Faculty of Music

Guide to courses

The Faculty of Music is the oldest and one of the largest music schools at any Australian university. With its distinctive balance of practical training and academic study, it produces comprehensively trained musicians who frequently take up positions of leadership in their fields.

The Faculty fosters excellence in advanced music education, contributes to musical scholarship and research in a wide range of fields, and supports the musical life of the community with public concerts and programs.

As the most richly endowed music school in Australia, the Faculty can offer its students an unequalled array of scholarships. Facilities include an excellent concert hall (Melba Hall), the historic Conservatorium of Music building, the Grainger Museum of rare musical instruments and materials, the Centre for Studies in Australian Music and the Early Music Studio. Activities funded by the Faculty include the annual Myer Free Orchestral Concerts and the Lyre-Bird Press (Editions de l'Oiseau-Lyre), one of the world's foremost publishers of scholarly musical editions.

The Faculty offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Students wishing to enter the music profession are directed to the Bachelor of Music (BMus) degree. This course is a flexible one, but contains a compulsory core of subjects that form the basis of the broad theoretical knowledge and advanced practical skill expected of a graduate musician.

BMus students take a common first year, and in later years add to the core a variety of subject patterns which prepare them for careers as performers, composers, teachers, musicologists, ethnomusicologists, music therapists, or in other related fields. The Music Therapy pattern contains all the requirements for registration with the appropriate professional body. The BMus degree is awarded at pass and honours level according to the quality of a student's results.

Students in the BMus normally take individual practical lessons, practical classes and ensembles, and all students participate in lectures, seminars, listening programs and tutorials. A series of Monday lunch hour and special evening concerts is conducted each year and is free to music students, who are expected to attend regularly. Details appear in the Concert Diary, available from the Faculty Office. Lectures by visiting scholars are presented regularly on Thursday mornings, and postgraduate students attend these as part of their obligations.

For music graduates of high achievement, specialised teaching and supervision is available in postgraduate courses leading to the Master of Music, Master of Arts in music, and the Doctor of Philosophy. A graduate diploma is available for music graduates seeking qualifications in music therapy (DipMusTherapy), or in guided imagery and music (GradDipGIM) and a Doctor of Music degree is also awarded.

• 1. Mission statement
• 2. Faculty courses
• 3. Undergraduate entry
• 4. General information for students
• 5. Practical activities
• 6. Practical examinations
• 7. Planning an undergraduate course
• 8. Bachelor of Music
• 9. Electives
• 10. Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Teaching
• 11. Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Arts
• 12. Diploma in Modern Languages
• 13. Diploma in Music (Practical)
• 14. Methods of assessment
• 15. Graduate and postgraduate courses
• 16. Careers for Music graduates
• 17. For more information

Areas of Study

• Music subjects

Status:                   Official 1999
Last Modified:            Tuesday October 20 11:52
SGML to HTML Conversion:  Information Technology Services
Authorised by:            Academic Registrar
Email Enquiries:          Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au