Key Info

Music and Dance

NFQ Level 8 major Award Honours Bachelor Degree

Entry route(s):

Course code
LM002 - Arts (Common Entry)
Duration
4 Years
Subject area
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Course Director
Dr. Róisín Ní Ghallóglaigh
Email
roisin.nighalloglaigh@ul.ie
Tel
+353-61-202465
Admissions:
Tel
+353 (0)61 233755

Music and Dance can be taken as part of the UL Arts Degree as a joint honours combination. Review the subjects you can study with Irish Music and Dance by looking on the BA Arts course page.

About you

Do you enjoy music and/ or dance? Do you want to invest in your future and develop your knowledge and understanding of this and related performance practices? Do you want to reflect on historical practices and current trends in classical popular traditional and world music and dance? If so, this may be the subject choice for you.

Why study Music and Dance at UL?

Music and dance are an intrinsic part of the cultural life of this island being significant economically as well as artistically and socially. The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick has become a world leader in the study of these phenomena, situating music and dance in the centre of a number of critical approaches and disciplines in the study of culture and society.

This subject is designed to develop your academic and vocational skills. The main thrust of this subject in this context is the academic study of various music and dance practices. You will also engage in vocational studies directly relevant to music and dance. For example, you will have the opportunity to record CDs and videos, use digital media, write business plans, plan tours and organise performances.

You will also engage in specific academic studies in traditional music and dance, popular music and dance, histories of western music and dance, ethnomusicology, ethnochoreology, music and dance education and music and dance psychology. You will also have the opportunity to engage with the wider cultural, social and historical context of this island through a number of modules in Irish cultural studies.

To find out more, go to www.irishworldacademy.ie

 

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What you will study

This degree is designed to develop your performance, academic and vocational skills. To develop your performance skills you will work with resident and visiting tutors who are among the best performers in Ireland and beyond. The main bulk of performance work is solo but there is also a significant amount of ensemble work. You are encouraged to develop second performance skills – making you more versatile as a performer. You will also engage in vocational studies directly relevant to traditional music and dance. For example, you will record CDs and videos, use digital media, write business plans, plan tours and organise performances. You will also engage in academic studies relevant to your performance skills in areas such as traditional music and dance studies, popular music and dance studies, histories of western music and dance, ethnomusicology, ethnochoreology, music and dance education and music and dance psychology. You will also engage with the wider cultural, social and historical context of this island through a number of modules in Irish cultural studies.

The BA Irish Music and Dance is a four-year programme. Six or seven semesters are spent in Limerick; one is spent on the Cooperative Education programme, which provides work experience, and another is spent either in Limerick or off-campus on the Study Abroad programme.

Music and Dance Joint Honours Pathway

Modules are subject to change

Year 1 Semester 1   Semester 2
MU4001

Critical Encounters with Irish Music and Dance

MU4012

Critical Encounters with Western Arts Music and Dance

Year 2 Semester 3   Semester 4
  Students select 2:   Cooperative Education Work Placement
MD4081

Irish Music and Dance Studies

   
MD4113

Performing Arts Technology

   
MU4011

Critical Encounters with World Music and Dance

   
Year 3 Semester 5   Semester 6
  Erasmus/Exchange placement with a partner institution abroad MU4013

Research Skills: Ethnomusicology/ Ethnomusicology/ Ethnochoreolgy/ Arts Practice

      Students select 1:
    MD4034

Contextualising and vocational Studies 3

    MD4114

Critical Encounters with Global Pop

Year 4 Semester 7   Semester 8
MU4007

Professional Skills for the Performing Artist

MD4093

Classical Music Studies

MU4033

World Music and Dance Survey 1

MU4106

Arts and Health

 

Entry requirements

Additional considerations

Applicants are required to hold at the time of enrolment the established Leaving Certificate (or an approved equivalent) with a minimum of six subjects which must include: Two H5 (Higher level) grades and Four O6 (Ordinary level) grades or four H7 (Higher Level) grades. Subjects must include Mathematics, Irish or another language, and English.

Note: Grade F6 in Foundation Mathematics also satisfies the minimum entry requirements. Foundation mathematics is not reckonable for scoring purposes.

In addition, students wishing to study a Language must hold a minimum H4 grade in that language, with the exception of beginners German or beginners Spanish where a H4 grade in a language other than English is required. Specialist requirement in Mathematics also for those studying Economics or Mathematics.

For certain subjects, additional special qualifications specific to individual subjects or disciplines may be determined by the respective departments in accordance with Academic Council regulations.

Applications are especially welcome from Mature Students. Mature applicants must apply through the Central applications Office (CAO) by 1 February.

QQI Entry

Certain QQI Awards are acceptable in fulfilling admission requirements for this programme. go to the UL Admissions QQI page for a full list of modules.

Non-EU Entry Requirements

How to apply

Where are you applying from? How to Apply
Ireland Irish students must apply to UL via the CAO
The UK  Students who have completed their A-Levels can apply to UL via the CAO. More information can be found on the Academic Registry website. 
The EU EU Students can apply to UL via the CAO. More information can be found on the Academic Registry website.
Non-EU country

If you are outside of the EU, you can apply for this subject through the Bachelor of Arts degree.

 

Fees and funding

Student course fees are broken into three components - Student contribution, Student Levy and Tuition Fees.

A number of illustrative examples of fees for this course based on the current fee levels have been set out in the tables below.

An explanation of the components, how to determine status and the criteria involved is provided below the examples as is a list of possible scholarships and funding available.

EU Students with Free fees status in receipt of a SUSI grant

HEA pays Tuition Fees €2,558
SUSI pays Student contribution €3,000
Student pays Student Levy €100
€5,658

EU Students with Free fees status not in receipt of a grant

HEA pays Tuition Fees €2,558
Student pays Student contribution €3,000
Student pays Student Levy €100
€5,658

Students with EU fee status not in receipt of a grant

Student pays Tuition Fees €2,558
Student pays Student contribution €3,000
Student pays Student Levy €100
€5,658

Non-EU Students

Student pays Tuition Fees €15,262
Student pays Student Levy €100
€15,362

Student course fees are comprised of the following components:

Student Contribution

Annual charge set by the government for all full-time third level students. All students are liable unless they have been approved for a grant by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). Please refer to https://www.studentfinance.ie to determine your eligibility for a grant and for instructions on how to apply. The current student contribution is set at €3000.

Student Levy

All students are liable to pay the Student Levy of €100. Please note the Student Levy is not covered by the SUSI Grant.

Tuition Fees

These are based on Residency, Citizenship, Course requirements.

Review the three groups of criteria to determine your fee status as follows

  1. Residency
    • You must have been living in an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland for at least 3 of the 5 years before starting your course
  2. Citizenship
    • You must be a citizen of an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland or have official refugee status
  3. Course Requirements (all must be met)
    • You must be a first time full-time undergraduate (Exceptions are provided for students who hold a Level 6 or Level 7 qualification and are progressing to a Level 8 course in the same general area of study).
    • You must be undertaking a full-time undergraduate course of at least 2 year’s duration
    • You cannot be undertaking a repeat year of study at the same level unless evidence of exceptional circumstances eg serious illness is provided (in which case this condition may be waived)

Depending on how you meet these criteria your status will be one of the following -

  • Free Fee Status: You satisfy all three categories (1, 2 and 3) and therefore are eligible for the Higher Education Authority’s Free Fees scheme.
  • EU Fee Status: You satisfy the citizenship and/or residency criteria but fail to satisfy the course requirements and are liable to EU fees
  • Non EU Fee Status: You do not meet either the citizenship or residency criteria and are therefore liable to Non EU fees.

More information about fees can be found on the Finance website

These scholarships are available for all courses

Your future career

This subject is designed to produce graduates with a broad range of skills that can be employed in a number of professional contexts. Great emphasis is also placed on the development of transferable vocational skills, enabling you to access a diverse range of less obvious career pathways.

Follow on study:

Student Profile

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Sarah Fox

My name is Sarah and I have just completed second year at the University of Limerick, studying Irish and Music as part of a four year Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree programme. A key piece of advice received in secondary school was to  “study something you like doing” and that for me was always going to involve music in some shape or form. The BA Degree at UL provided the ideal opportunity to fulfil the musical half of my dream.

The programme is very flexible, for instance this year I was given the opportunity to take on some extra music modules, required to possibly pursue a career as a teacher somewhere down the line.  These extra modules involved elements of performance and composition and were delivered by the very best of tutors.

I have found the UL music faculty to be very approachable and are always available to encourage and support their students. The support extends beyond the core academic content and I have benefitted, on more than one occasion, from focussed technical performance advice.

The Academy encourages Irish traditional  music sessions and I have got great enjoyment from getting to know and playing with many other young musicians over the past year, all realised while carefully observing the restrictions imposed because of the pandemic.

It was a good decision to study Music at UL and I look forward with a keen sense of anticipation to the next two years and

beyond.