Music and Music Psychology

Music and music psychology brings together two ways of engaging with one of the most fundamental human activities. Music as an academic discipline encompasses performance, composition, analysis, musicology, and the study of music across different cultural and historical contexts. Music psychology investigates the cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions of musical experience, asking how we perceive sound, why music affects us, how musical ability develops, and what role music plays in social life and wellbeing.

The combination deepens both fields, because understanding music psychologically enriches the study of musical works and practices, while musical knowledge and experience gives music psychology a richness that a purely laboratory-based approach would lack.

At the University of Leeds, this full-time, three-year programme balances modules in music psychology with those exploring music across a wide range of genres, styles, cultural traditions, and geographic contexts. You will develop skills as a creative, critical, and reflective thinker, learning to bring analytical and empirical perspectives to bear on musical questions. The programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, meaning your studies extend beyond the classroom into professional and international settings.

Optional modules allow you to personalise your studies across areas including aesthetics and analysis, giving you the opportunity to follow your strongest interests. The typical entry tariff is 184 UCAS points.

Graduates of music and music psychology programmes pursue careers in music education, community music, arts administration, music therapy, research, and performance. The psychological dimension of the degree also supports careers in healthcare settings where music is used therapeutically, in schools and community organisations working with music as a tool for wellbeing, and in policy and advocacy roles concerned with the place of music in society. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in music psychology, musicology, music education, or psychology, while others move directly into the music industry, broadcasting, or arts management.