If you are planning a career in sound engineering and music production, this course has been designed to help you develop the essential practical skills, knowledge and abilities to give you the edge. The course has a clear focus on music production and combines a broad mix of modules ranging from the technical to the creative, it covers a wide range of topics including:

• Advanced music production
• Mixing techniques
• Game audio
• Sound for film and media
• Live music
• Radio production
• Mastering techniques

During your time on the course, we will help you explore the music industry and prepare you for exciting and rewarding careers in areas such as studio engineering, live sound production, audio and sound design for games, audio recording and post-production for film and television as well as music mastering.

You will have access to our industry-standard studios, helping you to work with equipment that you will encounter in the real world of work. You will gain hands-on experience of using professional software and equipment including five fully equipped Pro Tools recording studios, SSL and large format Audient mixing consoles, industry standard outboard compressors and equalizers, a range of plugins from UAD and Waves, six production studios, live sound facilities and more.

During your studies, you will be supported by tutors, many of whom are experienced industry professionals. You can book the studios seven days a week for use outside teaching time to develop your sound engineering skills and production style even further.

Our course also has an active research basis which is an essential element of higher education. Many of the academic staff are members of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and are researching into areas such as perceptual audio, automated mixing techniques, music production, new interfaces for music and other related disciplines.

We supplement our teaching with guest lectures and master classes from professional music producers, equipment designers and media producers, to make sure you are learning from a wide range of people, in recent years we have had guest lectures from producer Tony Platt (AC/CD, Bob Marley, Iron Maiden, Paul McCartney) and live sound engineer Jon Burton (The Prodigy, Pet Shop Boys, Radiohead) among many others.

Graduates from our music production courses have gone on to work in studios such as Angel Studios, The Chairworks, engineered the front of house live mix for rock bands such as Deaf Havana and been nominated for Grammy awards for their work on productions by pop stars such as Adele.

Placements

This course offers you the chance to undertake an optional placement in Year 3. This opportunity helps you to build on the knowledge and skills developed on the course. You will be employed by the company for 12 months, but the actual number of weeks worked will be dependent on the annual leave entitlement you are given in line with the placement company’s policy.

The placement year is a valuable tool that can enhance your employability and help you to develop as an individual. It is acknowledged that graduates with industry experience are generally much more attractive to employers.

Our Placement Unit will be on hand to support you in finding suitable placement opportunities. They will assist you with preparing your CV and with interview techniques. They'll also be in contact with you during your placement so that you'll be fully supported while you gain the experience that employers value so highly.

The Placement Unit team are regularly in contact with local and national companies. Previously companies such as Warner Music, Bang and Olufsen and Universal Music have provided our students with placements. You can find more information on placements here.

Alternatively, if you are a student from within the UK, you could consider starting your own small business by applying for the Enterprise Placement Year in conjunction with the University’s Enterprise Team. You’ll have the opportunity to benefit from business advice, mentoring and networking sessions. Find out more information on the Enterprise Placement Year.

Your Career

Previous graduates from this subject area have gone on to work in a variety of roles such as freelance music producer, design support engineer, senior broadcast engineer, commercial manager UK & Europe, software developer and senior product test engineer in organisations including Solid State Logic, BBC, Warner Music Group, Sky and Calrec Audio Ltd.**

* Percentage of graduates from this subject who are in work and/or further study fifteen months after graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes 17/18, UK domiciled graduates).