Our BMus Vocal Performance degree is all about you, the vocalist. It’s designed specifically for singers, offering you the chance to explore many areas within the industry and prepare for your future career. This programme allows you to focus on your specific interests, with pathways in both classical and popular music, through a mix of optional and independent projects.
Our goal is to help you become a confident performer who can take on roles in the music world. We aim to develop your technical skills in performance and practice through vocational training. You will also get a strong foundation in musicianship, stagecraft, and languages.
You will learn about performance technologies and recording techniques, gain session musician skills, and understand how to arrange vocals. You will also work with others to create performances and learn to collaborate with a director and musical director. By the end of this programme, you will have advanced vocal performance skills.
A distinctive feature of our programme is the one-to-one singing lessons and one-to-one repertoire coaching provided weekly, in each year. These sessions are tailored to your interests and career goals, offering highly personalised learning. They also provide a great chance for our staff to support you on a pastoral level.
Throughout your studies, you will engage in various performances. These include concerts and masterclasses that will enrich your learning experience. You will also develop your vocal, musical and performance skills, preparing you for a successful career as a performer.
Course details
- Full-time
- On-campus
- English
- Bilingual
Undergraduate Fees
Home (Full-time): £9,535 per year
Overseas (Full-time): £15,525 per year
Why choose this course?
What you will learn
Our Philosophy
Our philosophy centres on personalised learning, ensuring each vocalist develops their unique voice and style. Through a blend of practical training and theoretical study, we prepare students for diverse roles in the industry, fostering technical skills, musicianship, and professional growth. Delivered by expert academics and practitioners of national and international repute, this programme takes place in a specialist facility in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales.
In your first year, you will focus on building a solid foundation in musicianship, vocal techniques, and stagecraft. You will explore various musical genres and start developing your performance skills. The curriculum includes one-to-one principal study tuition and collaborative projects to enhance your learning experience.
Compulsory
(20 credits)
(20 credits)
(20 credits)
(20 credits)
(20 credits)
(20 credits)
Year two delves deeper into advanced vocal techniques and performance skills. You will study recording techniques and session musician skills, learning to arrange vocals and work with performance technologies. This year also offers opportunities for concerts and masterclasses, providing real-world performance experience.
Compulsory
(20 credits)
(20 credits)
(20 credits)
(20 credits)
(20 credits)
Optional
(20 credits)
(20 credits)
In your final year, you will refine your singing abilities and specialise in your chosen area. You will undertake a significant performance project, working closely with a director or musical director. This year prepares you for a professional career, with a focus on personalised learning and achieving your career aspirations.
Compulsory
(40 credits)
(20 credits)
(30 Credits)
(30 credits )
Course Disclaimer
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The modules outlined above provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this course based on recent academic teaching. We continuously review our courses to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand. Where your course includes optional modules, these are to provide an element of choice within the course. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed.
You’ll typically complete 120 credits per year of study on a full-time course. For more information visit our Student Agreement.
Ranking
Staff
Our People
You will be taught and supported by a wide range of professional staff and teams here to help you get the university experience you are looking for. Our teaching staff were ranked 2nd in Wales for Teaching, Assessment and Feedback and Academic Support (NSS 2024) meaning that the support and feedback you get will help you learn and develop strong academic skills. Our students have placed us 1st in Wales for Learning Opportunities and Student Voice (NSS 2024) meaning that there are a wide range of opportunities available to enhance your studies and that students play an active role in shaping their learning experiences. Our commitment to your learning has seen our students place us as 1st in Wales and joint 3rd in the UK for student satisfaction (Times Higher Education, 2024, ‘Overall Positivity’ measure). Find out more about our academic staff who teach across our courses.
Facilities
Performance, Dance and Musical Theatre Facilities Cardiff
Based in Haywood house our students studying in Cardiff have access to several rehearsal studios, including a dance studio with Harlequin dance floor, portable mirrors and Ballet Barres along with a Yamaha PA system and stage piano, a recital room and a computer lab all within walking distance of the city centre.
Meet our Students
Meet our Students
Further information
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90 UCAS Tariff Points
e.g. A-levels: A/B, BTEC: DDM, IB: 30 and Audition
The UCAS tariff score is applicable to you if you have recently studied a qualification that has a UCAS tariff equivalence. UCAS provides a tariff calculator for you to work out what your qualification is worth within the UCAS tariff.
We are interested in creative people who demonstrate a strong commitment to performance and, therefore, we welcome applications from individuals from a wide range of backgrounds.
We arrange auditions and interviews for all applicants to assess suitability for the chosen course.
GCSEs
GCSE grade A*-C (grade 9-4 in England) in English and Mathematics is also required.
Admissions Advice and Support
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, such as your background, experiences and individual circumstances. This is known as ‘Contextual Admissions’. For specific advice and support you can contact our enquiries team for more information about entry requirements.
English language requirements
If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.0, with not less than 5.5 in each of the sub-tests. We also accept other English language tests.
Visit the International Applications section of our website to find out more about our English Language Requirements and pre-sessional English Language Courses.
Visa and funding requirements
If you are not from the UK and you do not already have residency here, you may need to apply for a visa.
For courses of more than six months’ duration you will require a Student visa.
International students who require a Student visa should apply for our full-time courses as these qualify for Student visa sponsorship.
For full information read our visa application and guides.
Please note students receiving US Federal Aid are only able to apply for in-person, on-campus programmes which will have no elements of online study.
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Assessment on this programme is by a range of methods offering opportunities to present learning in a variety of different ways throughout the course. A number of the methods include performances, portfolios, technical assessments, recording, electronic testing, arranging, mock auditions, podcasting, essay writing and presentations.
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Additional costs of sourcing musical scores, recordings or academic texts could be in the region of £600-£800 over the duration of the programme.
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Some modules in this course are available to study through the medium of Welsh either fully or partially. In all cases students will be able to submit written assessments through the medium of Welsh.
If you choose to study your course either fully or partially through the medium of Welsh, you may be eligible to apply for scholarships and bursaries to support you with your studies.
We are continuously reviewing our Welsh medium provision, the precise availability of modules will vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand. Where your course offers modules available through the medium of Welsh this may vary from year to year, and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means the availability of specific Welsh medium modules cannot be guaranteed.
Extracurricular Welsh Opportunities
There are many ways to engage with Welsh culture and life at UWTSD, including joining clubs and societies for Welsh speakers and becoming a member of our vibrant Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol branch.
Opportunities to Learn Welsh
We also provide a variety of opportunities to learn and develop your Welsh language skills.
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You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available, please visit our Bursaries and Scholarships section.
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It is anticipated that graduates of the Vocal Performance programme will commence careers as performers, creators, teachers, recording artists and within various other related disciplines. The BMus (Hons) Vocal Performance may also lead to further postgraduate study.