MSc in Audio and Music Technology Programme Specification 2023-24

	B	C	D	E	G	I	J	K	L
1	ACADEMIC QUALITY TEAM
2	Programme Specifications 2023-24
3	Revised February 2023
4
5
6	Programme Title			MSc in Audio and Music Technology
7
8	This document applies to students who commenced the programme(s) in:			2023		Award type			MSc
9
10	What level is this qualification?			7		Length of programme			1 year
11
12	Mode of study (Full / Part Time)			Full Time
13
14	Will the programme use standard University semester dates?			Yes		For York Online programmes, will standard dates for such programmes be used?			Semester 1 18 September 2023 - 2 February 2024 Semester 2 Postgraduates: 5 February 2024 - 17 September 2024
15
16	Awarding institution			University of York		Board of Studies for the programme			School of Physics, Engineering and Technology
17
18	Lead department			School of Physics, Engineering and Technology		Other contributing departments			Engineering
19
20	Language of study and assessment			English		Language(s) of assessment			English
21
22	Is this a campus-based or online programme?			Campus-based
23
24	Partner organisations
25	If there are any partner organisations involved in the delivery of the programme, please outline the nature of their involvement. You may wish to refer to the Policy on Collaborative Provision
26	N/A
27	N/A
28
29	Reference points
30	Please state relevant reference points consulted in the design of this programme (for example, relevant documentation setting out PSRB requirements; the University's Frameworks for Programme Design (UG or PGT); QAA Subject Benchmark Statements; QAA Qualifications and Credit Frameworks).
31	Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - August 2008 http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Documents/FHEQ08.pdf IET Accreditation - October 2014 & 2020 http://www.theiet.org/academics/accreditation/policy-guidance/
32
33
34	Credit Transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning
35	Will this programme involve any exemptions from the University Policy and Procedures on Credit Transfer and the Recognition of Prior Learning? If so, please specify and give a rationale
36	No
37	No
38
39	Exceptions to Regulations
40	Please detail any exceptions to University Award Regulations and Frameworks that need to be approved (or are already approved) for this programme. This should include any that have been approved for related programmes and should be extended to this programme.
41	Although the university allows 40 credits of compensation, for the degree to remain IET-accredited, students can only be compensated in 20 credits. If a student has over 20 credits of compensation but has met the university progression requirements of 40 credits of compensation, they may be given the opportunity to resit compensated modules in order to reduce the compensation to 20 credits and remain on an accredited degree. Students who do not meet the IET criteria for accreditation will graduate with MSc Music Technology.
42
43
44	Internal Transfers
45	Please use the boxes below to specify if transfers into / out of the programme from / to other programmes within the University are possible by indicating yes or no and listing any restrictions. These boxes can also be used to highlight any common transfer routes which it would be useful for students to know.
46
47		Transfers in:	None			Transfers out:	None
48			None				None
49
50	Statement of Purpose
51	Please briefly outline the overall aims of the programme. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
52	Audio and Music Technology combines science, technology and creativity to develop innovative audio applications for music making, recording, analysis and reproduction. Recent advances in digital audio technology have seen increased interest in surround sound for home entertainment and virtual reality, voice recognition and synthesis applications, as well as environmental and architectural acoustics. The MSc in Audio and Music Technology is taught by leading experts in audio research. You will have access to excellent facilities, including several fully equipped recording studios, a bespoke 50 channel loudspeaker array, a fully anechoic chamber and a newly updated Mac and iOS computer suite. You will gain a thorough grounding in scientific theory and creative engineering techniques in audio technology, audio analysis and audio programming. This will prepare you for further research or employment in the audio technology and digital creative industries, working freelance, or setting up your own business.
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63	If there are additional awards associated with the programme upon which students can register, please specify the Statement of Purpose for that programme. This will be most relevant for PGT programmes with exit awards that are also available as entry points. Use additional rows to include more than one additional award. Do not include years in industry / abroad (for which there are separate boxes).
64	Exit Award Title			Is the exit award also available as an entry point?	Outcomes: what will the student be able to do on exit with this award?			Specify the module diet that the student will need to complete to obtain this exit award
65	MSc Music Technology			No	Semester 1 and 2 taught modules (120 credits) passed. Research project passed (60 credits). The students will have completed all of the core taught material. The students will have gained broad knowledge of the Audio and Music Technology field. Does not meet IET requirements. Meets the MSc PLOs for the appropriate programme.			180 credits passed
66	Postgraduate Certificate in Audio and Music Technology			No	Semester 1 taught modules (60 credit) passed. The students will have completed some of the core taught material. The students will have gained some broad knowledge of the Audio and Music Technology field. They will have made progress towards the PLOs although the research aspects of the these will not be met fully as the project will not have been undertaken.			Audio Signals and Psychoacoustics; Audio Application Development and Marketing; option from a) Music Signal Analysis, or b) Sound Models and Systems
67	Postgraduate Diploma in Audio and Music Technology			No	The students will normaly have completed all of the core taught material, gained knowledge of the Audio and Music Technology field and achieved all PLOs with the exception of some project elements when the project has not been undertaken			Any 120 credits from the programme
68
69	Programme Learning Outcomes
70	What are the programme learning outcomes (PLOs) for the programme? (Normally a minimum of 6, maximum of 8). Taken together, these outcomes should capture the distinctive features of the programme and represent the outcomes that students progressively develop in the programme and achieve at graduation. PLOs should be worded to follow the stem 'Graduates will be able to...'
71	1	Subject Knowledge: Conduct research into digital audio signal processing, audio software programming or acoustic analysis, advancing the state of knowledge by applying specialist engineering techniques and research methodology.
72	2	Engineering Analysis: Extract and critically evaluate literature and other data about complex audio, acoustic and music technology systems through analytical and computational methods and modelling.
73	3	Engineering Design: Design innovative industry relevant engineering solutions for research-based problems in audio software and/or hardware, music technology and acoustics.
74	4	Practical Skills: Apply professional skills in engineering, audio analysis, programming, critical listening, acoustic modelling, construction and measurement, to independently solve technically challenging research-based problems.
75	5	Technical Communication: Communicate, debate, and contextualise information in a succinct, professional and technically accurate manner to key stakeholders which might include event managers, engineers, musicians and members of the public. This will include the ability to interpret and write technical documentation to a professional standard.
76	6	Management & Personal Development: Proficiently manage themselves, teams and complex projects in preparation for future careers in the field of audio and music technology as an individual practitioner or in industry.
77	7
78	8
79
80	Diverse entry routes
81	Detail how you would support students from diverse entry routes to transition into the programme. For example, disciplinary knowledge and conventions of the discipline, language skills, academic and writing skills, lab skills, academic integrity.
82	The programme has been specially designed to attract students from a diverse range of entry routes e.g. those with engineering/science degrees who have a hobby interest in music and audio, as well as those with previous degrees in Music Technology who wish to further their engineering/technical skills. A pre-programme learning pack is provided prior to arrival which allows students to assess their own skills in maths, audio programming and music theory and to fill any gaps in knowledge, or to practice areas with which they are less familiar. During Semester 1 fundamentals of audio, music technology and signal processing are consolidated. Special intensive zero-to-hero workshops are provided to help students with no knowlege in a key subject area to make rapid progress. These are included in the Audio Signals & Psychoacoustics module - and consist of MATLAB, Studio skills, and PureData. The iOS workshop is included as part of the iOS Programming for Audio module. Each module is designed to introduce key topic material, but also to allow students to apply this in practice in labs, tutorials, and via supported self-study. A supportive collaborative community of learners is established, with students providing support for each other in areas where skills can be shared.
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91	Inclusion
92
93	Please confirm by ticking the box on the right that the design, content and delivery of the programme will support students from all backgrounds to succeed. This refers to the University's duties under the Equality Act 2010. You may wish to refer to the optional Inclusive Learning self-assessment tools to support reflection on this issue.
94
95	Employability
96	Please give a brief overview - no more than 5 sentences - of how the programmes helps develop students' employability. Your Faculty Employability Manager can help reflection on this issue. This statement will be used by Marketing as the basis for external content with respect to employability.
97	All our MSc programmes incorporate a carefully designed Professional Development Framework. In consultation with our Departmental Advisory Board, with key contributors from Industry, Research and Academia, this ensures that all students gain awareness of the essential skills that employers need and opportunities to develop their personal and team-based effectiveness. This begins with an Induction Week including an introduction to masters-level learning, and student team activities. Throughout Semesters 1 and 2 students develop their personal effectiveness in a series of workshops (covering such issues as literature, research, referencing, teamwork, leadership, reflective learning, ethics, and business skills). These lead on to Interdisciplinary Masterclasses which cover key research and development cross-curricular topics in emerging technology. In the Summer Semester students are prepared for research methodology and digital literacy, and undertake regular developmental training in project management. This all leads to a major group project (60 credit units) which is designed to give research and industry-relevant experience to individuals and teams as a major component of each programme.
98
99
100