For anyone reading this site, there’s a decent chance you’ve thought at some point about whether there’s a more formal way to deepen what you already know about music.
DCU’s School of Theology, Philosophy and Music runs new Masters Degrees In Music courses this year, and between them they cover most of the ways people in this world actually want to go further – writing and thinking about music, performing it at a higher level, or leading and composing for ensembles.
MA in Music, Sound, Culture and Media
The one we’d point you to first is the MA in Music, Sound, Culture and Media – the first masters of its kind to introduce sound studies within an Irish and international context, and the most relevant of the three for anyone working across journalism, criticism, broadcasting, cultural policy or the wider music industry rather than performance itself.
The course brings together expertise from DCU’s School of Communications and School of Theology, Philosophy and Music – two departments that don’t often share a classroom, but whose combined focus on music, media and sound studies gives the programme a distinctive shape.
Who is it for?
It’s designed for people already working or hoping to work across music production, sonic arts, audio-visual production, broadcasting and screen industries, as well as those in cultural policy, arts development, community work, cultural commentators, criticism and education.
If you’re a musician, a producer, a writer, a broadcaster, a curator, or someone working in the arts sector wanting to formalise and extend what you do, this programme is built with you in mind.
Programme overview
What makes it practical rather than purely theoretical is the structure. Modules cover Interdisciplinary Studies in Music, Sound, Culture and Media, The Global Music Industries, Music, Sound and Screen Media, Audio-Visual Media and Cultural Identities, Policies and Infrastructures for the Arts, and a Practicum module for those who want hands-on experience.
There’s also an Audio Production module and a Leadership in Music, Sound, Culture and Media module taught during a dedicated summer school. Students finish with either a dissertation or a practice-based portfolio with an extended essay – so if you’d rather make something than write 20,000 words about it, you can do that.
Full course details and how to apply at dcu.ie.
MA in Creative Music Performance
If your interest runs more toward performance than criticism, DCU also offers the MA in Creative Music Performance – a new one-year, full-time programme bringing together accomplished musicians from classical, jazz, rock and traditional Irish backgrounds to collaborate, refine technique and develop a distinctive artistic voice. Students finish with a lecture-demonstration, dissertation and final concert. Entry requires an audition and interview alongside the usual academic requirements. EU fees are €8,300, also starting September 2026.
Full MA in Creative Music Performance course details and how to apply at dcu.ie.
MA in Choral Studies
And for conductors, composers and choral leaders, there’s the MA in Choral Studies – the first programme of its kind in Ireland, covering choral conducting, composition for voices, historically informed interpretation and the relationship between cultural policy and the arts sector, delivered part-time over two years on Drumcondra campus. Worth noting: this programme is not running for the 2026/27 academic year, so it’s one to keep an eye on for the future rather than apply to right now.
If you’ve ever wanted the time and structure to think properly about why music and sound work the way they do – and to come out the other side with something that credentials all the experience you already have – these courses might work for you.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
