Master of Arts in Popular Music and Culture

at Leeds Beckett University - City Campus United Kingdom

Gain valuable professional skills and specialist knowledge in both marketing and public relations.

As part of your course you’ll:

• Explore a range of topics, from digital marketing to reputation management and campaign development to customer relations
• Understand and positively respond to the changing technological, political, ethical and legal contexts within which organisations currently operate
• Take a real-life client-centred approach to learning though project work, campaigns and consultancy in this dynamic sector

Your employability is at the heart of this course, so you’ll have a wealth of opportunities to network and work with potential employers and industry professionals through a series of lectures, workshops and placements during your study.

As well as the chance to work with a variety of employers, you’ll have access to our specialist facilities, including the Simulation Suite where you can replicate real-life PR scenarios and a media suite.

Explore design in the intersection between art, gaming and technology.

As part of your course you’ll:

• Apply the fundamentals of design theory to game art and related visual media
• Develop practical 2D/3D visualisation and compositional skills
• Establish your practice in the form of a personal portfolio
• Understand the application of critical studies in relation to game art and what is required when working on the production of digital assets within game engine and visualisation technologies
• Undertake personal, detailed academic and practical research in relation to your specialised subject area
• Validate your creative process through your dissertation and portfolio of work

You’ll engage with a series of stimulating summer projects before your course starts, designed to prepare you for first year of study.

Informed by an intellectually stimulating and challenging academic environment and developed in consultation with industry, including game studio and Rockstar Leeds, you’ll build a strong practical skillset focused on developing your creative practice.

Your learning will be results-driven, taught by staff with a wealth of experience in the principles, theory and application of design.  Our strong links with industry will give you opportunities to start building your professional network whilst you study.

Your attendance at annual events such Games Republic, London’s Vertex 2D/3D art conference and guest lectures by leading practitioners such as Disney Animator Aaron Blaise will give access to the world's best creatives.  

Specialist facilities:-
Within specialist facilities, software such as ZBrush, 3ds Max, Maya, Substance Painter, Adobe Creative Suite and HD screen-based drawing tablets, will provide you with the opportunity to reach your creative potential.

Combining modules that explore architectural design, this course will help you gain an in-depth knowledge and skillset across design, arts, media and humanities.

As part of your course you'll:

• Focus on four interdisciplinary strands: ARCHITECTURAL AGENCY & PRACTICE; DIGITAL ARCHITECTURES; ARCHITECTURE & MEDIA; ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM
• Produce a focused research project in writing
• Develop expertise in appropriate design research methodologies
• Build skills, knowledge and critical judgement for the advanced study of architecture

MA Architecture Futures aims to provide an education that stimulates academic achievement, personal initiative, and acquisition of inter and trans-disciplinary knowledge and skills.

Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), this course focuses on the study of psychology within a range of sport and exercise settings, providing an essential stepping-stone to becoming a Chartered Sport & Exercise Psychologist.

As part of your course you’ll:

• Learn how to conduct initial assessments of clients
• Look at how to maintain professional boundaries
• Analyse data sets
• Develop a systematic, evidence-informed and ethical approach to your work

To support your career goals, you’ll have the opportunity to gain practical experience working with a range of clients, from recreational to elite performers, across a variety of sporting pursuits. This hands-on approach will aid your professional development, enhancing your understanding of ethical and evidence-informed practice.

Develop your theoretical understanding, technical skills and creative practice in the emerging field of sonic arts through a series of lectures, seminars and workshops which aim to challenge preconceptions surrounding musical composition, performance and sound art.

You will explore varied approaches to sound practice through exposure to modern ideas and techniques in the areas of electroacoustic music, spatial sound, contemporary music thinking and sound interactivity. You will have the chance to investigate new software and hardware tools, inquire into the ideas and practical work of the most influential contemporary music thinkers, such as John Cage, Pierre Schaeffer and Brian Eno, and produce a variety of creative artefacts to begin building your own music and sound repertoire.

The course is delivered by a team of practitioners, whose work at the forefront of this field enjoy critical acclaim at an international level, and who will support you in preparing for a career in sound or further study.

Gain the expertise to operate within a global economy and develop your writing and presentation skills to engage with audiences across the world on this accredited course.

The use of the internet, mobile technology and social media has had a huge impact on our lives and the way we communicate information is quite literally available at our fingertips and word of mouth is spreading faster than ever before. This trend is leading to a greater demand for communications professionals who can plan strategic PR campaigns and implement social media and viral campaigns in order to drive businesses forward in the digital age.

You will be paired with an experienced mentor from industry, who will offer valuable advice on your future career and the latest developments in the field. You will also take on a live public relations consultancy project for a client.

Acquire the knowledge and skills needed for a career as an environmental health practitioner by analysing the five main intervention areas: housing, food safety, occupational health and safety, environmental protection and public health. You will develop your understanding of environmental stress factors and their effect on human health and safety, together with the legal and technical frameworks for controlling these risks.

The opportunity to interact with students from other vocational courses will broaden your perspective of environmental health issues, and you will have access to our state-of-the-art acoustics laboratory and our dedicated food inspection facilities to put your expertise into practice. You will also have the chance to engage in simulated sessions, including mock kitchen inspections and staged courtroom trials to see how the law operates in environmental health cases. These scenarios could help you work towards professional registration as an environmental health practitioner.

With a focus on sound design for film and television, this course will allow you to explore the capture of on-location production sound and studio-based post-production activity.

As part of this course, you’ll:

• Create soundtracks for live action film and animation for a variety of platforms and contexts
• Engage with film and sound studies theory
• Develop technical and practical skills in the area of composition and post-production
• Collaborate and negotiate with fellow music students as well as with peers in the wider school including film, dance and performance
• Have the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge to sound production for radio and podcasting

Develop the marketing expertise to make strategic business decisions, manage digital campaigns and understand buyer behaviour.

As part of your course you’ll:

• Gain specific knowledge of marketing ethics, corporate social responsibility and of the ethical and cultural differences between national markets, maximising your employability both in the UK and overseas
• Learn how to understand the thought processes behind every consumer purchase
• Develop the acumen for business management so you can oversee finance, economics, accounting and people 

What would you do if a rival company launched a cheaper product to compete with yours, or the demand for your product shrank in one part of the world? This course will give you the chance to gain real-life business and marketing expertise. You'll test your marketing skills against simulated challenges in our business simulation suite and attend workshops and networking events.

You’ll learn from expert teaching staff with a wealth of professional experience and close working links with the business community.

Develop the technical and creative skills you’ll need to write music for the moving image.

As part of this course you’ll:

• Gain a solid grounding in the theories, techniques and practices essential for contemporary film and television music production
• Have access to a suite of high-quality, professional music studios approved by JAMES, the accrediting body of the Music Producers Guild and the Association of Professional Recording Services
• Develop your composition skills in a range of genres
• Have the chance to work with colleagues from other media courses to further develop your portfolio of work; for example, you could find yourself working alongside student filmmakers from our university's Northern Film School
• Have plenty of opportunities to sharpen your practical skills through our links with local and national music, arts and festival organisations

Our links with local and national music, arts and festival organisations will ensure you get the most from your course. We also provide regular visiting speakers from the music and film industries and you’ll be taught by a highly skilled and experienced teaching team.