Music and Philosophy

You are viewing this course for 2024-25 entry. 2023-24 entry is also available.

Develop your skills in performance and composition, and your academic knowledge of music, while learning about philosophical issues that have challenged thinkers for centuries.

Our music curriculum and expertise span seven different areas: performance, composition, musicology, ethnomusicology, music psychology, musical industries, and music technology.

We offer an impressive array of modules, with academic and practical study in most music genres, including classical, pop, jazz, folk and world music.

You'll receive a thorough grounding in the skills and knowledge required to become a successful musician or music researcher, and have the freedom to follow your own interests. You'll learn to listen, perform, think and write critically about music of multiple genres, delve into the histories and cultural contexts of both Western classical and world music, and have the chance to receive compositional training in both instrumental and music technology software.

You'll graduate having a thorough understanding of the music industry in all its diverse contemporary forms, allowing you to forge an international and rewarding career that interests you.

In philosophy, you'll study the cornerstones of the subject (including philosophy of language, ethics, metaphysics and logic) alongside distinctive specialist modules on topics such as philosophy of education, philosophy of law, philosophy of medicine, film and philosophy, and feminism. You'll also study the history of the subject from Plato to the French existentialists.

As a dual honours student, you'll divide your studies between the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Music. You'll be required to take a minimum number of credits within both departments each year, but how you choose to divide your modules after this is up to you: split your modules evenly between philosophy and music or choose to weight your degree in favour of one subject or the other.

Throughout your degree, you'll be studying in an environment dedicated to high-quality teaching, world-leading research, and innovative public engagement. We have cutting-edge facilities, including purpose-built music practice rooms, recording studios and music psychology labs.

Outside of your degree, there are many ways to develop your interests, insights and critical faculties. Opportunities include student-led reading groups, multiple ensembles, active student societies, and our University Concerts series, which hosts over 100 musical events and performances every year.

Dual and combined honours degrees

The University of Sheffield is an All-Steinway School. This accreditation enables students to access pianos of the highest quality and places the University among a select group of international education institutions.

Around half your modules are taken with the Department of Music and around half with the Department of Philosophy.

For music, dual honours programmes are very flexible. Music modules for combined honours students are the same as those for BMus students except that there are no compulsory modules. You can choose to split your 120 credits per year equally 60:60 between your two subjects, or you can choose a ‘major/minor’ split of 80:40.

A selection of modules are available each year - some examples are below. There may be changes before you start your course. From May of the year of entry, formal programme regulations will be available in our Programme Regulations Finder.

Choose a year to see modules for a level of study:

For music, you select from the following options:

This module considers key moments in the history of Western music from the 1500s to the present day. Taking individual composers and works, it aims to introduce students to different approaches to the study of music history, the development of particular musical genres, and the impact of cultural, historical and geographical context on composers. In addition, the module will consider ways of writing about music, and the use of primary and secondary sources for informing critical discussions of the subject.

Whatever kind of music study you decide to specialise in, you'll do it better if you see it in the context of music as a phenomenon common to all humanity. You'll understand what's different about your own chosen field but also how the music you love derives from diverse cultural sources.In this module we examine how any music uses specific ways of organising sound to serve particular cultural purposes. You'll learn to recognise and describe diverse musical styles, research them through scholarly sources, present an analysis using appropriate audio-visual technology, and take control of the transferable skills you're developing.

In this module you'll address the core skills of listening to, analysing, and writing critically about Western Classical music. With a focus on eighteenth-century "common practice" tonality, you will study harmony, counterpoint, melody, texture and form in preparation for analysing short pieces, and will learn to write about the music you hear as well as the notes you see on the page. Your work will also prepare you for future music modules.

This module builds core skills of hearing, describing and using tonal procedures in a range of Western musical styles. It extends MUS133 Tonal Music Analysis and Criticism by moving on from classical "common practice" to explore styles that use tonality in different ways. We'll explore styles like Medieval and Renaissance music, jazz and rock. You'll produce analyses from written scores and recordings, and write examples and exercises in the appropriate styles. You'll develop musicianship skills that prepare you for composition, analysis and performance work in subsequent years.

Whatever your musical interests, you cannot avoid music technologies - they are central to how we listen to, enjoy and study music. This module introduces you to several important and useful music technologies that will help you throughout your future studies. You will start by learning the essential principles of those technologies, before learning how they work in practice. By the end of the module, you will be versed in the basics of digital audio, sound recording, wave-editing, audio and MIDI, sound effects and plugins, file types and formats.

In this module you will develop your composition skills, practice writing music in staff notation, and learn to write effectively for different instrumental and vocal forces. Drawing on the models of a diverse range of classical composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, we will focus on techniques for writing inventive melodies and rhythms, and employing wide-ranging approaches to harmony. The module aims to give you a foundation in composition and increase your confidence in preparation for further study.

In this module you will develop the musical and intellectual abilities appropriate to solo performance. The theoretical background is considered, focusing on the aural and analytical skills essential to performance at an advanced level. An awareness of style and interpretation, as well as effective preparation and communication are built into teaching. You will receive one to one tuition in addition to attending whole class performance lectures.

This module is based upon participation in and preparation for folk sessions hosted by the Department of Music. Through intensive preparation of challenging repertoire, as well as the skills to enable improvised participation, you will develop your understanding of the demands and pleasures of session practice, and your knowledge of the repertoires concerned (British folk traditions), and be encouraged to reflect upon the roles and responsibilities of individual participants within the group. You will also be required to attend a professional ensemble concert or concerts within the university concert series, or an equivalent online event.

The lectures on this module introduce you to various forms of electronic music composition. Through creative practice, key principles of composition with technology are introduced and a number of broad genres are set in a historical and analytical context. A diverse range of software tools are used, further enhancing your digital skills. You will learn how to process and develop a range of recorded and synthetic sound material, before considering some of the various ways in which those materials may be used to compose electronic pieces. After making a number of short etudes throughout the first half of the module, you select one area in which to complete your own original work.

This module provides an introduction to the academic study of popular music. You will explore the various definitions of 'popular music' in relation to their socio-cultural context, and investigate some of the major issues and debates of popular music studies. Lecture materials and in-class tasks will engage with approaches to the analysis of popular music and media, issues of representation, and the relationship between popular musicians and their audiences. Assessments involve critical engagement with the themes of the module in relation to a popular music artist or piece of your choosing.

In this module you will engage with some of the most provocative questions about musical thought and behaviour: What are the characteristics of the musical mind? Why do we feel emotions when listening to or performing music? How does music and music therapy influence our health and wellbeing? Can music make you smarter? The module is designed such that no prior formal musical or psychological training is necessary. You will develop knowledge of the scientific methods used to study music from a psychological perspective, and how findings can inform applications in education, healthcare, and the creative industries.

On this programme you must take at least 40 credits of Philosophy modules. You must take:

Philosophical writing is a skill that you, the student, must hone early on in order to succeed in your degree. It is also a transferable skill that will serve you in your post-academic career. Philosophical writing combines the general virtues of clarity, organisation, focus and style found in other academic writing with particular philosophical virtues, namely, the ability to expose the implicit assumptions of analysed texts and to make explicit the logical structure of one's own and other people's arguments. A precondition of philosophical writing is a unique form of textual analysis that pays particular attention to its argumentative structure. In this module you will learn and practice philosophical writing. You will learn how to read in preparation for philosophical writing, learn how to plan an essay, learn how to rework your drafts and learn how to use feedback constructively. You will write five drafts and five essays and will have one on on tutorial on each essay you write. The lectures in the course will be split between lectures of the art of writing and lectures on philosophical topics in the domain of fact and value. Essay topics will be based on the topical lectures and their associated readings

And at least one other core Philosophy module (20 credits) from the list below.

This module aims to introduce a range of topics from certain overlapping areas of philosophical research relating to normative and practical matters: in particular, dealing with ethical theory, applied ethics, moral theory, moral psychology, and politics. The module aims to outline some major philosophical problems and topics from these areas, while also showing how the underlying concerns of the areas are connected to broad underlying philosophical concerns.

This module aims to introduce a range of topics from epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of mind. The module aims to outline some philosophical problems and topics from these areas, and in doing so show how these areas connect and thereby show how philosophical thinking can be unified and interconnected across these subjects.

This module aims to introduce a range of concepts and theoretical tools that are central to a great deal of work throughout philosophy and that are, more generally, very useful in evaluating arguments and analysing their components. The module will thus incorporate materials relating to critical thinking and logic, building upon fundamental theoretical ideas about meaning.

You can take optional modules in Philosophy. This is a list of typical Philosophy optional modules.

How should we live? What is the right thing to do? This module offers a critical introduction to the history of western ethical thought, examining some of the key ideas of Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Wollstonecraft, Douglass, Bentham, Mill, Taylor Mill, Nietzsche, Rawls and Gilligan. It provides a textual introduction to some of the main types of ethical theory: the ethics of flourishing and virtue; rights-based approaches; utilitarianism; contractualism. We explore the close interconnections between ethics and other branches of philosophy (e.g. metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics), as well as the connections between ethics and other disciplines (e.g. psychology; anthropology).

The history of philosophy is made up of a series of debates between competing philosophical traditions and schools: for example, idealists argue with realists, rationalists with empiricists. And at different times, distinctive philosophical movements have dominated the discussion, such as pragmatism, existentialism, phenomenology, analytic philosophy, and critical theory. This module will introduce you to some of these central movements and traditions in the history of philosophy from Plato onwards, and the key philosophical concepts and issues that they have brought in to western thought.

This course will pose and try to answer philosophical questions about religion. These include questions about the nature of religion. For instance does being religious necessarily involve believing in the existence of a God or Gods? And is religious faith compatible with adherence to the scientific method? Other questions that the course will cover include questions about the theistic notion of God. Does the idea of an all-powerful being make sense? Is an all-knowing God compatible with human freedom? And is an all-powerful, all-knowing and perfectly good creator of the universe compatible with the existence of evil? Further questions concern God and morality. Is it true that if there is no God, then there is no right and wrong? The course will examine philosophical arguments for the existence of God, and question whether these arguments are sound.

Sex is one of the most basic human motivators, of fundamental importance in many people's lives, and a topic of enormous moral, religious, and political contention. No surprise, then, that it turns out to be of great philosophical interest. We will discuss moral issues related to sex' asking when we might be right to judge a particular sex act to be morally problematic; and what political significance (if any) sex has. We will also discuss metaphysical issues, such as the surprisingly difficult questions of what exactly sex is and what a sexual orientation is. Throughout our study, we will draw both on philosophical sources and on up-to-date contemporary information.

This module is mainly about death itself . What is death? What happens to us when we die? Could there be an afterlife? Would it be a good thing if there were? What is it about death that we dislike so much, or that makes it bad? Is it rational, or even possible to fear death? What is the right attitude towards our own death? Do we have moral duties towards the dead? The course will clarify these questions and attempt to answer them. Readings will be taken from both historical and contemporary sources.

For Music, optional modules across our seven areas of expertise are available to students in Years 2 and 3. These modules are taught on a two-year rotation, with the exception of Intermediate Performance, Intermediate Composition and Creative Applications of Music Technology which run every year. This enables the majority of students to select from the greatest possible range of module options across two years of study.

For students on a 4 year programme where the 3rd year is spent away from the Department (i.e. as a year studying abroad as part of a Dual programme with languages, or to take up a work placement via the 'BMus Music with a placement year'), the two year module rotation means that you will be out of the department when some options are running. However, since your third year involves a high proportion of modules with a self-directed focus (including dissertation and special project), you should still have plenty of opportunities to pursue your specialist interests.   

You'll have the option to choose modules in other departments through guided module choice, which includes Languages for All modules.

For philosophy, most dual honours students typically take 60 philosophy credits. All second year philosophy modules are worth 20 credits.

Music annual modules (optional):

This module will introduce you to performance practice and techniques related to performance at an intermediate level. It will act as preparation for advanced performance in Year 3 Recitals, and builds on the foundation work completed as part of Performance in Year 1. You will take individual instrumental/vocal lessons, which will run alongside workshop-based lectures throughout the academic year. You will also attend 6 lunchtime, rush hour or evening concerts across the year and write a short critical review.

This module follows on from Composition in Year 1 to support the development of your compositional practice. You will study more advanced techniques of 20th and 21st Century classical music and develop strategies for making longer pieces. You'll write for small ensembles and soloists, including collaboration with advanced performers taking the MA Performance Studies, and you will have opportunities to get your work played in concerts. This work will prepare you for other composition-related modules, including Portfolio of Compositions and Special Project in Year 3.

This module will introduce you to a range of technologies that might be used for creative purposes and provides an opportunity for further electronic music composition. The module necessarily focuses upon the science of music (sound and the digital medium, filters, reverbs, synth design, computer music programming) before engaging with the construction of two works: one that is very synth driven (a dance music style) and one that further develops your electroacoustic music study. The technological aspects of the module are quite broad and strengthen essential transferable skills and computer literacy. The creative aspects of the module develop your original composition profile whilst augmenting skills in sound design and commercial composition.

Music rotational modules (optional)

This module will introduce you to musical analysis in the western classical tradition. The emphasis is on the internal and external workings of musical forms in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, focussing on Haydn's and Mozart's mastery of standard classical forms, on Beethoven's formal manipulations, and on the interaction of form and expression in the early nineteenth century (e.g. Schubert and Chopin). Topics will include: motivic, thematic, melodic and rhythmic manipulation; interrelationships between counterpoint, harmony and melody; standard formal patterns; formal expansions and contractions; wit and humour in the late eighteenth century; expression and form.

Public knowledge of baroque music today is shaped by the dominance of a 'canon' of music considered authoritative or 'great', which for ideological and historical reasons is dominated by white European male composers. This module sets out to help change that. You'll work as a team, with clearly defined roles, to produce a critical edition-with-commentary of music created using staff notation between c.1600-1750 by a musician who was NOT a white European man, which is obscure or completely unknown in the present day. Optionally, the group may also choose to record historically-informed performances of some or all of the music included in their edition. The materials produced will ultimately be made publicly available online.

This module will engage you in the current debates and practices of music in education and community settings, from the formal classroom setting and instrumental studio, through the work done by community support groups, to more recreational musical practice in the community. Questions of music's place in the curriculum, the relationship between school and home music, and the challenges of providing a vibrant musical education for all people, will be addressed in lectures and discussions. You will work in mentored groups to investigate and support community music-making or school-based music education in Sheffield, building your skills as a researcher, and learning about career options including teaching, delivering and managing music provision for young people and vulnerable adults. You will finish the module knowing more about music and its contribution to education and society, through your critical reflection on published research evidence, and through school and community fieldwork visits.

This module will present you with the opportunity to develop ensemble performance skills in a supervised situation. You will form an ensemble with fellow students prior to the module commencing, and your ensemble will programme a contrasting selection of repertoire for study and public performance. Particular attention will be paid to ensemble considerations, though technical matters and the development of stylistic awareness will also form an important part of the module.

This module introduces ethnomusicology as a way of researching musical culture, with selected musical traditions explored as case studies in applying and assessing ethnomusicological methods. These methods typically emphasise 'ethnography', in which the primary sources are live human beings and knowledge is produced by interacting with them through musical participation, observation and interviewing. You'll have the opportunity to conduct an ethnographic fieldwork project, either face-to-face or 'virtual', and write up the results in your assessed work. Alternatively, you can submit an essay examining published ethnomusicological research on a specific topic. Either way, you should reflect critically on how musical knowledge is produced by ethnomusicological methods.

This module introduces some of the key figures and developments in the history of jazz, from its origins as an early twentieth-century American music, to its various contemporary manifestations across the world. You will engage with the contexts and debates that have shaped (and continue to shape) the performance, reception, representation, and study of jazz music, and will conduct independent research into a jazz-related topic of your choosing.

This module introduces the musical life of East Asia, including China, Korea, Japan and neighbouring areas, in historical and cultural context. While emphasising traditional East Asian music and musical theatre, you'll also examine East Asia's participation in the culture of Western-style classical and popular musics. You'll learn to recognise many forms of East Asian music and explain how they use sound in pursuit of particular cultural goals. You'll also carry out a guided research project on a cultural, historical and/or analytical topic in East Asian music.

In this module, you will examine Mozart's career as performer and composer in Vienna (1781-91), looking at the environments and circumstances in which he worked and the aesthetic contexts in which he thrived. Topics will include: the circumstances that led Mozart to move from Salzburg to Vienna in 1781; his career as a performer; aesthetic, historical and contextual issues in 1780s Vienna; Mozart's instrumental, operatic and sacred works composed in Vienna; and Mozart's status as a musical-cultural icon in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

This module will introduce you to European musical cultures in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the research methods through which they are discovered and studied. You'll investigate the roles played by music in the everyday life of street and home, as well as in religion and politics. The module links music to some of the big critical themes in the European history of the period, including Europe's expanding international horizons through trade and colonialism, the dramatic increase in the circulation of books thanks to new printing technology, and conflict both within and between religious faiths.

This module introduces you to the important ways in which music contributes to our sense of wellbeing. Wellbeing is not simply about feeling ok but has health implications for society. Music plays a vital role in fostering wellbeing. In the module, we cover four distinct areas where health and wellbeing may be challenged; these include special educational needs in schools, the use of music for people with dementia, as well as some specialised clinical settings where music is used. As part of your work on the module, you will be able to design your own music intervention.

This module will introduce you to theories, empirical investigations and applications of music psychology relevant to everyday life. You will learn about the diverse uses of music in everyday situations, which may include personal, communal and commercial settings. The reasons for music use in these situations are explored and possible explanations of music's ability to support functions are critically reviewed, including social, emotional, personal, educational and commercial impacts. The module will be delivered through lectures, group discussions, and small research projects.

This module gives you the opportunity to explore, understand and debate contemporary critical issues about the relationship between opera and identity. Focussing on opera from 1800 to the present day, the historical and social contexts surrounding the creation, premiere, and reception of opera forms the backdrop to the study of individual works in relation to topics including race, gender, sexuality, class, colonialism, religion, exoticism, political ideology, and national identity. From exoticised 19th-century Italian constructions of Egypt, through to the interplay of gender and sexuality in the depiction of pop culture icon Anna Nicole Smith, the operatic stage provides a forum for the consideration of some of society's most pertinent and widely debated issues.

This module covers the essential knowledge and skills for scoring music for symphony orchestra, as well as for smaller groupings of orchestral instruments. The module equips you for arranging and writing music for ensembles you might find yourself working with in the future, as a player, composer, conductor or teacher. The Orchestral Technique module is appropriate for all music students, but is particularly important for those specialising in composition. It will give you relevant knowledge of instruments, repertoire and techniques, and also provide the background training you will need for composing for media and film, and for live performance.

This module introduces you to contemporary, jazz and classical improvisation. By learning and developing these skills over a series of practical and taught sessions, you will become more flexible and confident as a performer.

This module lays the foundation for you to be able to research a music-psychological topic using psychological research methods and consider its relevance for musical life and the music profession. You'll work on developing skills in psychological research approaches, through teaching that is problem-based, meaning that you will work on research design and data collection methods to tackle an issue or problem that may be encountered in musical contexts. A combination of methods is considered including qualitative and quantitative data collection, reflection, observation and literature research. Included problems may relate to musical development, psychology of performance, and music engagement.

This module gives you the opportunity to compose sound and music for film and other visual media, and position sound and music within the filmmaking process. Using a variety of software, you will be responsible for the entire project from the ideas stage through to the creation of all audio materials. A diverse range of existing movies, audiovisual works and relevant literature will be studied, and you will be expected to use these to inform your own work.

This module examines the fundamental theories of recording. Focussing upon the recording of both sound and music, it provides you with an opportunity to realise an original track. The module engages briefly with technical aspects of recording (microphone types, sound file formats) before using practical work and listening to decide upon choice of microphone, placement and capture. By making field recordings, location recordings, and session-based recordings, you will acquire a broad understanding of relevant issues and methods. The mixing and mastering of session-based recordings results in your finished track and helps you develop the skills required in the professional sound studio.

In this module you'll explore in depth a range of models, case studies and themes for the study of Popular Music. You'll be introduced to varying analytical and critical approaches to the study of popular musics in global perspective, with topics including (e.g.): how popular musicians learn; popular music and humour; popular music as world music; reading popular music 'texts'; understanding business models; and conducting a popular music ethnography. As well as developing a factual knowledge of the genres covered in the module, you will develop a critical awareness of research methods and discursive themes in the field of popular music studies. The module aims for diversity both in the styles and population groups represented and in the critical and analytical approaches discussed. The exact topics may vary with the specialisms of the teaching team, but you'll always be free to formulate a focus that interests you for your assessed project, which you'll develop with regular input from tutors and peers.

This module addresses the development of the Broadway musical, focusing on leading figures and critical issues. It looks at shows such as My Fair Lady and Oklahoma!, examines aspects of identity such as race and sexuality, and unpacks the collaborative nature of the genre. Alongside lectures on set works, you will pursue an individual project on a topic of your own choice, allowing freedom to identify with the work being studied.

This module will introduce you to the study of folk and traditional music, focussing on a range of contemporary folk music cultures. You'll learn to use a range of approaches (ethnomusicology; critical and culture theory; political theory) to consider the traditional identities these music cultures construct, and how they relate to their modern, economic, political and technological contexts. Past and current definitions of the terms folk music and traditional music are explored, and music cultures are investigated in terms of specific debates and contexts, such as revivalism, nationalism, institutionalisation, competition and education.

In this module you'll acquire a practice-based understanding of one world music tradition (selected in advance by the course tutor), improving your musical performance skills and experiencing first-hand the modes of transmission that are part of the tradition. Through performance-based seminars, you will learn to play and/or sing in the style offered, backing up that experience with theoretical knowledge derived from ethnomusicological literature. Your learning will also be supported by a writing-based project, supported by seminars/tutorials as appropriate, resulting in a Learning Journal documenting and reflecting on the learning experience.

Optional philosophy modules:

How should we live? How should we conduct ourselves? What duties do we owe t9 other people? Are there certain things we should never do in any circumstances? If so what things are they? Do questions like the foregoing have determinate, correct answers? If so can we know what they are? If so, how? These questions and questions like them are the subject matter of ethics. We will be studying and thinking about such questions by engaging with classical and/or contemporary texts.

Feminists have famously claimed that the personal is political. This module takes up various topics with that methodological idea in mind: the family, cultural critique, language. We examine feminist methodologies - how these topics might be addressed by a feminism that is inclusive of all women - and also turn attention to social structures within which personal choices are made - capitalism, and climate crisis .

The course will start by introducing some elementary concepts from set theory; along the way, we will consider some fundamental and philosophically interesting results and forms of argumentation. It will then examine the use of 'trees' as a method for proving the validity of arguments formalised in propositional and first-order logic. It will also show how we may prove a range of fundamental results about the use of trees within those logics, using certain ways of assigning meanings to the sentences of the languages which those logics employ.

This course is an introduction to metaphysics. It will focus on two general themes: whether we are material things, and the nature of time. Readings will be drawn mainly from recent and contemporary sources.

What is education? And what is it for? These are the questions at the heart of this course. To begin to try to answer them, students will engage in: (1) a theoretical exploration of the central philosophical problems related to education and schooling; and (2) a practical task focusing on learning how philosophy can be taught effectively to secondary school pupils. The theoretical exploration will be taught in a similar way to other philosophy modules (through a weekly lecture and seminar) and a mid-term coursework essay will assess this component (counting for 50% of the module grade). The practical element will be taught through workshops, engagement with reflective practice, observations at a secondary school, and actual experience of running seminars with secondary school pupils at the University during a three-day conference at the end of the course. The practical part of the course will be assessed by a teaching portfolio (which counts for 50% of the module grade) composed of lesson plans and a reflection. Teaching is a special kind of challenge, but students on the course are not expected to have any previous experience in teaching or in planning lessons. Help and support will be provided throughout the module to make the delivery of lessons to secondary school pupils a realistic goal for all motivated students.

This module provides a survey of philosophical theories of the mind, looking at such questions as: How is consciousness possible? Why is it that vibrations in the air around us produce conscious experiences of particular auditory experiences in our minds? Why is it that electromagnetic waves hitting our retinas produce particular visual experiences in our minds? What makes our thoughts represent things in the world? What is it about your thought that cats have whiskers that makes it about cats and whiskers? What is it about your thought that there are stars in the universe too far away for any human to have perceived them that makes it about such stars? What is the relation between thoughts and conscious experiences and brain states? We'll look at a variety of answers to these and related questions and examine some of the most important and influential theories that contemporary philosophers have to offer.

It is virtually impossible to overstate the importance that science has in our everyday life. Here is a brief list of things that would not exist without modern science: computers, phones, internet, cars, airplanes, pharmaceutical drugs, electric guitars. Imagine your life without these things. It looks very different doesn't it? Science, however, is not important only in virtue of its practical applications. in fact, many would agree that the the primary value of science is that of being the best available source of knowledge about the world. Indeed, it seems fair to say that we made more discoveries after the 17th century scientific revolution [e.g. the laws of planetary motion, the principles underlying biological evolution, the laws governing quantum phenomena, the structure of DNA, the cellular architecture of the brain] than in all the previous millenia. This raises important philosophical questions. First, what is science? What are the criteria that demarcate science from non-science? For example, what is the difference between science and religion? Second, how does science work? What are the methods and eplanatory strategies that make it so successful? Is there such a thing as the scientific method, and what counts as a scientific explanation? Third, is science objective? That is, is science a form of rational and unbiased inquiry, or does it reflect ethical, political, and social factors? Finally, is science the fundamental source of knowledge about the world? Does science tell us how things really are? These are some of the questions that we will tackle in this course.

This module introduces students to a broad range of issues in the philosophy of art. The first half asks 'What is art?'. It examines three approaches: expression theories, institutional accounts, and the cluster account. This is followed by two critiques focusing on the lack of women in the canon and problems surrounding 'primitive' art. The evolutionary approach to art is discussed , and two borderline cases: craft and pornography. The second half examines four issues: cultural appropriation of art, pictorial representation, aesthetic experience and the everyday, and the nature of artistic creativity.

The philosopher and mathematician A. N. Whitehead once characterised western thought as a series of footnotes to Plato. The thought of Plato and his teacher Socrates, who both lived in Greece around 400 years before the start of the Christian era, set the agenda for much subsequent philosophy and did much to define our ideas of what philosophy is. This course will introduce students to the study of the philosophy of Plato through a close and critical study of a small number of his dialogues in English translation.

We are citizens in a democratic capitalist society, we vote and choose our representatives and our government, our representatives make laws that we must then follow. We do not only obey the laws only for fear of being punished; we believe that our system of government is just, and that it is just for us to obey the laws. We believe that - by and large - we live in a just society. Do we? What justifies our system of government? Are there alternative possible relations, alternative forms of citizenship; alternative forms of government, alternative ways of organising a society? Is ours the only just one? We will look at the history of political philosophy and explore various systems of citizenship, government and economic arrangements. Our main aim will be to understand how these different systems justify or legitimise the existence of government and its authority to make and enforce laws. We will also look at the more general notion of 'justice' that accompanies and grounds these systems of government. Two side concerns will be:- 1. The relation between a philosopher's view of ethics and her political philosophy. 2. The relation between a philosopher's view of human nature and her political philosophy.

This module is an introductory course in the Philosophy of Language. The overall focus of the course will be on the notion of meaning. The first part of the course will attempt to shed light on the notion of meaning by investigating different accounts of the meanings of some types of linguistic expressions, in particular names (for instance 'Nelson Mandela') and definite descriptions (for instance 'the inventor of the zip', 'the first minister of Scotland'). We will then look at an influential approach to understanding what it is for words to have meaning and for people to mean things by their words, one due to Paul Grice. And we will examine the role and understanding of conventions and how someone can say something and yet communicate something very different from its conventional meaning. We will also explore the phenomena of 'implicature' where people can communicate more (or something different from) what they literally say.

What, if anything, does religion have to do with a well-lived life? For example, does living well require obeying God's commands? Does it require atheism? Are the possibilities for a good life enhanced or only diminished if there is a God, or if Karma is true? Does living well take distinctive virtues like faith, mindfulness, or humility as these have been understood within religious traditions? In this module, we will examine recent philosophical work on questions like these while engaging with a variety of religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Daoism, Islam, and Judaism.

The aim of the course is to provide an introduction to philosophical issues surrounding the knowledge. We will be concerned with the nature and extent of knowledge. How must a believer be related to the world in order to know that something is the case? Can knowledge be analysed in terms of more basic notions? Must our beliefs be structured in a certain way if they are to be knowledge? In considering these questions we will look at various sceptical arguments that suggest that the extent of knowledge is much less than we suppose. And we will look at the various faculties of knowledge: perception, memory, introspection, and testimony.

This course will look at the intense philosophical debate that followed the upheaval of the French Revolution. The main texts studied will be Edmund Burke's Reflection on the Revolution in France attacking the Revolution and Thomas Paine's reply defending it, The Rights of Man. Burke and Paine will be the main texts studied. We may also, if time allows, look at the writings of some such others - which might vary from year to year - as William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft, Joseph de Maistre, Benjamin Constant and Germaine de Staël.

For music, you must take at least 20 credits from among the Final Year Project modules. Optionally, you can also take a second Final Year Project module at 20 or 40 credits. 

Optional modules across our seven areas of expertise are available to students in Years 2 and 3. These modules are taught on a two-year rotation, with the exception of Intermediate Performance, Intermediate Composition and Creative Applications of Music Technology which run every year. This enables the majority of students to select from the greatest possible range of module options across two years of study.

For students on a 4 year programme where the 3rd year is spent away from the Department (i.e. as a year studying abroad as part of a Dual programme with languages, or to take up a work placement via the 'BMus Music with a placement year'), the two year module rotation means that you will be out of the department when some options are running. However, since your third year involves a high proportion of modules with a self-directed focus (including dissertation and special project), you should still have plenty of opportunities to pursue your specialist interests.   

You'll have the option to choose modules in other departments through guided module choice, which includes Languages for All modules

For philosophy, most dual honours students typically take 60 credits. All third year philosophy modules are worth 20 credits.

Final Year Projects music modules:

This module gives you the opportunity to undertake intensive study of a particular aspect of musical sound/material, behaviour or thinking, from the past or present, presenting the findings of your investigation as a substantial piece of scholarly written work, and in the process consolidating and further developing your research and critical skills. Your dissertation topic should enable you to demonstrate the ability to place music in its historical and cultural context, and to support your arguments with informative comments based on detailed analysis. Dissertation can be taken in 20 or 40 credit versions. The length of the dissertation should be approximately 6000 words for MUS301 Dissertation (20 credits); 9500 words for MUS332 Extended Dissertation (40 credits).

This final year module supports your independent composition practice and builds upon skills acquired over previous years. Compositions may be for small or large forces of instruments or voices, may combine instruments with electronics, or may be electroacoustic. Where possible the module will culminate in a public performance of some of the work produced. Portfolio of Compositions can be taken in 20 or 40 credit versions. The length of the portfolio should be approximately 10 minutes for MUS302 Portfolio of Compositions (20 credits); 20 minutes for MUS333 Extended Portfolio of Compositions (40 credits).

In this module you will develop your advanced practical skills to demonstrate the ability to communicate meaning in music through a public performance at a professional standard. You will prepare a programme, in any musical style and on any instrument, which exhibits your repertorial range containing works of a contrasting nature from different historical periods and contain a contemporary work. Your work will be supported by individual instrumental tuition. Instrumental or Vocal Recital can be taken in 20 and 40 credit versions. The length of the recital should be approximately 25 minutes for MUS303 Instrumental or Vocal Recital (20 credits); 35-40 minutes for MUS334 Extended Instrumental or Vocal Recital (40 credits).

This module allows you to negotiate a special project that does not conform to Dissertation, Performance and Composition, on a topic agreed with tutors on a case-by-case basis. It affords an opportunity for you to work with others outside of your discipline and to communicate your work to non-specialist audiences where appropriate. The project must be public-facing and potentially have career-oriented goals; it may include a placement activity. Special Project can be taken in 20 or 40 credit versions. MUS3040 Special Project (20 credits) comprises the project itself, presented through a public self-designed website and blog. MUS3041 Extended Special Project (40 credits) adds a critical reflective essay that serves to link the project to extant academic work and provide a context for aspects of the project itself.

This module gives you the opportunity to undertake intensive study of a particular aspect of musical sound/material, behaviour or thinking, from the past or present, presenting the findings of your investigation as a substantial piece of scholarly written work, and in the process consolidating and further developing your research and critical skills. Your dissertation topic should enable you to demonstrate the ability to place music in its historical and cultural context, and to support your arguments with informative comments based on detailed analysis. Dissertation can be taken in 20 or 40 credit versions. The length of the dissertation should be approximately 6000 words for MUS301 Dissertation (20 credits); 9500 words for MUS332 Extended Dissertation (40 credits).

This final year module supports your independent composition practice and builds upon skills acquired over previous years. Compositions may be for small or large forces of instruments or voices, may combine instruments with electronics, or may be electroacoustic. Where possible the module will culminate in a public performance of some of the work produced. Portfolio of Compositions can be taken in 20 or 40 credit versions. The length of the portfolio should be approximately 10 minutes for MUS302 Portfolio of Compositions (20 credits); 20 minutes for MUS333 Extended Portfolio of Compositions (40 credits).

In this module you will develop your advanced practical skills to demonstrate the ability to communicate meaning in music through a public performance at a professional standard. You will prepare a programme, in any musical style and on any instrument, which exhibits your repertorial range containing works of a contrasting nature from different historical periods and contain a contemporary work. Your work will be supported by individual instrumental tuition. Instrumental or Vocal Recital can be taken in 20 and 40 credit versions. The length of the recital should be approximately 25 minutes for MUS303 Instrumental or Vocal Recital (20 credits); 35-40 minutes for MUS334 Extended Instrumental or Vocal Recital (40 credits).

This module allows you to negotiate a special project that does not conform to Dissertation, Performance and Composition, on a topic agreed with tutors on a case-by-case basis. It affords an opportunity for you to work with others outside of your discipline and to communicate your work to non-specialist audiences where appropriate. The project must be public-facing and potentially have career-oriented goals; it may include a placement activity. Special Project can be taken in 20 or 40 credit versions. MUS3040 Special Project (20 credits) comprises the project itself, presented through a public self-designed website and blog. MUS3041 Extended Special Project (40 credits) adds a critical reflective essay that serves to link the project to extant academic work and provide a context for aspects of the project itself.

Music annual modules (optional):

This module will introduce you to performance practice and techniques related to performance at an intermediate level. It will act as preparation for advanced performance in Year 3 Recitals, and builds on the foundation work completed as part of Performance in Year 1. You will take individual instrumental/vocal lessons, which will run alongside workshop-based lectures throughout the academic year. You will also attend 6 lunchtime, rush hour or evening concerts across the year and write a short critical review.

This module follows on from Composition in Year 1 to support the development of your compositional practice. You will study more advanced techniques of 20th and 21st Century classical music and develop strategies for making longer pieces. You'll write for small ensembles and soloists, including collaboration with advanced performers taking the MA Performance Studies, and you will have opportunities to get your work played in concerts. This work will prepare you for other composition-related modules, including Portfolio of Compositions and Special Project in Year 3.

This module will introduce you to a range of technologies that might be used for creative purposes and provides an opportunity for further electronic music composition. The module necessarily focuses upon the science of music (sound and the digital medium, filters, reverbs, synth design, computer music programming) before engaging with the construction of two works: one that is very synth driven (a dance music style) and one that further develops your electroacoustic music study. The technological aspects of the module are quite broad and strengthen essential transferable skills and computer literacy. The creative aspects of the module develop your original composition profile whilst augmenting skills in sound design and commercial composition.

Music rotational modules (optional):

This module introduces you to contemporary, jazz and classical improvisation. By learning and developing these skills over a series of practical and taught sessions, you will become more flexible and confident as a performer.

This module will present you with the opportunity to develop ensemble performance skills in a supervised situation. You will form an ensemble with fellow students prior to the module commencing, and your ensemble will programme a contrasting selection of repertoire for study and public performance. Particular attention will be paid to ensemble considerations, though technical matters and the development of stylistic awareness will also form an important part of the module.

This module covers the essential knowledge and skills for scoring music for symphony orchestra, as well as for smaller groupings of orchestral instruments. The module equips you for arranging and writing music for ensembles you might find yourself working with in the future, as a player, composer, conductor or teacher. The Orchestral Technique module is appropriate for all music students, but is particularly important for those specialising in composition. It will give you relevant knowledge of instruments, repertoire and techniques, and also provide the background training you will need for composing for media and film, and for live performance.

This module gives you the opportunity to compose sound and music for film and other visual media, and position sound and music within the filmmaking process. Using a variety of software, you will be responsible for the entire project from the ideas stage through to the creation of all audio materials. A diverse range of existing movies, audiovisual works and relevant literature will be studied, and you will be expected to use these to inform your own work.

This module will introduce you to European musical cultures in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the research methods through which they are discovered and studied. You'll investigate the roles played by music in the everyday life of street and home, as well as in religion and politics. The module links music to some of the big critical themes in the European history of the period, including Europe's expanding international horizons through trade and colonialism, the dramatic increase in the circulation of books thanks to new printing technology, and conflict both within and between religious faiths.

Public knowledge of baroque music today is shaped by the dominance of a 'canon' of music considered authoritative or 'great', which for ideological and historical reasons is dominated by white European male composers. This module sets out to help change that. You'll work as a team, with clearly defined roles, to produce a critical edition-with-commentary of music created using staff notation between c.1600-1750 by a musician who was NOT a white European man, which is obscure or completely unknown in the present day. Optionally, the group may also choose to record historically-informed performances of some or all of the music included in their edition. The materials produced will ultimately be made publicly available online.

In this module, you will examine Mozart's career as performer and composer in Vienna (1781-91), looking at the environments and circumstances in which he worked and the aesthetic contexts in which he thrived. Topics will include: the circumstances that led Mozart to move from Salzburg to Vienna in 1781; his career as a performer; aesthetic, historical and contextual issues in 1780s Vienna; Mozart's instrumental, operatic and sacred works composed in Vienna; and Mozart's status as a musical-cultural icon in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

This module addresses the development of the Broadway musical, focusing on leading figures and critical issues. It looks at shows such as My Fair Lady and Oklahoma!, examines aspects of identity such as race and sexuality, and unpacks the collaborative nature of the genre. Alongside lectures on set works, you will pursue an individual project on a topic of your own choice, allowing freedom to identify with the work being studied.

This module introduces you to the important ways in which music contributes to our sense of wellbeing. Wellbeing is not simply about feeling ok but has health implications for society. Music plays a vital role in fostering wellbeing. In the module, we cover four distinct areas where health and wellbeing may be challenged; these include special educational needs in schools, the use of music for people with dementia, as well as some specialised clinical settings where music is used. As part of your work on the module, you will be able to design your own music intervention.

This module will introduce you to theories, empirical investigations and applications of music psychology relevant to everyday life. You will learn about the diverse uses of music in everyday situations, which may include personal, communal and commercial settings. The reasons for music use in these situations are explored and possible explanations of music's ability to support functions are critically reviewed, including social, emotional, personal, educational and commercial impacts. The module will be delivered through lectures, group discussions, and small research projects.

This module will engage you in the current debates and practices of music in education and community settings, from the formal classroom setting and instrumental studio, through the work done by community support groups, to more recreational musical practice in the community. Questions of music's place in the curriculum, the relationship between school and home music, and the challenges of providing a vibrant musical education for all people, will be addressed in lectures and discussions. You will work in mentored groups to investigate and support community music-making or school-based music education in Sheffield, building your skills as a researcher, and learning about career options including teaching, delivering and managing music provision for young people and vulnerable adults. You will finish the module knowing more about music and its contribution to education and society, through your critical reflection on published research evidence, and through school and community fieldwork visits.

This module examines the fundamental theories of recording. Focussing upon the recording of both sound and music, it provides you with an opportunity to realise an original track. The module engages briefly with technical aspects of recording (microphone types, sound file formats) before using practical work and listening to decide upon choice of microphone, placement and capture. By making field recordings, location recordings, and session-based recordings, you will acquire a broad understanding of relevant issues and methods. The mixing and mastering of session-based recordings results in your finished track and helps you develop the skills required in the professional sound studio.

This module will introduce you to the study of folk and traditional music, focussing on a range of contemporary folk music cultures. You'll learn to use a range of approaches (ethnomusicology; critical and culture theory; political theory) to consider the traditional identities these music cultures construct, and how they relate to their modern, economic, political and technological contexts. Past and current definitions of the terms folk music and traditional music are explored, and music cultures are investigated in terms of specific debates and contexts, such as revivalism, nationalism, institutionalisation, competition and education.

In this module you'll explore in depth a range of models, case studies and themes for the study of Popular Music. You'll be introduced to varying analytical and critical approaches to the study of popular musics in global perspective, with topics including (e.g.): how popular musicians learn; popular music and humour; popular music as world music; reading popular music 'texts'; understanding business models; and conducting a popular music ethnography. As well as developing a factual knowledge of the genres covered in the module, you will develop a critical awareness of research methods and discursive themes in the field of popular music studies. The module aims for diversity both in the styles and population groups represented and in the critical and analytical approaches discussed. The exact topics may vary with the specialisms of the teaching team, but you'll always be free to formulate a focus that interests you for your assessed project, which you'll develop with regular input from tutors and peers.

In this module you'll acquire a practice-based understanding of one world music tradition (selected in advance by the course tutor), improving your musical performance skills and experiencing first-hand the modes of transmission that are part of the tradition. Through performance-based seminars, you will learn to play and/or sing in the style offered, backing up that experience with theoretical knowledge derived from ethnomusicological literature. Your learning will also be supported by a writing-based project, supported by seminars/tutorials as appropriate, resulting in a Learning Journal documenting and reflecting on the learning experience.

This module introduces some of the key figures and developments in the history of jazz, from its origins as an early twentieth-century American music, to its various contemporary manifestations across the world. You will engage with the contexts and debates that have shaped (and continue to shape) the performance, reception, representation, and study of jazz music, and will conduct independent research into a jazz-related topic of your choosing.

This module introduces the musical life of East Asia, including China, Korea, Japan and neighbouring areas, in historical and cultural context. While emphasising traditional East Asian music and musical theatre, you'll also examine East Asia's participation in the culture of Western-style classical and popular musics. You'll learn to recognise many forms of East Asian music and explain how they use sound in pursuit of particular cultural goals. You'll also carry out a guided research project on a cultural, historical and/or analytical topic in East Asian music.

This module gives you the opportunity to explore, understand and debate contemporary critical issues about the relationship between opera and identity. Focussing on opera from 1800 to the present day, the historical and social contexts surrounding the creation, premiere, and reception of opera forms the backdrop to the study of individual works in relation to topics including race, gender, sexuality, class, colonialism, religion, exoticism, political ideology, and national identity. From exoticised 19th-century Italian constructions of Egypt, through to the interplay of gender and sexuality in the depiction of pop culture icon Anna Nicole Smith, the operatic stage provides a forum for the consideration of some of society's most pertinent and widely debated issues.

This module will introduce you to musical analysis in the western classical tradition. The emphasis is on the internal and external workings of musical forms in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, focussing on Haydn's and Mozart's mastery of standard classical forms, on Beethoven's formal manipulations, and on the interaction of form and expression in the early nineteenth century (e.g. Schubert and Chopin). Topics will include: motivic, thematic, melodic and rhythmic manipulation; interrelationships between counterpoint, harmony and melody; standard formal patterns; formal expansions and contractions; wit and humour in the late eighteenth century; expression and form.

This module introduces ethnomusicology as a way of researching musical culture, with selected musical traditions explored as case studies in applying and assessing ethnomusicological methods. These methods typically emphasise 'ethnography', in which the primary sources are live human beings and knowledge is produced by interacting with them through musical participation, observation and interviewing. You'll have the opportunity to conduct an ethnographic fieldwork project, either face-to-face or 'virtual', and write up the results in your assessed work. Alternatively, you can submit an essay examining published ethnomusicological research on a specific topic. Either way, you should reflect critically on how musical knowledge is produced by ethnomusicological methods.

Optional philosophy modules:

This module will build upon PHI203 Formal Logic It will examine some philosophically important areas of formal logic, and it will also consider some philosophical debates concerning foundational aspects of logic. The unit will be assessed by means of a coursework essay on a philosophical topic [worth 50% of the final mark] and an unseen exam [worth the remaining 50% of the final mark]

Aristotle (384-322BC) was the most prolific philosopher of the ancient world and one of the most important of any age making hugely important contributions to logic, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of biology, ethics, aesthetics and political philosophy. This module will introduce students to the study of Aristotle through one or more of his many writings. The aim of the module is to encourage students to read important yet difficult Aristotelian texts, to engage critically with the ideas and arguments contained therein and to provide some appreciation of Aristotle's place in the ancient philosophical world and his contribution to contemporary debate.

This course will introduce students to ancient Chinese Philosophy through a study of some of it classical texts.

Feminists have famously claimed that the personal is political, and argued against traditional understandings of the public/private distinction. This module will be devoted to examining a wide variety of areas not traditionally considered to be of political relevance, which feminists have argued are in fact crucial to politics. We will discuss such issues as family structure, feminine appearance, sexual behaviour, science, culture and language.

We know things as individuals, but we also know things collectively. And what we know individually can depend on our relation to other knowers and collective knowledge. These relations are not merely epistemic, they are also practical and ethical. Knowledge can, for instance, be based on trust, while a failure to recognize someone as a knower can be a matter of injustice. Knowledge thereby has a social character and an ethical dimension. This course will introduce a broad range of topics in epistemology that explore this social and ethical turn.

This module focuses on philosophical questions about the relationship between free will and theistic religions. It has often been claimed that adherents of these religions have significant motivations to affirm an incompatibilist conception of free will according to which free will is incompatible with determinism. Incompatibilist conceptions of free will, it has been argued, have benefits for the theist such as enabling them to better account for the existence of moral evil, natural evil, divine hiddenness, and traditional conceptions of hell. Yet, on the other hand, it has been argued that there is a significant tension between theistic religions and incompatibilist conceptions of free will. For example, there are tempting arguments that an incompatibilist conception of free will makes trouble for affirming traditional views about God's omniscience, freedom, and providence. We will engage in a critical examination of these and related arguments.

This module applies feminism and queer studies in analysis of gender and sexuality in religious traditions and cultures around the world. We will examine deities and goddesses, gendered language in religions, cisheteropatriarchy, and LGBTQIA life in eg. Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, as well as Chinese and Japanese cultures. We will discuss genders, rituals, spirituality, sexual practices, procreation, abstinence, and asexuality, reading a range of feminist and queer philosophical works and texts ranging from the Karma Sutra to Confucius and the Vatican documents.

What are the demands of justice at the global level? On this module we will examine this question from the perspective of analytic Anglo-American political philosophy. We will start by looking at some debates about the nature of global justice, such as whether justice demands the eradication of global inequalities. We will then turn to various questions of justice that arise at the global level, potentially including: how jurisdiction over territory might be justified; whether states have a right to exclude would-be immigrants; whether reparations are owed for past international injustices such as colonialism; and how to identify responsibilities for combatting global injustice.

This course will focus on Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), one of the greatest and most influential works of nineteenth century philosophy. We will study the entire text, in an attempt to uncover the nature of Hegel's method, his goals, and the role and significance of the Phenomenology in Hegel's system. As the Phenomenology covers an enormous range, this will lead to a discussion of Hegel's epistemology and metaphysics, of his philosophy of history, ethics and political philosophy, and of his critiques of Kant, Schelling, Rousseau and others.

Update short/full description: The course will focus on metaphysical themes of perennial interest such as parts and wholes, the nature of people, and the passage of time. Readings will be drawn mainly from recent and contemporary sources. Lectures are shared with PHI225, and students who have taken that module may not take this one.

This course examines the relationship of moral theory and moral psychology. We discuss the relationship of science and ethics, examine the nature of self-interest, altruism, sympathy, the will, and moral intuitions, explore psychological arguments for and against familiar moral theories including utilitarianism, virtue ethics, deontology and relativism, and confront the proposal that understanding the origins of moral thought 'debunks' the authority of ethics. In doing so, we will engage with readings from historical philosophers, including Hobbes, Butler, Hume, Smith, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche and Moore, as well as contemporary authors in philosophy and empirical psychology.

Affective states like pain, pleasure, and emotions have a profound bearing on the meaning and quality of our lives. Chronic pain can be completely disabling, while insensitivity to pain can be fatal. Analogously, a life without pleasure looks like a life of boredom, but excessive pleasure seeking can disrupt decision-making. In this module, we will explore recent advances in the study of the affective mind, by considering theoretical work in the philosophy of mind as well as empirical research in affective cognitive science. These are some of the problems that we will explore: Why does pain feel bad? What is the relation between pleasure and happiness? Are emotions cognitive states? Are moral judgments based on emotions? Can we know what other people are feeling?

This module introduces students to Phenomenology - a philosophical tradition in continental European philosophy, which is closely related to Existentialism. Phenomenology seeks to understand the human condition. Its starting-point is everyday experience, where this includes both mundane and less ordinary forms of experience such as those typically associated with conditions such as schizophrenia. Whilst Phenomenology encompasses a diverse range of thinkers and ideas, there tends to be a focus on consciousness as embodied, situated in a particular physical, social, and cultural environment, essentially related to other people, and existing in time. (This is in contrast to the disembodied, universal, and isolated notion of the subject that comes largely from the Cartesian tradition.) There is a corresponding emphasis on the world we inhabit as a distinctively human environment that depends in certain ways on us for its character and existence. Some of the central topics addressed by Phenomenology include: embodiment; ageing and death; the lived experience of oppression; human freedom; our relations with and knowledge of, other people; the experience of time; and the nature of the world. In this module, we will discuss a selection of these and related topics, examining them through the work of key figures in the Phenomenological Movement, such as Edmund Husserl, Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Frantz Fanon, and Edith Stein.

A variety of topics will be set. For each topic, a short list of key readings is provided. Having chosen a topic, a short list of key readings is provided. Having chosen a topic, students are expected to master the readings, and the supplement them with at least two other pieces of relevant literature and they have used the available library and web resources to uncover. They then, having agreed a title with a tutor assigned to them for the module, write an extended essay that identifies the central issue (or issues) under discussion, relates the various responses to that issue found in the literature, evaluates those contributions, and goes some way to identifying a satisfactory resolution of the issue.

A variety of topics will be set. For each topic, a short list of key readings is provided. Having chosen a topic, students are expected to master the readings, and to supplement them with at least two other pieces of relevant literature that they have used the available library and web resources to uncover. They then, having agreed a title with the tutor assigned to them for the module, write an extended essay that identifies the central issue (or issues) under discussion, relates the various responses to that issue found in the literature, evaluates those contributions, and goes some way to identifying a satisfactory resolution of the issues.

Law is a pervasive feature of modern societies and governs most aspects of our lives. This module is about some of the philosophical questions raised by life under a legal system. The first part of the module investigates the nature of law. Is law simply a method of social control? For example, the group calling itself Islamic State issued commands over a defined territory and backed up these commands with deadly force. Was that a legal system? Or is law necessarily concerned with justice? Do legal systems contain only rules or do they also contain underlying principles? Is 'international law' really law? The second part of the module investigates the relationship between law and individual rights. What kinds of laws should we have? Do we have the moral right to break the law through acts of civil disobedience? What is the justification of punishment? Is there any justification for capital punishment? Are we right to legally differentiate between intended crimes (like murder) and unintended crimes (like manslaughter), or does this involve the unjustified punishment of 'thought crime'? Are we right to legally differentiate between murder and attempted murder, despite the fact that both crimes involve the same intent to kill?

This course will look at the intense philosophical debate that followed the upheaval of the French Revolution. The main texts studied will be Edmund Burke's Reflection on the Revolution in France attacking the Revolution and Thomas Paine's reply defending it, The Rights of Man. Burke and Paine will be the main texts studied. We may also, if time allows, look at the writings of some such others - which might vary from year to year - as William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft, Joseph de Maistre, Benjamin Constant and Germaine de Staël.

This course provides an in-depth look at a selection of issues in contemporary philosophy of psychology. Philosophy of psychology is concerned with such questions as : What is the structure and organisation of the human mind? Is the mind one big homogenous thing, or is it made up of smaller interacting components? If it has components, what sort are they and how are they interrelated? What aspects of our minds are uniquely, or distinctively human? What is the cognitive basis for such capacities as our capacity for language, rationality, science, mathematics, cultural artefacts, altruism, cooperation, war, morality and art? To what extent are the concepts, rules, biases, and cognitive processes that we possess universal features of all human beings and to what extent are they culturally (or otherwise) variable? Do infants (non-human) animals, and individuals with cognitive deficits have minds, and if so, what are they like? To what extent are these capacities learned as opposed to innately given? How important is evolutionary theory to the study of the mind? What is the Self? What are concepts? Is all thought conceptual? Is all thought conscious? What is consciousness? This course will discuss a selection of these and related issues by looking at the work of philosophers, psychologists, and others working within the cognitive sciences more generally.

The Symposium is a vivid, funny and moving dramatic dialogue in which a wide variety of characters - orators, doctor, comic poet, tragic poet, soldier-cum-statesman, philosopher and others - give widely differing accounts of the nature or erotic love (eros) at a banquet. Students should be willing to engage in close textual study, although no previous knowledge of either ancient philosophy or ancient Greek is required. We will be exploring the origins, definition, aims, objects and effects or eros, and asking whether it is viewed as a predominantly beneficial or harmful force. Are some manifestations or eros better than others? Is re-channelling either possible or desirable, and if so, how and in what contexts? What happens to eros if it is consummated? We will in addition explore the issues that the dialogue raises about relations between philosophy and literature, and the influence it has had on Western thought (e.g. Freud). The edition we will use is Rowe, C . J., 1998, Plato Symposium. Oxford: Aris and Phillips Classical texts.

Why is climate change a problem of global justice and how could the international community address this problem fairly? In this course we will look at various questions of justice that climate change raises and examine how political philosophers have attempted to answer them. Topics to be considered may include: historical responsibility for climate change, duties regarding future generations, the problem of allocating the burdens of addressing climate change, natural resource justice, the rights of indigenous peoples, moral issues concerning territorial loss or displacement, and the politics of geoengineering the planet.

The biblical commandment 'to love your neighbour as yourself' still has great resonance with people, as does the story of the Good Samaritan who helps the injured traveller he encounters on the road. But what exactly does this love require, and what it its basis? Do we have an obligation to care for others, or is it beyond the call of duty? How can love be a matter of obligation at all? If you help the neighbour, can you demand something in return? Should we help them by giving them what they want, or instead what they need? How far do our obligations to others extend - who is the 'neighbour', and might it include 'the enemy' ? And does the requirement to help the other come from God's command, or from some sort of practical inconsistency given we all need help ourselves, or from their right to be helped - or simply from the fact they are in need? But can our needs be enough on their own to generate obligations of this sort? We will consider these sorts of questions in relation to the work of K.E. Logstrup [1905-1981], a Danish philosopher and theologian, who discussed them in his key work The Ethical Demand [1956] in which he characterized this relation between individuals as involving a 'radical demand' for care, involving important commitments about the nature of life, value, and human interdependency. We will compare his ideas to related themes in Kant, Kierkegaard, Levinas, and contemporary care ethics.

The module will present some fundamental debates in meta-ethics concerning the foundations of norms, obligations and reasons. We will read parts of Korsgaard's book 'The Sources of Normativity' and more recent literature grappling with the question Korsgaard has raised. We will try to understand what it means to ground a norm, whether norms must be grounded, what could possibly ground them and whether the grounding process has a terminus point.

The content of our courses is reviewed annually to make sure it's up-to-date and relevant. Individual modules are occasionally updated or withdrawn. This is in response to discoveries through our world-leading research; funding changes; professional accreditation requirements; student or employer feedback; outcomes of reviews; and variations in staff or student numbers. In the event of any change we'll consult and inform students in good time and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption. We are no longer offering unrestricted module choice. If your course included unrestricted modules, your department will provide a list of modules from their own and other subject areas that you can choose from.

You'll learn through a combination of lectures, seminars, interactive classes and tutorials, and you'll be expected to carry out independent study, assignments and instrument practice. Instrumental lessons are available in your first year and throughout the rest of your degree if you choose to take assessed performance modules.

We invest to create the right environment for you. That means outstanding facilities, study spaces and support, including 24/7 online access to our online library service.

Study spaces and computers are available to offer you choice and flexibility for your study. Our five library sites give you access to over 1.3 million books and periodicals. You can access your library account and our rich digital collections from anywhere on or off campus. Other library services include study skills training to improve your grades, and tailored advice from experts in your subject.

Learning support facilities and library opening hours

You will be taught by world-leading experts in both departments.

Our staff research directly informs the content of our degrees and we bring our expertise and ideas into all our teaching, so you’ll benefit from being introduced to the latest discoveries at the forefront of musical research.

In the Department of Philosophy, you'll be taught by researchers working at the cutting-edge of their field, meaning your lectures and seminars are informed, relevant and exciting.

A few music modules include formal exams but the majority of assessment for the music side of your degree is through coursework (for example essays, journals, compositions, recordings, group projects) and assessed performances.

For philosophy modules, assessment is normally through a combination of coursework essays and exams, with long essay options available instead of exams.

This tells you the aims and learning outcomes of this course and how these will be achieved and assessed.

Find programme specification for this course

With Access Sheffield, you could qualify for additional consideration or an alternative offer - find out if you're eligible.

The A Level entry requirements for this course are: AAB; ABB AAB, including Music; ABB + Grade 8 in either Practical (ABRSM/Trinity/Rockschool or equivalent) or Performance (ABRSM/ARSM) + Grade 5 Theory (ABRSM/Trinity)

A Levels + additional qualifications ABB, including Music + B in a relevant EPQ

International Baccalaureate 34, with 5 in Higher Level Music; 33 + Grade 8 in either Practical (ABRSM/Trinity/Rockschool or equivalent) or Performance (ABRSM/ARSM) + Grade 5 Theory (ABRSM/Trinity)

BTEC Extended Diploma DDD in Music

BTEC Diploma DD + A in A Level Music; DD in Music + A at A Level

Scottish Highers AAABB + Grade 8 in either Practical (ABRSM/Trinity/Rockschool or equivalent) or Performance (ABRSM/ARSM) + Grade 5 Theory (ABRSM/Trinity)

Scottish Highers + 1 Advanced Higher AAABB + B in Music

Welsh Baccalaureate + 2 A Levels B + AA, including Music; B + AB + Grade 8 in either Practical (ABRSM/Trinity/Rockschool or equivalent) or Performance (ABRSM/ARSM) + Grade 5 Theory (ABRSM/Trinity)

Access to HE Diploma Award of Access to HE Diploma in Music, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 36 at Distinction and 9 at Merit

Routes for mature students

Music Technology is acceptable in lieu of Music

The A Level entry requirements for this course are: ABB; BBB ABB, including Music; BBB + Grade 8 in either Practical (ABRSM/Trinity/Rockschool or equivalent) or Performance (ABRSM/ARSM) + Grade 5 Theory (ABRSM/Trinity)

A Levels + additional qualifications ABB, including Music + B in a relevant EPQ

International Baccalaureate 33, with 5 in Higher Level Music; 32 + Grade 8 in either Practical (ABRSM/Trinity/Rockschool or equivalent) or Performance (ABRSM/ARSM) + Grade 5 Theory (ABRSM/Trinity)

BTEC Extended Diploma DDD in Music

BTEC Diploma DD + B in A Level Music; DD in Music + B at A Level

Scottish Highers AABBB + Grade 8 in either Practical (ABRSM/Trinity/Rockschool or equivalent) or Performance (ABRSM/ARSM) + Grade 5 Theory (ABRSM/Trinity)

Scottish Highers + 1 Advanced Higher AABBB + B in Music

Welsh Baccalaureate + 2 A Levels B + AB, including Music; B + BB + Grade 8 in either Practical (ABRSM/Trinity/Rockschool or equivalent) or Performance (ABRSM/ARSM) + Grade 5 Theory (ABRSM/Trinity)

Access to HE Diploma Award of Access to HE Diploma in Music, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 30 at Distinction and 15 at Merit

Routes for mature students

Music Technology is acceptable in lieu of Music

You must demonstrate that your English is good enough for you to successfully complete your course. For this course we require: GCSE English Language at grade 4/C; IELTS grade of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each component; or an alternative acceptable English language qualification

Equivalent English language qualifications

Visa and immigration requirements

Other qualifications | UK and EU/international

If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the department.

Our department ethos combines high achievement with a sense of community and a shared passion for music. Our internationally recognised research informs our high-quality teaching and our student experience is second to none.

Sheffield is celebrated as one of the UK's leading music cities, with dozens of major venues from the City Hall and Crucible to the Leadmill and the Foundry, covering all music genres. This brings with it a host of opportunities for our students to get involved in professional music-making of the highest quality.

You can also enjoy events from University of Sheffield Concerts which hosts concerts and masterclasses from touring professional musicians throughout the year.

Department of Music students study at the heart of the campus in our Jessop Building, Soundhouse and performance facilities. We timetable teaching across the whole of our campus.

Specially designed for music study, our £8.5m facilities provide the ideal environment for our diverse and cutting-edge teaching and research.

The University of Sheffield are proud to be an All-Steinway School, which places us among a select group of international education institutions. This accreditation means that you'll have access to pianos of the highest quality.

The Jessop Building houses study and rehearsal rooms, with dedicated specialist spaces including our historical instruments collection, ethnomusicology space and collection, music psychology lab and music technology lab.

The Soundhouse is our purpose-built facility for instrumental lessons, practice, small-scale rehearsals and sound recording, and houses the internationally-renowned University of Sheffield Sound Studios for recording and electroacoustic composition.

The University of Sheffield is also home to a suite of performance venues, including the beautiful 380-seater Firth Hall, set in the stunning Edwardian Grade II listed Firth Court and home to the University’s multi-genre Concert Series.

We pride ourselves on the diversity of our modules and the high quality of our teaching. Our staff are among the best in the world at what they do. They're active researchers so your lectures and seminars are informed, relevant and exciting. We'll teach you how to think carefully, analytically and creatively.

Our staff and students use philosophy to engage with real world issues. You will be able to use what you learn to make a difference in the community, through projects like Philosophy in the City, an innovative and award-winning programme that enables students to teach philosophy in schools, homeless shelters and centres for the elderly.

Our students run a thriving Philosophy Society and the only UK undergraduate philosophy journal. Our Centre for Engaged Philosophy pursues research into questions of fundamental political and social importance, from criminal justice and social inclusion to climate ethics, all topics that are covered in our teaching.

Philosophy changes our perspective on the world, and equips and motivates us to make a difference.

The Department of Philosophy is based at 45 Victoria Street at the heart of the University campus. We're close to the Diamond and the Information Commons, as well as Jessop West, which houses our fellow Arts & Humanities departments of History, English and Languages & Cultures.

  A top 100 university QS World University Rankings 2023

  92 per cent of our research is rated as world-leading or internationally excellent Research Excellence Framework 2021

  Top 50 in the most international universities rankings Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022

  No 1 Students' Union in the UK Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

  A top 10 university targeted by employers The Graduate Market in 2022, High Fliers report

National Student Survey 2022

Research Excellence Framework 2021

The University of Sheffield is proud to be an All-Steinway School

National Student Survey 2021

National Student Survey 2021

Phoebe N Mckernon Undergraduate student, BMus

Phoebe shares her experience of studying and living in Sheffield, as well as her recent success at being chosen to perform at the Harp on Wight Festival on the Isle of Wight.

Emily Cooper shares her experience of studying music as an undergraduate student at the University of Sheffield.

Beatriz is an EU student who has recently completed a BA in Philosophy.

The musical excellence and academic aptitude you develop on your course will make you highly valued by employers, whatever your chosen career path after university. You'll also develop valuable transferable skills such as time management, critical thinking and interpersonal communication.

There are lots of opportunities to get work experience. Hands-on projects are integrated into several academic modules and every year our Concerts team provides internships while the Careers Service can help you find placements. You can lead a music project or workshop in a local school through our student-led volunteering organisation Music in the City. All of these experiences will help you build a compelling CV.

Our graduates work with prestigious orchestras and music institutions within the UK and globally, in roles ranging from performing and conducting to administration and education. Sheffield music graduates have also forged successful careers in other fields, from audio programming to marketing and management.

Graduate job roles include: artist management, audio programming, composition, concerts coordination, instrument repair, marketing and communications, music research, music promotion, music therapy, orchestral management, professional performance, publishing, sound engineering, teaching.

Studying philosophy will develop your ability to analyse and state a case clearly, evaluate arguments and be precise in your thinking. These skills will put you in a strong position when it comes to finding employment or going on to further study.

Our graduates work in teaching, law, social work, computing, the civil service, journalism, paid charity work, business, insurance and accountancy. Many also go on to study philosophy at postgraduate level.

Our degrees and activities attract students who are interested in an eclectic mix of music, with many going onto varied careers. George studied the undergraduate BMus music course and went onto study MMus Composition and Performance. He now works as a freelance conductor and orchestrator.

You may have the opportunity to add an optional placement year as part of your course, converting the three year course to a four-year Degree with Placement Year. 

A placement year will help you to:

There are also other opportunities to get work experience. Hands-on projects are integrated into several academic modules and every year our University Concerts team provides internships. Alternatively, you can lead a music project or workshop in a local school through our student-led volunteering organisation Music in the City, or take part in the award-winning Philosophy in the City, which introduces school children to philosophical ideas they can apply to everyday life. All of these experiences will help you build a compelling CV.

Spending time abroad during your degree is a great way to explore different cultures, gain a new perspective and experience a life-changing opportunity that you will never forget. 

You can apply to extend this course with a year abroad, usually between the second and third year. We have over 250 University partners worldwide. Popular destinations include Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. 

Find out more on the Global Opportunities website.

Tuition fees

Fee status help

The annual fee for your course includes a number of items in addition to your tuition. If an item or activity is classed as a compulsory element for your course, it will normally be included in your tuition fee. There are also other costs which you may need to consider.

Examples of what’s included and excluded

Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for a bursary, scholarship or loan to help fund your study and enhance your learning experience.

Use our Student Funding Calculator to work out what you’re eligible for.

The Department of Music offers a number of scholarships. These include choral, organ and conducting scholarships. Our Mary Lill Scholarships provide financial support for students from widening participation or low income backgrounds.

Both single honours BMus students and dual honours students with music are eligible to apply. For a full list of scholarships and prizes available, please visit our website.

We host five open days each year, usually in June, July, September, October and November. You can talk to staff and students, tour the campus and see inside the accommodation.

Open days: book your place

If you’re considering your post-16 options, our interactive subject tasters are for you. There are a wide range of subjects to choose from and you can attend sessions online or on campus.

Upcoming taster sessions

If you've received an offer to study with us, we'll invite you to one of our offer holder days, which take place between February and April. These open days have a strong department focus and give you the chance to really explore student life here, even if you've visited us before.

Our weekly guided tours show you what Sheffield has to offer - both on campus and beyond. You can extend your visit with tours of our city, accommodation or sport facilities.

Campus tour: book your place

Make sure you've done everything you need to do before you apply.

How to apply When you're ready to apply, see the UCAS website:www.ucas.com

Not ready to apply yet? You can also register your interest in this course.

Telephone: +44 114 222 0488 Email: [email protected]

The awarding body for this course is the University of Sheffield.

Recognition of professional qualifications: from 1 January 2021, in order to have any UK professional qualifications recognised for work in an EU country across a number of regulated and other professions you need to apply to the host country for recognition. Read information from the UK government and the EU Regulated Professions Database.

Any supervisors and research areas listed are indicative and may change before the start of the course.

Our student protection plan

Terms and Conditions upon Acceptance of an Offer