| Unit name | Professional Development in Music |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MUSI30154 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Hornby |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Music |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
This unit will give students the opportunity to move beyond academia into real-world situations in the musical world and test and expand their knowledge and experience through that encounter. Students will have a chance to learn about the applicability of their musical knowledge and experiences to professional situations outside the university but will also learn about the world of professional or community organisations in the musical world and gain a better understanding of the opportunities they offer and the challenges they face.
Supervised and supported by the Department of Music, students have the choice of finding a work placement, developing a project with a professional or community organisation or a freelance project outside the university. The academic support and the assessment will provide the opportunity to critically reflect upon the experiences made in the course of the professional activities, with regard to students’ professional skill sets and with regard to the situation of the professional musical world outside of the university.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
The final year of the BA programme is meant to both cap the musical and academic learning of students and to prepare them for the musical world beyond the university. Professional Development in Music is a crucial element of the latter and will provide a bridge to the world of professional activities in the musical sector (or parts of the cultural sector in which musical abilities, knowledge and experience are relevant).
An overview of content
The unit provides the opportunity of a structured, supported and supervised encounter with the musical and cultural world beyond the university. Students will spend a minimum of 75 hours in partnership with a company or a professional or community organisation relevant to music, in order to test and develop their professional skills and to gain a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges in the cultural sector beyond academia.
The professional development activity may take the form of one or more of the following:
Students will receive supervision from an allocated tutor in the Department of Music, as well as benefitting from input from professional services in the University, in order to develop their professionalisation. Students will be enabled to develop their professional-development activities and establish links with the musical/cultural sector and will provide evidence of this through a mentor’s or client’s report.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
The unit will provide the opportunity to assess the musical knowledge, abilities and experiences students have gained through their degree against the requirements and challenges of work in the musical/cultural sector outside the university; it will allow them to identify gaps in their skill set; and it will provide them with a direct experience of the activities, opportunities and challenges of companies or organisations in the musical world.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative)
n/a
Tasks which do not count towards your unit mark but are required for credit (zero-weighted)
If a student has undertaken their professional development activity in/with a company or professional or community organisation (i.e. options 1, 2 or 3 listed in the content overview), the partner should provide a satisfactory report of the development activity. (0%, required for credit)
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative)
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete assessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form of number of reassessment required.
Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MUSI30154).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
