Bachelor of Music

A Bachelor of Music degree is a bachelor's degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon the completion of a four-year program of studies in music. In the United States, the B.M. is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music.

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In the University of Oxford the degree of Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.) is a postgraduate degree by examination (the undergraduate degree is in the Faculty of Arts).

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In the University of Cambridge the degree of Bachelor of Music (Mus.B.) can be taken by final-year undergraduates (i.e. those who have completed the first part of the Music Tripos) in place of their B.A., or as a postgraduate degree either residentially or externally.

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This is an extract from the Faculty of Music website:

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A student can register as a candidate for the Mus.B. provided that he/she (a) has kept at least seven terms as a matriculated student of the University of Cambridge and (b) has obtained honours (or has attained the honours standard) in any part of the Music Tripos. No student may, in the same term, be a candidate both for the Mus.B. examination and for any other University examination (except the examination for the Diploma or Certificate in Modern Languages). Though it is possible to take the Mus.B. in place of Part II, in practice no candidate does so, since by such action he or she would be disqualified from completing the B.A. course. The Mus.B. is normally taken as a postgraduate course, with most candidates taking the examination in the twelfth term following matriculation, though it is possible to return to take the examination after a longer interval. The examination for the Mus.B. consists of two sections.

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Section I

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An instrumental or vocal recital. Candidates must submit a programme of instrumental or vocal music lasting approximately ninety minutes. From this the Examiners will hear a recital of at least forty minutes' music. Candidates will be given three weeks' notice of this selection. Each candidate must be responsible for providing an accompanist and a page turner, where required, and must provide an additional copy of the works for the Examiners.

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Section II

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A dissertation of between 10,000 and 15,000 words (excluding bibliography and appendices but including footnotes) on a subject proposed by the candidate and approved by the Faculty Board. The candidate will be required to sign a declaration that the dissertation is his or her own work, unaided except as may be specified in the declaration, and that it does not contain material that has already been used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose.

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A paper of three hours' duration on the background of the subject of the candidate's dissertation.

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The two Sections of the examination must be taken together, whether at a candidate's first attempt or at any subsequent attempt, except that if a candidate has failed in not more than one Section the student may be allowed to present for re-examination in that Section alone.

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