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1. Study
2. Postgraduate
3. Taught Courses
4. Masters
5. Experimental Sound Practice

Course Fact File

Code	MAESP
Duration	1 Year Full-time
Teaching Mode	Full-time
Qualifications	MA
NFQ Level	Level 9
EU Fees	Full-time: €8,100 Part-time: €4,700 See Fees and Costs for full details.
Non-EU Fees	€18,500
Closing Date	Rolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.
Non-EU Closing Date	Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June. Early application is advised.
Start Date	7 September 2026

Course Outline

This course is designed to be accessible to students of any background (not just music) who have an interest in making adventurous sonic art. Its intent is a free and broad exploration of numerous exciting approaches to creativity with sound in an exceptionally open and welcoming educational environment. 

The course embraces sonic art of many kinds, including notated or recorded compositions; improvisations; sound art; visual art with a sound component; music theatre; performance art; installations; live interactive electronics and much more. 

We welcome students from a remarkably broad range of backgrounds, and creative work produced for it can be extremely diverse. Students are encouraged to experiment with a huge range of possibilities. The course includes studies in contemporary sonic arts, real-time creation including improvisation, sound art, creative work with field recordings, experimental music and other arts, interactive electronics and programming. 

All the teaching staff are active professionals in the arts and have specialisms in the composition and performance of many genres of music, experimental music and other arts, video art with sound, improvisation, Sound Art, field recording and music cognition.   

The MA in Experimental Sound Practice is a one-year full-time course, involving both taught components and a portfolio of independent, supervised creative work, totalling 90 credits. 

Please note, applicants do not need a formal background in music. However, experience of working with DAWs (e.g. Reaper, Ableton Live) is expected, and a working knowledge of the fundamentals of music technology and acoustics is highly desirable.  

Modules

Part I

• MU6100 Expanded Instrument Systems (10 credits)
• MU6101 Digital Music and Media Composition (10 credits)
• MU6102 Composing in Real Time (10 credits)
• MU6103 Sound Art (5 credits)
• MU6104 Composing with Field Recordings (5 credits)
• MU6105 Experimental Music (5 credits)
• MU6047 Music Cognition and Perception in Culture (5 credits)

Plus

10 credits (1 x 10-credit or 2 x 5-credit modules) selected from all modules available to final year undergraduates, or postgraduates, studying Music.

In special circumstances, students may be able to select courses offered by other departments which they have not previously completed. The selection of courses is undertaken in consultation with the student’s mentor; those selected should be complimentary to those already being studied elsewhere in the programme and offer the student a significant addition to their skill set that is pertinent to the overall aims of the degree. Module choice may be constrained by timetabling and capacity factors.

Part II 

• MU6024 Portfolio (30 credits)

Course Practicalities

Assessment

The taught courses are assessed through several assignments undertaken during and after the courses. The portfolio consists of several compositions/artworks submitted in September.

Who teaches this course

• John Godfrey, Course Coordinator
• Jeffrey Weeter
• Karen Power
• Danny McCarthy

Why Choose This Course

The MA Experimental Sound Practice is designed to expand your creative thinking into new areas, to challenge habits and offer radical and hitherto unimagined possibilities. As a very open educational environment, it may be shaped to your needs as an artist, whether they are the deepening and expansion of skillsets you already have, or the growth of your creative practice into new areas. We freely explore topics in listening, perceiving, thinking and making. This is an MA about artistic thought, which we explore in an exceptionally progressive and open way: this opens many creative doors without prescribing specific paths.  

Skills and Careers Information

The MA in Experimental Sound Practice offers training in a number of highly contemporary and sought-after techniques across a broad range of disciplines. They encompass cutting edge creative techniques of many kinds, an unparalleled breadth of experience across diverse modern artistic practices, and training in and exploration of a selection of in-demand music and video technologies and methods. The eclectic mix allows you to build an unusual and distinctive profile that sets you apart from others in your field(s). The MA Experimental Sound Practice is about your development as a unique and imaginative artist. 

Requirements

In order to be permitted to proceed to the MA in Experimental Sound Practice, a candidate must hold a Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) or higher, and demonstrate experience in the creation of music or other sonic art.

Applicants with an appropriate professional equivalent (e.g. professional musician or another artist of high standing, etc.) will also be considered under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

All applicants will be required to submit a portfolio of sound-based creative work in whatever form is suitable (musical scores, recordings, videos, computer programmes, documentation of Sound Art installations etc.) and may also be required to attend an interview with members of the programme team.

Final acceptance is subject to approval by the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, UCC.

Fees and Costs

The EU fee for this course is Full-time: €8,100 Part-time: €4,700.

The Non-EU fee for this course is €18,500.

How To Apply

Additional Requirements (All Applicants)

Please note you will be required to answer specific additional supplementary questions and provide a portfolio of 3 creative works as part of the online applications process for this programme. 

Portfolio

The portfolio contents may be presented in any form appropriate to the type of work, such as recordings, videos, scores, documentary recording of installations (including pictures etc.), computer programmes for live interactive electronics etc.   Select samples that show what you consider to be your strongest work, whatever it is (there's no need to try to cover all the bases or submit work that you think might be best suited to a Music Department).

The portfolio should be uploaded to the web (using services such as DropBox or similar) and the access URL provided in the online supplementary portfolio question.   Ensure that the link will not expire before the application process is complete.  In addition to providing a URL to the online portfolio, applicants will be required to outline a very short commentary about each work, explaining a little about its aesthetic, artistic context, and technical approach.

Submissions that cannot be uploaded to the web can be posted directly to the Programme Director:  MA in Experimental Sound Practice, Music Department, School of Music and Theatre, UCC, Cork, Republic of Ireland.   Mark the envelope with your PAC application number and indicate in your supplementary answer that you will be posting hardcopy materials.   Please note that the materials cannot be returned to you.

Additional Questions

• You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.

• In addition to your previously declared qualifications, please outline any additional academic courses, self-learning and professional training relevant to this programme.

• Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.

• Please describe your portfolio of relevant work or achievements.

• Please detail your computing/technical/IT skills.

• Please add the name and email address of 2 referees.

The closing date for non-EU applications is Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June. Early application is advised.

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