, students must be prepared to enter mandatory individual personal therapy for one year of the training. 

Music Therapists work within a wide range of clinical settings, individual and group work. They work with people of all ages; from infants and young children through to elderly adults. Music therapy can benefit people with a wide range of difficulties or challenges, including mental health problems, learning disabilities and autism, dementia and neurology, as well as people experiencing serious illness such as cancer or those who have experienced trauma. Placements include work with children and adults in the settings in which Music Therapists commonly work.  

Key areas of study include human development and growth and the clinical context for music therapy, clinical improvisation, observational studies, music therapy theory, clinical case work and supervision, introduction to research and your dissertation. Some of the core teaching will take place with peers from across the Arts and Play Therapies programmes, giving unique opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Personal development and reflection on this is central throughout the programme. 

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 September to February/March (second placement).These clinical placements will provide you with music therapy work experience alongside qualified Music Therapists. You will also participate in an experiential group, which gives you an opportunity to develop your own self-awareness and examine personal and group dynamics through verbal and musical processes. In addition, it is a requirement for you to find and fund personal individual therapy outside the course. 

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. 

Course subject to curriculum review

Modules

Theory and Practice in the Arts and Play Therapies

Music therapy theory and practice

Music Therapy Placement 1; working with service users in music therapy

Research informed Arts and Play Therapies and clinical work

Music Therapy Placement 2; working with service users in music therapy final clinical project

Personal Development and Reflection


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

Indicative Timetable

Students on this course are normally in University on Monday and Thursday in their first year. They are also required to set aside 1 day for placement, and additional time for personal therapy and their observational studies module. In the second year students are normally at University on a Wednesday, with additional time required for their research modules and 1 day to be set aside for placement.

Contact us for further information.

Tuition fees and funding

September 2023 entry tuition fees

Full-time (2 years)
UK EU and International
Total fees for the course
£20,000
Total fees for the course
£33,000

 

Part-time (3 years)
UK EU and International
Total fees for the course
£20,000
Total fees for the course
£33,000

Career Options

Music Therapists work within a wide range of clinical settings. They work with people of all ages; from infants and young children through to elderly adults. Music Therapists work within statutory services (such as the NHS, education or social services), within charities and private organisations, and in private practice. To find out more, you can join the British Association for Music Therapy. 

How to apply

Postgraduate programmes

You can now apply for any programme for any entry point in 2023.

All postgraduate taught applications can be made via our online application form.

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

Postgraduate application process FAQs

 

To apply, you need to complete our online application form.

No, you can save and revisit your application form and can contact us directly at any time if you need advice or assistance.

We have general entry requirements for postgraduate courses. Many of our courses also have specific entry requirements. You can find details of these, and the fees for individual courses, on our postgraduate course pages.

If you are a prospective postgraduate student who has home fee status, then you can apply close to the start of the course of study. However, if you have international fee status and require a Tier 4 Visa, then you will normally need to apply much earlier. Please see our application deadlines for postgraduate study.

We encourage all students to apply as early as possible, as some programmes have limited numbers.

Yes, we offer a range of scholarships, alongside support on managing your finances while you are with us.

You can find more information on our postgraduate home and postgraduate international financial support pages. There are also other sources of external funding for international students available.

Yes, we have a wide range of high quality and competitively priced on-campus student residences. We are able to offer quiet rooms and can adjust for those with specific access needs.

Find out more on our accommodation pages

Your application

Electronic music links and personal statement - Instructions and guidelines
Please follow these instructions carefully - failure to do so may result in your application not being considered

Electronic music links/CD
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.

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.

Please title your electronic files/CD with your name, date and details (title and composer of each piece)

Please do not send links that require passwords or specific software to open them (e.g. Dropbox).

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. Please come ready to discuss some of your reading.

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.

Your completed application form should be submitted online. If you are unable to attach your music files to your application please contact the postgraduate admissions department for advice.

More Information

View frequently asked questions about our MA Music Therapy course. 

Short Courses

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. 

Validation and curriculum review

What is validation?
Validation is a formal process through which the University approves a programme (content, teaching, learning and assessment) as being of appropriate standard and quality. This is a normal process used throughout the university sector.

The University expects to publish details of the validated programme in the academic year prior to the start date of the programme. You are advised to check the University website at that time to ensure that you have up-to-date information. In the meantime, if you require information you should contact 0208 392 3232.

What is curriculum review?
Curriculum review is the regular and systematic monitoring and reviewing of programmes. It is a normal process in the sector and it is the way by which the university ensures that your course remains up-to-date and relevant. The process may result in changes to the content, structure and/or assessment of the programme.

The University expects to publish details of the re-validated programme by 31 March in the academic year prior to the start date of the programme. You are advised to check the University website at that time to ensure that you have up-to-date information. In the meantime, if you require information you should contact 0208 392 3232.

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.

prev

Our Students

"My two clinical placements were a highlight as they were in very new environments and I was really challenged by some of the clients I worked with. I was pleased to get a job as a Music Therapist not long after I graduated, and I now work for a charity in North London who work with vulnerable children in their schools. My degree was definitely one of the most interesting experiences of my life and I encourage anyone who is thinking of training as a Music Therapist to apply to Roehampton." 

Evie Wavell, MA Music Therapy graduate

Image -

Our Research

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

Image -

Doing all we can to support our students' lives at Roehampton 

At Roehampton, we can offer all new students the opportunity to live in accommodation on our beautiful parkland campus, including affordable and high-end options. 

We offer scholarships, provide hardship funding and help you find advice on managing your finances while you study.

We provide plenty of opportunities for you to get involved, through volunteering, playing sport or music, or joining one of our many active student societies.