Designing Audio Experiences: Art, Science and Production MA

The sound industry is crying out for scientifically-informed, creative audio designers. This MA will give you a sought-after mix of specialist technical spatial audio skills, in an environment where you’ll be mixing regularly meet with leading practitioners. You’ll learn how humans make sense of the world through sound, and apply that knowledge to create compelling, convincing audio experiences for diverse audiences and contexts. The practice-based Designing Audio Experiences: Art, Science and Production MA will train you to understand a range of relevant topics, enabling you to create compelling and original audio experiences for diverse audiences and contexts. You will explore many aspects of sound, including its propagation and perception, audio storytelling techniques, soundscape composition and sonic anthropology, aesthetic principles of sound, real and virtual sonic spaces, sound for moving image and sound in material environments. Today, with the growth of extended reality (including virtual and augmented realities) there are more opportunities for experiencing immersive sound. You will graduate with expert skills in spatial audio technologies, combined with the creative confidence to embrace the medium in original and exciting ways, blurring the pathways available to convention audio production, making work that hasn’t been seen before, and for which there is a huge demand. This will make you stand out against people with more conventional audio skills. You will learn to think critically about the role sound plays in human development across different societies and cultures, developing your artistic and technical abilities to create ambitious works that defy existing conventions, with the audience at their core. You will also develop demonstrable competencies transferable to any profession, including complex problem solving and creative initiative, design and communication skills, the ability to interpret and present complex ideas to diverse audiences, effective independent and team working, leadership, and time and project management. This practice-based Designing Audio Experiences: Art, Science and Production MA will train you to understand how humans make sense of the world through sound, and to create compelling, convincing audio experiences for diverse audiences and contexts. From documentary filmmaking to experimental cinema, you will specialise in the elements of public anthropology that interest you most, choosing from a range of optional modules to enrich your learning experience. The Designing Audio Experiences: Art, Science and Production MA degree is best suited to students looking to develop their immersive audio experience design in a professional framework, guided by leading industry figures and informed by innovative and scientific approaches to immersive audio. The course is well-suited to working professionals who wish to study part-time over two years.

We seek students who can show evidence of active engagement with visual or audio storytelling in previous work or study experience. We require a portfolio of work to support all applications. This should consist of one piece of creative work including (but not limited to) audio production/ filmmaking / installation of no more than 20 minutes duration. We also accept writing, painting, photography, music composition, or theatre. For those with a performing arts background, evidence of productions such as photos or reviews can be submitted in place of portfolio works.We normally require an upper second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Applicants with lower second class degrees (i.e. UK 2:2 or the overseas equivalent) may be considered if their application is supported strongly by relevant experience. In exceptional circumstances, we will also consider applicants without higher education qualifications provided they demonstrate a significant track record in this or a related field.