• Undergraduate

Electronic Music Production with Foundation Year BA (Hons)

Overview

Overview

Why study at UWL? 
  • In the top 30% of universities nationwide - The Guardian University Guide 2024 
  • University of the Year for Social Inclusion - Daily Mail University Guide 2024 
  • Best university for Student Experience and Teaching Quality in the UK - The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 
  • Number 1 London university (non-specialist) - National Student Survey 2023** 
Why study this course?

This course takes people with an existing passion for electronic music and through a systematic programme of artist development, equips them with the skills and confidence to achieve their creative goals.

Each artist on the programme will be exposed to the huge range of opportunities that exist in the music industry, to exploit the commercial potential of their talents.

The University of West London provides a unique approach to the field of electronic music education by allowing space for individual talent to flourish.

The course is carefully structured to recognise and nurture your unique artistic identity, allowing you to develop and grow over three distinct years of study as a composer, performer and freelance producer.

During the course, you will be able to work with a wide range of musicians and artists in one of the largest audio complexes in Europe.

View some of our students' recent work.

Foundation Year

The foundation year course is designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to continue onto your Honours degree. You will study a range of subjects that will underpin your future study and also gain valuable experience of university life, with full access to campus facilities. Successful completion of the year allows you to progress straight onto Level 4 of this course.

A day in the life of a music technology student video still

Select your desired study option, then pick a start date to see relevant course information:

Study options:
We support flexible study by offering some of our courses part-time or via distance learning. To give you real world experience before you graduate, we also offer some courses with a placement or internship. All available options are listed here. Your choices may affect some details of your course, such as the duration and cost per year. Please re-check the details on this page if you change your selection.

Start date:

If your desired start date is not available, try selecting a different study option.

Why study Electronic Music Production with Foundation Year with us?

Why study Electronic Music Production with Foundation Year with us?

What our students say…

I'm glad I have found a place that teaches not just a field of my interest but also assists me to broaden my vision and skills necessary for this competitive industry. The courses are designed with current awareness and state-of-the-art facilities, also the staff and lecturers are very supportive and understanding. I could not be happier with my chosen course and University.

Angela Kibson
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£1m+ investment in the Paragon Annex Studios. Our studio complex is now one of the largest in Europe.
In-house Record Label London Noise Records
London College of Music: founded in 1887
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Course detail & modules

Course detail & modules

This course is a three-year journey of personal artistic development and musical creativity in which you will learn to harness and master hardware and software instruments to develop and perfect your productions.

Through theory and practical studies, you will come to consider electronic music as not a single genre but as a way of making music that can be applied to a multitude of styles.

  • Year 1: establish fundamental theories and skills, culminating with the release of your first track
  • Year 2: take a deeper look into the history and genres of electronic music, exposing you to new compositional techniques, and the chance to deliver your first live performance
  • Year 3: apply your skills to new, career-focused disciplines, and complete your studies with an ambitious and exciting project of your own design.

Facilities

The University of West London offers an excellent range of facilities including:

  • one of the largest audio complexes in Europe
  • seven professionally equipped studios
  • numerous project studios
  • two 24-hour Mac labs fully loaded with the latest industry software
  • a dedicated Electronic Music Lab containing a wide selection of vintage and modern electronic instruments and equipment.

Location

Our location, close to the vibrant music scene in London, provides unique opportunities for placements, work experience and networking. And don’t forget, we have many sister courses in music performance meaning you have access to hundreds of musicians and vocalists on campus to use in your productions.

Expert tuition

Led by experienced tutors who are actively practising in the music business, you will learn about new findings at the cutting-edge of music technology research. Teaching and assessment methods are diverse, inspiring and career-relevant, ensuring that you graduate with a range of transferable skills as creatively, technologically and commercially literate electronic musicians ready to face the multi-disciplinary challenges of this endlessly exciting industry.

Foundation year

There are many reasons for joining a foundation year course; you may not have the exact subjects or grades at A level to meet the entry requirements, you may have been living abroad or want to change direction with your career. Whatever your starting point, the foundation year offers a firm grounding in the skills and knowledge that you will need to get the most from your studies and thrive at University. Successful completion of the foundation year allows you to progress straight onto Level 4 of this course.

Compulsory modules

  • Academic Performance

    This module allows you to further develop a range of transferable skills that you will demonstrate in your own subject-specific studies and apply to a final piece of written work at the end of the module. The module is designed for you to further develop your skills in a range of academic, investigative and research techniques including how to evaluate and select evidence appropriate to your discipline from a range of learning resources. The module also aims to develop your critical thinking and writing strategies, encouraging you to become aware of personal learning development and to apply the introductory skills learned in your first semester in order to produce a final piece of academic writing relevant to your discipline.

  • Personalised Learning

    The Personalised Learning module is intended to equip you with the study skills needed to successfully progress onto level 4, the first year of undergraduate study. Tutor group sessions are an integral part of the module, where you will consolidate your learning and frame it in the context of your subject area. The module will focus on various aspects of study skills, such as those skills related to reading and writing, learning approaches, problem-solving techniques, critical thinking, researching, referencing, plagiarism, legal research and time management.

  • Sound Production Workshop

    This module will provide the fundamental skills required to be successful in analogue studio-based work, exploring technique through supported practice. The module will focus on the fundamental skills of signal routing between hardware devices typical in modern studios. 

  • Project Studio

    This module will move you towards the applied creative side of studio production work. You will explore a range of tools, techniques and instruments typically found in modern pop and electronic music styles. By doing so you will learn to operate and perform with these tools in an integrated analogue and digital small-studio environment.

    This module will introduce you to concepts and practice of:

    • Sequencing
    • MIDI
    • Sampling
    • Drum programming
    • Synchronisation
    • Compositional strategies
  • Digital Skills

    This module will give you the chance to edit music video material, to use Photoshop to design cover art, to create a band web page using HTML and to develop your blogging skills in WordPress.

  • Introduction to Contemporary Production Studies

    Making music involves understanding how it works – the sounds and the structures – and in this module you will examine the way that others have made music and use some of those ideas to make your own productions. You will explore musical structure, rhythm, melody, harmony, instruments and how computers represent those sounds on a screen.

Compulsory modules

  • Recording Theory

    Recording Theory is a broad module introducing a variety of topics vital to the field of music technology. It also serves as a base for the more practical and technically orientated modules in the music technology degree courses at LCM/UWL. It is a key module designed to equip students with a grounding in the core knowledge and techniques germane to the disciplinary nature of the music technology courses.

    The module aims to provide the student with a solid grounding in the theory, techniques and terminology associated with contemporary acoustic and digital recording practice, as well as ensuring a fundamental grasp of the basic physics of sound and sound propagation.

  • Synthesis and Sampling

    The bedrock of electronic music is synthesis and sampling. These two technologies, more than any other, have shaped the field of modern electronic music making. In this module you will get to grips with the fundamental principles of both and get comfortable with the wide variety of tools and techniques available to the modern electronic musician. You will then learn to exploit your new skills by programming your own unique sounds and using them in your music.

  • EDM Practice

    Of course production is important but let’s not forget, it’s all about the music right? Your releases will only be as good as the musical ideas you can communicate. We cannot side-step the issue of musical composition and theory, it’s an essential skill for producers and performers and this is the module where you’ll develop your understanding in this area,  learning how to apply this knowledge in the context of beat-making and the digital audio workstation.

  • Popular Music Analysis

    If you understand how other people’s music works, it will help you develop your own creative vision. Different music genres all have their own particular sonic signature and this module is where you learn how to identify and talk about the elements which have defined recorded music, from past to present allowing you to absorb the techniques and mix aesthetics to build them into your tracks.

  • Recording Practice

    Recording Practice will help you develop the required skills needed to operate studio recording technology to a high standard. The module will further the listening skills covered in Recording Theory and will increase your sensitivity to different recording and musical contexts. It covers a comprehensive overview of contemporary studio technology and the recording process.

    The module will also extend ear-training techniques and examine each component of studio technology in detail. In addition, it will address how the techniques of recording are coupled to the technology, providing each student with a backbone of knowledge designed to help the recording demands of the second year.

  • Planning a Release

    Throughout your first year you will have been recording music and producing tracks in a variety of styles and genres. In this module we think about what happens to the music next. How do you connect your music with an audience and what strategies and distribution techniques can you use to generate revenue. We hope this module will provide an exciting end to the year, culminating in a planned release of your music.

Compulsory modules

  • Electronic Music Production

    Entering your second year means you can expect to go up a gear in the sophistication and complexity of the work we’ll be asking you to do. We want you to have a forensic knowledge of past and current trends in EDM and to articulate where this field may go in the future. This module provides a balance of research and practice, so we’ll expect to hear the results of your analysis flowing out of your tracks.

  • New Modular Music

    No one involved in electronic music can have missed the massive rise in popularity of modular synthesis and the hugely important role modular systems play in modern electronic music, across all fields and genres. We are lucky enough to have a number of modular systems at UWL, which you will be exposed to, learning how they work individually and then having the buzz of bringing them all together playing with other musicians in a modular ensemble.

  • Artist Development

    You have set yourself up to enter a hugely competitive creative industry and so, how you present yourself, and your work, to the world is extremely important. The social media landscape changes at an incredible rate but in this module we will prepare you to adapt your message and your personal brand, using the latest tools and technologies to promote your individual artist identity to the world.

  • Research Methods

    Academia is all about searching for something new and we use research to do it. Working in the creative arts is very similar, working to find that new sound or production technique, which will set us apart from other artists. In this module these two endeavours are brought together and we will show you how to use the power of research to fuel your creativity.

  • Hip Hop Production

    Hip Hop Production is a combined lecture and workshop-based module, designed to introduce you to the creation of Hip Hop music.

    It follows the historical development of technology and production techniques in the genre, from the initial use of Turntablism through Digital Sampling, Interpolation, and Synthesis. It also provides a solid grounding of these techniques within the larger aesthetic and cultural context of the African-American musical traditions that are vital to its practice.

    The module consists of short weekly lectures on the history or use of specific styles and techniques of Hip Hop DJs and producers. But the heart of the module is the weekly creative group work and workshops where you will learn, hands-on and in collaboration with your classmates, how to produce your own tracks.

  • Live Electronic Performance

    Your first year ended with the release of your music and the high point of your second year will be a public performance of your music. This will involve the planning and execution of a public facing event from the ground up. We will explore the many ways you can bring your music to the stage. You will have to raise your game, not just creatively but also in terms of planning and management.

Compulsory modules

  • Sonic Art

    Although you will have made a lot of diverse music during your journey at UWL, much of what you will have created will have been related to popular culture in one form or another. In this module we give you a very different perspective, using sound as a tool to make art. There are a huge number of creative contexts and opportunities to generate revenue outside of the purely commercial sector and this module will explore this field and the artists who earn their living from it.

  • Audio-Visual Design

    In this module we want to build on your experience of planning and performing an event in the second year. This time however we want you to raise your game and make a work that is truly multi-media in nature, something that looks as good as it sounds. This could involve this could involve interactive visualisations, lighting controllers, or generative animations, but whatever you choose it will hopefully deliver a memorably experience for your audience.

  • Emerging Technologies

    This module examines cutting-edge technologies and emerging trends in music technology and creative arts in general. It will allow students to gain knowledge of the latest technologies that are disrupting the industry at all levels. From composition, production, dissemination/consumption to performance, technology is redefining the way art is created and consumed.

  • Electronic Music for Film and Games

    During your time at UWL you will have picked up a huge range of technical and creative skills, many of which can be used to earn money outside of the music industry. This module will show you ways in which your talents can be exploited in the film and games industry, exploring their different workflows and responding to their distinctive briefs. This will provide you the opportunities to spread your sonic-signature sound across more media outlets, giving your brand even more strings to its bow.

  • Major Project

    In the final year of your degree course you will undertake a major project. This module is your chance to create your dream project with a high degree of independence.

    You will be allocated a supervisor and then given the freedom to create a piece of work, which you feel really represents you as a music technology student.

    You will be guided and supported, but this is your vision and your chance to show the world your achievements.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

72 UCAS points required from level 3 qualifications

These can include:

  • A Levels at grades B and C (if you have two A levels) or grades D, D and D (if you have three), or above
  • BTEC Extended Diploma with Merit, Merit, Pass
  • Access to HE Diploma
  • T Levels

You also need GCSE English and Maths (grade 9 – 4 / A* - C) or Level 2 equivalents.

 

If you do not have a formal Level 3 Music Technology qualification, you will be required to present a portfolio of your work.

Looking for BA (Hons) Electronic Music Production without Foundation Year?

View course
Whether you are changing career or don't have the exact subjects and grades required for this course, you might want to choose this course with a foundation year. This will give you an extra year's study to prepare you for the standard degree programme, where you can go on to graduate with a full Honours degree. Follow the link to see full details of the course with foundation year.

Mature applicants (aged 21+): If you do not hold the qualifications listed but have relevant work experience, you are welcome to apply. Your application will be considered on an individual basis.

We take pride in our inclusiveness and the diversity of our student population. We have a vibrant mature student community and look forward to welcoming you.

Looking for BA (Hons) Electronic Music Production without Foundation Year?

View course
Whether you are changing career or don't have the exact subjects and grades required for this course, you might want to choose this course with a foundation year. This will give you an extra year's study to prepare you for the standard degree programme, where you can go on to graduate with a full Honours degree. Follow the link to see full details of the course with foundation year.
5.5 IELTS or above

You need to meet our English language requirement - a minimum of IELTS 5.5 for each of the four individual components (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening). Visit our English language requirements page for information on other English language tests we accept.

You also need academic qualifications at the same level as UK applicants. In some countries where teaching is in English, we may accept local qualifications. Check for local equivalents

We offer pre-sessional English language courses if you do not meet these requirements.

Find out more about our English Language courses.

Looking for BA (Hons) Electronic Music Production without Foundation Year?

View course
Whether you are changing career or don't have the exact subjects and grades required for this course, you might want to choose this course with a foundation year. This will give you an extra year's study to prepare you for the standard degree programme, where you can go on to graduate with a full Honours degree. Follow the link to see full details of the course with foundation year.

Mature applicants (aged 21+): If you do not hold the qualifications listed but have relevant work experience, you are welcome to apply. Your application will be considered on an individual basis.

We take pride in our inclusiveness and the diversity of our student population. We have a vibrant mature student community and look forward to welcoming you.

Looking for BA (Hons) Electronic Music Production without Foundation Year?

View course
Whether you are changing career or don't have the exact subjects and grades required for this course, you might want to choose this course with a foundation year. This will give you an extra year's study to prepare you for the standard degree programme, where you can go on to graduate with a full Honours degree. Follow the link to see full details of the course with foundation year.
Fees & funding

Fees & funding

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The fee above is the cost per year of your course.

If your course runs for two years or more, you will need to pay the fee for each academic year at the start of that year. If your course runs for less than two years, the cost above is for your full course and you will need to pay the full fee upfront.

Government regulation does affect tuition fees and the fees listed for courses starting in the 2025/26 academic year are subject to change.

If no fee is shown above then the fees for this course are not available yet. Please check again later for updates.

Funding your studies

You may be eligible for a student loan to cover the cost of tuition fees, or a maintenance loan. Additional funding is available to some types of students, such as those with dependants and disabled students.

We offer generous bursaries and scholarships to make sure your aspirations are your only limit. In recent years, hundreds of students on a four-year degree with a foundation year have received our Path to Success Scholarship.

View full details, including conditions and eligibility.

{{ formatCurrencyValue(currentVariantData.field_p_cv_int_main_fee.name) }} per year

The fee above is the cost per year of your course.

If your course runs for two years or more, you will need to pay the fee for each academic year at the start of that year. If your course runs for less than two years, the cost above is for your full course and you will need to pay the full fee upfront.

Government regulation does affect tuition fees and the fees listed for courses starting in the 2025/26 academic year are subject to change.

If no fee is shown above then the fees for this course are not available yet. Please check again later for updates.

International students - funding your studies

We offer scholarships for international students including International Ambassador Scholarships. 

Further information about funding and financial support for international students is available from the UK Council for International Student Affairs.

 

Teaching staff

Teaching staff

Greg Smith staff profile

Greg Smith

Follow Greg on Twitter and Instagram for the latest course events and news.

Follow Greg on Twitter and Instagram for the latest course events and news.

Study & career progression

Study & career progression

A man using a sound desk

Once you complete your course, you could go on to work as a:

  • ADR recordist
  • assistant engineer (studio)
  • audio director
  • broadcast engineer
  • DJ/remixer
  • live sound mix engineer
  • music editor

Past graduates have gone on to work with the likes of Lady Gaga, Maroon Five, Peter Gabriel, U2 and Trevor Horn. You may also want to explore a related area of study. Please see our postgraduate courses.

How to apply

How to apply

ARTSFEST

Someone operating a sound desk during a dress rehearsal

Find out more about the work our students produce and view some of their recent work by visiting our Music Technology ARTSFEST page.

Important notes for applicants

Disclaimer

*Modern universities - defined as higher education institutions that were granted university status in, and subsequent to, 1992.

**The National Student Survey 2022 and 2023 - Based on an average of all 27 questions. Excludes specialist institutions.

Testimonials - our students or former students provided all of our testimonials - often a student from the course but sometimes another student. For example, the testimonial often comes from another UWL student when the course is new.

Optional modules - where optional modules are offered they will run subject to staff availability and viable student numbers opting to take the module.

Videos - all videos on our course pages were accurate at the time of filming. In some cases a new Course Leader has joined the University since the video was filmed.

Availability of placements - if you choose a course with placement/internship route we would like to advise you that if a placement/internship opportunity does not arise when you are expected to undertake the placement then the University will automatically transfer you to the non-internship route, this is to ensure you are still successful in being awarded a degree.