The music dissertation
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| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-course assessment | No residential school |
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
The dissertation (16,000–18,000 words) is the culmination of your MA in Music and tests your ability to form a sustained argument in clear, logical prose. Within the rules of the MA, you’ll have considerable freedom in your choice of topic. While you’re not expected to make an original contribution to scholarly knowledge, you’ll be encouraged to work on sources of your own choosing while demonstrating a grasp of work by other scholars in the subject. Your tutor will help you decide on the focus of your dissertation, approve your research proposal and comment on draft sections through the year.
Course content
The only stipulation regarding the subject matter for your dissertation is that it must be related either to the MA in Music subject course Performances and repertories (A871)or to an area you have studied in sufficient detail in Postgraduate foundation module in music (A870). You should note that you cannot submit a dissertation on musical analysis. Your tutor will help you to decide what is feasible.
While your dissertation is not expected to be original to the same extent as would be the case, for example, in a PhD, you will be required to demonstrate an engagement with primary source materials, and to show a knowledge of scholarly literature in your subject area. Your dissertation must be well written and must show that you are confident in using scholarly citation methods.
During the course you will produce five pieces of written work before the final submission of your dissertation. The first is your research proposal, which must be approved by your tutor and the Examination and Assessment Board. The next three pieces of work are draft sections of your dissertation, whilst the fifth is a complete draft. They will not be graded, but your tutor's comments on them will be a key part of your teaching for the course, as well as a way of monitoring your progress. The final piece of work is the dissertation itself, which will be assessed by your tutor and a second marker. Their recommendations will help to determine the result awarded by the Examination and Assessment Board.
Entry
To take this course you must have already passed Postgraduate foundation module in music (A870) and Performances and repertories (A871) or one of the other subject courses from the MA in Humanities programme, or an appropriate award of transferred credit. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
You are strongly urged to consider your dissertation topic and your access to the necessary research material before the course begins. That is, have a look to see whether the material you need is available via the OU Library, or other research library.
Qualifications
A877 is a compulsory course in our
A877 is an optional course in our
Some postgraduate qualifications allow study to be chosen from other subject areas. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
Excluded combinations
Sometimes you will not be able to count a course towards a qualification if you have already taken another course with similar content. To check any excluded combinations relating to this course, visit our excluded combination finder or check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service before registering.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
This course makes extensive use of the internet and online forums, which you will be familiar with from A870. If you need to remind yourself of the demands of such a course, make sure that you have our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Study guide and course website (which houses the course’s extensive online resources).
You will need
You will need adequate facilities to conduct research into music. This can be done using the internet or by using a library or archive that has suitable resources. The Postgraduate Music website houses links to online research resources and sources of information about facilities for studying music in UK libraries. Depending on your choice of subject, you may need access to a university library, or large public or private library. If you are using a research library, there are likely to be charges for borrowing rights, inter-library loans and photocopying. Again, depending on your choice of subject, you may need facilities for listening to recordings.
Computing requirements
This course has online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will be contacted after registration and asked to submit a provisional dissertation title in order to allocate you to the most suitable tutor. You will be in a tuition group of about four students. Tuition will take place through online forums and email, but for the most part, you will be given individual tuition. Your tutor must approve your dissertation proposal. You will then be asked to send to your tutor drafts that are not part of your assessment, but that will enable your tutor to offer comment and assistance. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above. All the marks will come from your dissertation.
You can choose whether to submit your research proposal and drafts on paper or online through the eTMA system. You may want to use the eTMA system for some but submit on paper for others. This is entirely your choice.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2010. We expect it to be available once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
A postgraduate course in Arts and Humanities.
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Student Reviews
The A877 part of the MA in Music followed on naturally from A871 for me. In fact, with the guidance ...
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I think the Music OU staff have supported my efforts and helped me in more ways than I could have ...
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