Audio Production BA(Hons)

Course overview

Our BA (Hons) top-up degree, validated by Kingston University London, is a fast-track programme you can complete in just one year, compared to the usual two years in Scotland. This innovative course puts you in charge of your learning. You’ll design and complete your professional projects in your chosen area, giving you the skills and knowledge to create your success in the audio production industry.

With support from lectures, seminars, and one-on-one guidance, you’ll dive into specialist areas like:

• Commercial music production
• Audio for gaming and interactive media
• Sound design
• Sample-pack creation
• Electronic music production
• Post-production
• Sound for live events and broadcast settings

You’ll have many opportunities to showcase and share your work, including:

• Live electronic performances, audio/visual nights, and installations at top venues in the city.
• Presenting your work at seminars led by music technology organisations.
• Participating in exhibitions, festivals, and events.
• Releasing music and collaborating through our in-house labels, events, and projects.

We are one of the largest music and sound production schools in Scotland, offering you access to:

• Two 125+ seat auditoriums for performances and presentations.
• Over 10 high-end studios, equipped with SSL AWS 900 and TOFT consoles, outboard gear, and professional software.
• More than 100 new Mac workstations, fully loaded with industry-standard tools.
• Rehearsal rooms are all available to book as a student.
• Loanable equipment, including vintage synths, samplers, microphones, and recording devices.

You’ll work alongside over 600 music, sound, and music business students and a wider community of 4,000 creative industry students studying areas like broadcasting, computing, and art and design. This is your chance to collaborate on exciting, ambitious projects while building a strong creative network.

This course is built to help you succeed in the ever-changing world of audio production. You’ll develop:

• Adaptable skills to work in new and emerging areas of the industry.
• Confidence to collaborate and take on creative challenges.
• Global knowledge of audio production and creative industries.

Whether you’re interested in sound design, music production, or audio for games and media, this course will give you the tools and experience you need to thrive.

What you will learn

Professional Project (60 Credits)

You will undertake a self-designed professional project with significant individual creative freedom and choice, with the opportunity to extend and develop your practice within a professional context. Creative innovation and network development opportunities are heightened by the bringing together of Audio Production, Music, and Music Business students in this shared capstone module.

The wider community of musical specialisms that share this module opens further to enrich and broaden possibilities for project outcomes, providing a counterpart to the specialist modules that define each distinct degree. It is envisaged that, where possible, projects will take place in the public sphere (exhibitions, performances, and external agencies) in contexts that provide the students with as realistic an experience as possible. Authentic assessment and professional alignment are at the heart of project and assessment design.

Working with an assigned project supervisor and drawing on a series of lectures, seminars and workshops, you will devise and complete projects that build on established professional practices and emerging trends with a focus on innovation, creativity and establishing an identity in your field.

You will pitch your self-designed projects to align with your specialism, and it is hoped that this autonomy will allow you to create a springboard to the profession or the higher education institution to which you aspire.

Just as an artist’s sketches complement final works of art, the module recognises that reflection on the artistic product is interesting to audiences/stakeholders/ employers. Thus, you will also be asked to find creative and organic ways to engage these parties with key decisions and stages of project development alongside the project’s delivery.

Module Aims

• To locate professional practice in music, audio production, or the music business in an authentic, real-world setting
• To develop a depth of understanding of a specialist field including established and emerging trends and practices
• To begin establishing a network as a bridge to professional opportunities.
• To create artists with initiative and independence
• To create artists who can effectively engage audiences/ employers/ stakeholders

Interactive and Reactive Audio (30 credits)

This module is designed to allow you to investigate the use of audio within computer games and, in particular, the unique requirements for game audio compared to audio for linear visual media. The module allows you to acquire and prepare audio for use within middleware or similar game audio environments in preparation for incorporation into a computer game.

You will then implement these assets in a game audio environment to prepare them for use within a game. This module is aimed at students who have an interest in working in the field of Game Audio.

Module Aims

The module will build upon and enhance technical, practical and creative skills acquired in previous modules such as asset file management, recording and processing audio assets, music composition, and mixing. Students will examine current Game Audio industry practices and the application of complex recording, mixing and production techniques.

Commercial Music Production (30 Credits)

This module requires you to build upon existing audio production skills and practices with further knowledge and understanding of music production environments. Audio production techniques will be implemented within the recording studio and DAW platforms and develop recording, programming engineering and mixing of musical performances and source material.

Module Aims

• Develop music production techniques through the use of studio facilities and common production workflows.
• Workshops and lectures will focus on specific techniques for various instruments and develop production approaches from recording to a finished song.
• Editing and programming techniques will develop composition strategies and arrangement concepts.
• Creative approaches to project construction will be built upon, and mixing techniques will employ dynamic processing, FX manipulation, creative routing and mixdown methods.
• Mastering concepts and techniques will establish the ability to produce standardised broadcast-quality audio.

Number of days per week

• 15 hours per week taught
• 7 hours per week of student-led learning 

Entry requirements

• HND Sound Production
• SQCF Level 8/RCF Level 5 equivalent, i.e., FDA Sound Production (please contact our admissions team for more information)

Information on Tests / Auditions / Interview Requirements

• External candidates will be invited for an interview. Please contact our admissions team for more information. 

English Proficiency Requirements

IELTS 6 requiredFurther information regarding IELTS levels and certification is available from our admissions team

Progression and Articulation Routes

• While no formal articulation agreements are currently in place for post-graduate courses in Audio Production, graduates will have achieved the academic profile to apply for both creative and technical post-graduate programmes in audio production and related areas.

Career options

Career Options

You can go onto a wide range of roles within the Audio Production and Music Industries including

·         Sound designer for video games/film

·         Studio recording engineer/producer

·         Live sound/broadcast engineer

·         Electronic music performer

·         Media Composer

In addition, you will have the skills and knowledge to apply for roles and large and independent music and music technology organisations around the world.