Studying

Information for new students

All art and cultural studies have one thing in common: their subjects relate to concrete cultural practices. Music is written, practiced and heard, loved or hated, thought about and discussed. All students interested in studying Musicology have their own, very personal relationships with music as a whole or with a particular genre of music. It is important and also necessary to have, or develop, a passion for the subject that you want to deal with during your studies. However, having a passion for music alone does not mean you will be equally as passionate about musicology ‒ a lack of knowledge of this fact often gives rise to false expectations among first-year students.

The degree programme Musicology deals with the reflection on music and its manifestations. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a practical but theoretical discipline. Here, students learn neither to play an instrument nor to compose music, but will rather acquire comprehensive factual knowledge about music and its diverse history as well as develop the ability to critically reflect this knowledge, both in verbal and written form. Musicology students learn to think about music in a structured way and to examine it scientifically. In this respect, the degree programme is not a specific vocational training, but offers a broad basis for a plethora of professional opportunities (see the curriculum), which largely depend on the students' own initiative. The curriculum allows options for a wide range of specialisations. Despite the lack of practical relevance because of the theoretical nature of musicology, some basic practical skills are a prerequisite for successful progress in your studies. This includes being able to read music scores (including knowledge of various clefs or transposing instruments) as well as trained hearing and basic knowledge of musical compositions. It is necessary that students acquire these skills in self-study at the beginning of their studies, if they have not already learned them previously.

One of the most important prerequisites for studying musicology is curiosity, as well as understanding various contexts in which the discipline is embedded. Prospective students can use Unigate Musicology to find out whether the degree programme meets their expectations.

Faculty of Humanities Basic Module in the winter semester

Faculty of Humanities Basic Module in the summer semester

Regarding all the information about admission, please refer to the Department of Academic Affairs.