Commercial Music
Award
BA (Hons)
Duration & study mode
4 years full-time
Additional information
Course starting dates
-
Ayr: September
The BA (Hons) Commercial Music programme is designed to equip our students and graduates with the skills, knowledge and experience to carve out a career in the ever-evolving commercial music industries.
The programme is organised around Music Industries studies, Songwriting and Performance, Sound Production, and Music and Cultural Research. Whether you’re interested in music promotion, songwriting, teaching, tour management, research, sound engineering or instrumental performance, you’ll be able to plan your pathway through the programme to suit your career aspirations.
Developed and delivered in collaboration with music industry professionals, this programme focuses on contemporary issues in commercial music and the opportunities new media has opened up.
Professional Approval and Accreditation
BA Commercial Music is part of the UWS Creative Skillset Media Academy, and is accredited by JAMES (Joint Audio Media Education Support) – an industry accreditation body and recognised Professional and Statutory Regulation Body for music and media education in HE.
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
During Clearing our entry requirements remain flexible, and we are committed to providing opportunities to study with us based on a range of qualifications. Please get in touch, and we can discuss your specific circumstances.
If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Undergraduate Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.
All applicants will be expected to submit a strong personal statement and reference. Applicants may be invited for interview.
* for more information on standard and minimum entry requirements, see the drop-down section below
For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.
General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)
Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see section below for more details).
SOCIAL WORK DEGREES
For our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to, or require professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.
For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:
* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:
* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.
West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*
*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
On our course pages, you will find details of our entry criteria listed as Standard Entry Requirements and Minimum Entry Requirements. These are the academic qualifications that, depending on your personal circumstances, you will be required to meet to allow your application to be considered for a place at UWS.
Competition for places on many of our courses can be very high and even if you meet the standard or minimum qualifications stated, there is no guarantee that your application will progress to the next stage of the admissions process. We review individual applications very closely and place great importance on your personal statement and academic reference as well as your academic qualifications before making selection decisions.
Our Standard Entry Requirements are the grades that you will need to achieve to allow you to be considered for entry to a specific programme of study.
Our Minimum Entry Requirements are applicable to those applicants who have not had an equal opportunity to demonstrate their academic ability at school or college and are known as ‘widening access’ applicants. We also sometimes refer to this type of applicant as receiving a ‘contextual’ offer. We may be able to provide you with a contextual offer if you fall into one of the categories below:
If you fall into any of the first four categories above, please mention this on your UCAS application. We will automatically apply category 5 if it applies to you.
If you have already achieved the required grades for either our standard or minimum entry criteria, we may be able to offer you an unconditional offer for some course areas. If you have not yet achieved these grades, we may be able to make you a conditional offer, which will rely on you achieving further qualifications before you can be accepted on to a programme of study.
BA (Hons) Commercial Music aims to support students in developing their creative practice as performers, producers and composers/songwriters, their understanding of the cultural values and meanings of music, and their knowledge of the structures and revenue streams of the music industries. Whether you see yourself as a performer, a songwriter, a producer, an aspiring teacher of researcher, or a future music industries professional, the programme seeks to help you expand your skills, knowledge and experience across key areas of the music industries in the UK and beyond.
Based on our Ayr campus, the learning and teaching on the programme is organised around core strands and concepts relating to the modern music industries, focusing on Music Industries studies, Songwriting and Performance, Sound Production, and Music and Cultural Research. You will work with UWS staff and visiting lecturers, who are themselves practising music industry professionals, and you'll make key contacts across the music industry.
Introduction to the theory and practice of music performance, production, business and cultural theory. First year offers you the opportunity to broaden your scope and investigate theatres of music you may not previously have considered.
Focus on your chosen specialism of performance, production, business or theory while developing your understanding of media theory and intellectual property. Second year allows you to experience several key sectors of the professional music industries.
Deepen your engagement with your specialist area of study, completing a major self-directed project. You may also undertake work-related learning within the industry which is an ideal entry point for future employment.
Complete a Creative Research Project in which you either research and write a 10,000-word dissertation, OR develop and implement a major piece of music-based creative practice work. Mentoring and careers planning activities help you to develop your action plan for employment upon graduating.
BA (Hons) Commercial Music is designed for student success by promoting creativity, autonomy and employability both in terms of module content and course structure. We offer inspirational and transformative learning within a flexible and personalised curriculum. This is based on a model of research and experiential learning, with a mix of practical, project-based work and critical analysis of contemporary popular music culture and the global music industries.
Our graduates hold jobs in almost every corner of the music industries in Scotland and beyond, holding positions such as record company personnel, teachers, promoters, music marketing and PR specialists, tour managers, sound engineers, music lecturers, producers and performing and recording artists.
Many of our graduates choose to go on to further study, leading to an MA, MSc, PhD or teaching qualification. For students seeking to extend their studies at UWS, we offer Masters qualifications in MA Music, MA Songwriting and Performance, MA Sound Production and MA Music Industries.
In May 2024, we celebrated the creative endeavours of UWS students at our annual showcase and awards event on our beautiful Ayr campus.
The event boasted film screenings, broadcast production work, live music performances, art exhibition displays, theatre productions, songwriters’ circle and news-room journalism material. Elements of the event were also broadcast via UWS Radio.
You can now view the Commercial Music digital showcase to see the types of opportunities available to our students as part of their BA Commercial Music degree with UWS.
"I chose to study at UWS as I’d heard great things from friends and family who had studied here as well. The staff are from a wide range of backgrounds and it was amazing to have that closeness to someone within the industry that can share their experience with you and help you excel. I constantly found myself using the great equipment – I could record, I could practise and work on the skills to make me an all-round, more employable musician.”
Adam, Commercial Music student
£1,820 cost per year of study (usually paid by the Scottish Government via SAAS*)
£9,250 Cost per year of study, but not more than £27,750
£9,250 Cost per year of study, but not more than £27,750
£15,500 per year of study
£305 per module (20 credits)
£1,550 per module (20 credits)
£1,550 per module (20 credits)
£2,580 per module (20 credits)
Ready to apply? All UK & EU undergraduate applications should be made through UCAS. Further information for international, part-time and exchange applications can be found below.
UCASAll UK and EU applicants for undergraduate study, not applying through an agent or partner, should apply through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service)
The on-time application deadline for 2025/26 entry is 29 January 2025, 18:00 (UK time). For some courses it may still be possible to apply beyond this period, subject to suitable vacancies remaining. The final deadline for late applications via UCAS is 30 June 2025. Beyond this deadline, you may be able to apply via ‘UCAS Clearing’ if the course you are interested in has remaining places.
Please refer to our Undergraduate Application Guide for domestic & EU/EEA to find more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS.
You can find out more about applying for this undergraduate course on UCAS.
Students from non-EU/non-EEA countries can apply directly to UWS via our dedicated online application system. The latest we can process your application is 6 weeks before the course start date to allow for visa processing times. For more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS please refer to our International Undergraduate Application Guide.
For part-time & online study, you should apply directly to the University through our online application system, not through UCAS. Please select the part-time mode of study when submitting your application. Before you begin your application, it is important to read the part-time application step-by-step guide for a smooth process.
To come to UWS as a visiting student on a study abroad or exchange programme, you must apply entirely through our online system.
An ATAS certificate is not required for overseas students applying for this course.
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
We will always try to make sure that we publish accurate course information but we do not accept responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. We will also try to make sure that we deliver our courses in line with our published information. However, we may not always be able to do so and you can find further information about this in our enrolment terms and conditions.