Taught Programmes
MMus Applied Psychology of Music (from September 2010)
Programme Manager: Dr Karen Burland
Email:k.burland@leeds.ac.uk
Open to those with backgrounds in music or psychology, the MMus Applied Psychology of Music programme is aimed at advanced students who intend to work within music education (instrumental and classroom), performance, community music, music technology and computer science. The distinctive focus will be upon the application of existing research in psychology of music within these domains alongside the development of domain-specific research methods. In addition the programme will attend to the development of generic and scholarly/research techniques, and will also provide the training and preparation necessary for students with ambitions to study the Psychology of Music to MPhil/PhD level.
Students explore their particular research interests through a Dissertation, an extended piece of empirical or theoretical research closely supervised by staff members involved in the programme. There are two additional core modules central to the discipline of Applied Psychology of Music: Case Studies in the Applied Psychology of Music encourages students to engage with the ways in which the psychology of music has practical application in the real world; Research Techniques in the Applied Psychology of Music introduces quantitative and qualitative research techniques with an emphasis on practical, hands-on seminars and lectures. All MMus students also attend a core research skills module, Introduction to Musical Scholarship. The remaining programme credits (30cr) are chosen from a wide-ranging menu of optional modules, allowing students the flexibility to tailor their studies to their own individual enthusiasms and interests
On successful completion of this programme students should be able to:
- Demonstrate in-depth, specialist knowledge and mastery of techniques relevant to the psychology of music
- Demonstrate an understanding of the practical application of psychology in the real world
- Understand the methods and significance of data collection and analysis
- Apply a suitable methodology to a chosen area of research
- Critically and creatively evaluate current issues, research and advanced scholarship in the discipline
- Take a pro-active and self-reflective role in working
- c.15,000 words
- Essay, c.6000-8000 words (90%)
- 10-minute Presentation (10%)
- Empirical study I, quantitative techniques, c.4000 words (50%)
- Empirical study II, qualitative techniques, c. 4000 words (50%)
- Bibliography assignment (50%)
- Presentation Skills (50%)
Students choose an additional 30 credits from the following options (subject to availability), to make up a total of 180 credits:
- Issues in Contemporary Musicology
- Composition Studies
- Short Dissertation
- Computer Music Studies
- Applied Performance
- Short Recital
- Editing & Archival Studies
- Studies in Historical performance
- Individual Project