Course Overview

The program emphasizes your emotional development as a practitioner, together with clinical exploration through critical inquiry. In addition to this, students must be prepared to enter mandatory individual personal therapy for one year of the training.

Music Therapists work within a wide range of clinical settings, individual and group work. They work with people of all ages; from infants and young children through to elderly adults. Music therapy can benefit people with a wide range of difficulties or challenges, including mental health problems, learning disabilities, autism, dementia, and neurology, as well as people experiencing serious illnesses such as cancer or those who have experienced trauma. Placements include work with children and adults in the settings in which Music Therapists commonly work. 

Key areas of study include human development and growth and the clinical context for music therapy, clinical improvisation, observational studies, music therapy theory, clinical casework and supervision, introduction to research, and your dissertation. Some of the core teachings will take place with peers from across the Arts and Play Therapies programs, giving unique opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Personal development and reflection on this are central throughout the program.

Clinical work is central to the training. After visits to a variety of workplaces that offer music therapy, you will undertake individual and group work in two contrasting settings over six months, January to June (first placement) and September to February/March (second placement). These clinical placements will provide you with music therapy work experience alongside qualified Music Therapists. You will also participate in an experiential group, which gives you an opportunity to develop your own self-awareness and examine personal and group dynamics through verbal and musical processes. In addition, it is a requirement for you to find and fund personal individual therapy outside the course.

General Eligibility

You should usually hold a second-class honors degree (certain programs may require a 2:1) from a recognized British or overseas university.

Part Time Work Details

20 hours of work permit weekly for international students.

Language Requirement

• An International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of at least 7 with no element below 6.5 for applicants for whom English is not their first language.