Music

About the course

Music is everywhere in the world around us; it is part of all of our lives, whether we play it, actively listen to it, or hear it in passing.

At Oxford, we study music by reading, listening, performing and composing. We create music in all its aspects – acoustic, electronic, individually and communally, working with world-class professionals and with local communities. We analyse the relationships within a piece of music, and between that piece and its genre and context.

Throughout the course, you will be exposed to music of all kinds and in all contexts:

• Western classical
• popular music
• global, world and traditional musics
• community music
• seeing these musics in terms of their social and cultural contexts (and how those contexts have been shaped over time).

Music has been part of the life of Oxford for more than 800 years. There are around 30 academic staff, of whom 15 give lectures regularly – scholars with distinguished reputations as musicologists, performers and composers. Oxford welcomes visits from numerous speakers and professional performing ensembles.

From October 2025, the Faculty of Music will be located at the The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. This new state-of-the-art building includes a concert hall, lecture spaces, film screening theatre, black box experimental performance space, practice rooms and a multimedia digital TV broadcasting and sound studio. The world-famous Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, which lends historical instruments to students will also be moving to the new centre.

The course is broadly based but allows increasing specialisation and choice as you proceed. Whether you’re a performer, a composer, a budding scholar of music history, sociology, psychology or education, the Music course offers something for you.

Students graduate as mature and well-rounded musicians with an informed and lively sense of the contemporary study and practice of the subject, and the ways in which music contributes to society more broadly.

'The Oxford music course suits me because it is broad and varied, but also has lots of space to make it my own. For my final exams I am sitting papers in broad aspects of music history (from English renaissance polyphony to electronic music), analysis, and issues to do with how we study music but I am also writing a dissertation about the music in a primary school near Oxford, essays on Brazilian music, and a report from the term I spent working on a music project with children with autism. I have friends who are playing the Rite of Spring for piano duet for a chamber music exam, who are singing Schubert Lieder for a solo recital, and who are analysing Bach organ fugues for an analysis portfolio – and those are just the people in my year in my college!' Sarah		'From playing for three evensongs a week to being immersed in the sound world of the Bosavi Rainforest people in Papua New Guinea, Oxford has been a fantastic experience so far. One aspect of Oxford’s music course that first attracted me was the diversity and the choice it gives students, particularly in the final year. I am currently studying a variety of history topics, ranging from the 13th-century motet to film music, along with some composition and analysis courses. I want to be a performer and knowing that I can choose to concentrate on this later in the course has helped me to focus my interests throughout the term.' Olivia

Unistats information

Discover Uni course data provides applicants with Unistats statistics about undergraduate life at Oxford for a particular undergraduate course.

Please select 'see course data' to view the full Unistats data for Music. 

Please note that there may be no data available if the number of course participants is very small. 

Visit the Studying at Oxford section of this page for a more general insight into what studying here is likely to be like.

Academic requirements 

Wherever possible, your grades are considered in the context in which they have been achieved.

Read further information on how we use contextual data.

Subject requirements

* If your school or college does not offer A-level Music, you must have Music Theory Grade 7 or above, plus three A-levels. We accept Grade 7 from any board (e.g. ABRSM, Trinity).

The Faculty accepts BTEC Music in place of Music A-level, where a student is not able to take Music A-level at their school. BTECs in other subjects may be accepted, depending on the subject taken and at the discretion of the individual admitting tutor and their college. The Faculty of Music will consider other vocational qualifications in Music; however, an accompanying A-Level in an essay subject, or a strong grade in an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), is strongly recommended.

The Faculty does not require qualifications in performance or Keyboard Skills, and no candidate should be dissuaded from applying if they have not studied a keyboard instrument or performed to a high level. However, we encourage students to work on developing their keyboard fluency before they come to Oxford, whether this comes in the form of jazz, pop or classical music.

We find it can make a helpful contribution to work on the first year SCART and Musical Skills papers, and it helps consolidate students’ general musicianship, too.

If you are unsure about your qualifications please contact academic.admin@music.ox.ac.uk.  

Applying

All candidates must follow the application procedure as shown on our Applying to Oxford pages.

The following information gives specific details for students applying for this course.

Admissions tests

There is no written test but candidates are required to submit a video recording of up to 5 minutes performing on their chosen instrument or voice in advance of their interview. Candidates should not be concerned with the quality of recording space or equipment as this will not be taken into account. 

Many tutors will ask you to study a short piece of music and/or text about music in preparation for your interview; if so, this material will be given to you shortly in advance but typically on the same day as your interview.

Written work

Visit our further guidance on the submission of written work for more information, and to download a cover sheet.

What are tutors looking for?

There is no typical music student at Oxford, and students can flourish with a wide variety of strengths and interests within the broad field of music.

Tutors will be looking for potential to engage with the course, an ability to think critically about music, and a keen interest in learning more about this subject. 

Visit the Music website more detail on the selection criteria for this course.

Fees

Additional Fees and Charges Information for Music

Students may choose to have instrumental or voice tuition as part of their course, though please note that performance is not compulsory. With advice from your tutors, you can choose your own instrumental tutors. You will need to pay for these lessons yourself, but the money will be refunded by the Music Faculty at the end of term, up to £275. This usually covers the full cost of tuition.

Students can also apply to take part in a Faculty-funded scheme with the Royal Academy of Music (RAM), which provides 8 hourly lessons and participation in master-classes and performance classes at the RAM.