Home Courses Music MA Composition for Film, TV and Games
Students using recording studio

Explore composition in film, TV and games and train to write and produce commercially viable music across media industries

12 months Full Time
Bognor Regis Campus

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Overview

This MA Composition for Film, TV and Games degree gives you professional training in writing and producing commercially viable music for the media industries. The course is 12 months full time and starts in September.

This course explores specialist compositional techniques, develops your operational understanding of hybrid studio technologies, and gives you advanced productional skills to equip you for a career in industry.

The degree mirrors the industry and emphasises working with ‘real-world’ briefs, meeting deadlines and working in a professional environment with state-of-the-art recording and media technology. You will learn to process critical notes and interpret direction, and to iterate your work and deliver a finished product on time, on budget and on brief.

You will learn to prepare for and run a recording session, discover how to manage music budgets and explore how to navigate the industry as a media composer. You will work collaboratively, building networks with post-graduate directors, screenwriters, editors and producers, and have opportunities to contribute to professional projects.

During the final six months of the programme you will engage with self-directed independent study as you create and produce your major research project. This project is supported through mentoring and staged draft submissions. Your project could be a combination of artefacts, a single large-scale specialist production supported by critical reflective analysis, or a significant and appropriate dissertation piece.

Partnerships

As part of the Department of Creative Industries you will benefit from our industry partnerships with companies including HyperX, DXRacer, Twitch, ARRI, and AVID, and be able to access to industry standard software such as Nuke, Maya and Houdini.

Sontronics logo
London Metropolitan Orchestra
Slightly Mad Studios logo
Twitch logo
Hyper logo
DX Racer logo
AVID logo
ARRI Certified Film School logo

Teaching and Assessment

How you will learn

You will learn from experts in the fields of screenwriting, directing, producing, cinematography, picture editing and sound design. Your lecturers and tutors will include well established and award-winning filmmakers.

You will take part in individual tutorials and seminars in groups of up to 20 students.

In your first year (or first two years if you study part time) you will engage with lectures, research, analysis and skills development classes to develop your specialist and collaborative understanding. You will be taught through technical and creative workshops and project development sessions. You will be expected to complete independent study and practical individual and group work outside of timetabled sessions.

In the final six months of the course you will increase your independent study and industrial interactions. You are expected to be professional at all times and work towards establishing a professional network that will help you access professional opportunities after you graduate.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a range of assignments including:

  • Summative assessments including written and practical coursework
  • Presentations
  • Screenings
  • Portfolio and project work

Thomas

MA Composition for Film, TV and Games graduate
"I can safely say that this course was probably one of the most significant milestones in my budding career as a media composer. It is expertly led by Stephen Baysted whose knowledge, experience and hands-on teaching approach provides the perfect practical training for a career in the industry. We had the opportunity to score a multitude of adverts, short films and video game cutscenes, which were all workshopped by Stephen every week. After graduating, I prepared my demo reel which consisted of work I had completed on the course and began sending it out in the hope of finding some work. Not only did this lead to composing 5 library albums for various MCPS libraries, but I was also lucky enough to be picked up by the London based music production company Mcasso. Making connections on the course brought me to work as a freelance orchestrator for Matthew Slater, where in the summer of 2021 I had the amazing opportunity to help him orchestrate season 8 of ITV's flagship drama Endeavour. So overall the MA composition for Film TV & Games has lead me down multiple pathways which have jump-started my career as a media composer. If you’re considering a career as a media composer then I can’t recommend this course enough."

The Course

What you will study

You will study a range of modules on this course. These modules are:

  • Style and Genres
  • Programming, Production and Studio Technologies
  • Research and the Industry
  • Composing Moving Image
  • Research and the Industry
  • Collaborative Project
  • Research and the Industry
  • Specialist Project or Research Project

This list is indicative and subject to change.

Facilities

Use industry standard equipment

Work Placements

Gain practical experience

You will benefit from our established relationships with industry partners and have regular access to work placement and project opportunities at the Engineering and Digital Technology Park, with chances to work collaboratively with both commercial and non commercial partners. 

Careers

What you could do after this course

This MA Composition for Film, TV and Games course will help you start your career in a range of industries that use moving image and music.

Some of the industries you could work in include:

  • Gaming
  • TV
  • Film
  • Radio
  • Advertising

You could choose to continue your studies and enter the academic research environment through a Professional Doctorate pathway.

Course Costs

Course Fees 2024/25

UK fee
£9,828
International fee
£16,074

For further details about fees, please see our Tuition Fees page.

For further details about international scholarships, please see our Scholarships page.

University of Chichester alumni who have completed a full undergraduate degree at the University will receive a 15% discount on their postgraduate fees.

For more information contact Stephen Baysted: s.baysted@chi.ac.uk.

Entry Requirements

Typical offers (individual offers may vary):

Honours degree
2:2 or higher
in a related discipline.
A Level qualification
or equivalent.
IELTS
6.5
with no element lower than 5.5.

Auditions

You will need to interview for this course.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

How do I apply?

Click the ‘Apply now’ button to go to our postgraduate application form.

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