Mathematics and Music

With our BA Mathematics and Music undergraduate degree, explore two interconnected disciplines as you study technical language and formulae alongside musical technique and practice.
Mathematics and Music both involve patterns and structures; and notions such as octaves, chords, scales, and keys are all based in mathematics.
Your Music degree will encompass musicology, performance and composition, with opportunities to specialise in one of these disciplines.

Meanwhile, your undergraduate Mathematics studies give you access to varied topics, developing skills such as the ability to formulate and tackle problems, to think logically, to use technical language and to express complex ideas clearly and accurately.

Why study this course?

BA Maths and Music is right for you if you want to...

Benefit from our links with industry – Forging a close connection with industry can help your career soar. The Mathematics department has strong links with a wide range of high profile companies, including E.ON, Caterpillar, Jaguar Land Rover, the Office for National Statistics, R&A, FDM Group, Barnett Waddingham and IBM.

Enjoy a broad choice of modules – The choice of Mathematics modules from your third year are very broad, ranging from the highly abstract to the highly applicable. Modules in year four are reflective of staff research interests and classes are often small and highly interactive. You can therefore specialise in the areas of Mathematics that interest you.

Experience exceptional facilities – You will benefit from some of the best facilities for undergraduate music study and practice in the country, including state-of-the-art facilities in our Bramall Music Building and the magnificent Art Deco Concert Hall in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts. You will also have access to practice rooms, electro-acoustic music studios, computer workstations and early instruments.

Have the opportunity to apply for a year in computer science – You can apply to take an intercalated year in computer science in-between the second and final years of your degree course to gain in-depth knowledge of computing and enhance your work-based skills.

Live in the city of music – Get involved in running and promoting our ensembles as a member of the Music Society Committee and receive professional mentoring. At University of Birmingham you’ll work exciting performance and festivals - both on the stage and behind the scenes.

Benefit from excellent employability development – 100% of our undergraduate Music students enter work or further study within 15 months of graduation (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2022). Our Music and Mathematics graduates have a range of transferable skills which are highly prized by graduate employers.

12th for Music in the Complete University Guide 2024

17th for Mathematics in the Complete University Guide 2024

First-year modules cover a broad base of the subject and are designed to introduce you to ways of studying at university. By the final year the modules you take will become more specialised and reflect the research expertise of the academic staff. More detailed module information can be found on the ‘Course detail’ tab on the University of Birmingham’s coursefinder web pages.