The Foundation Degree is designed to give a practical induction into the popular music industry. It offers the chance for you to become involved in the creation and marketing of musical product and to gain experience through work placement of the reality of the music business. You will perform and record your own work and that of others and develop core skills that will enable to function effectively in a number of different roles. You will also study the history and cultural role of popular music in society and have the opportunity to complete a third year at UEL on their BA(Hons) Music and Culture degree.

The programme offers:

• Music performance.
• Music production/studio skills
• Composition for performance, production and moving image
• Marketing and promotion of recorded work/performances
• Event management
• Development of music business skills
• A broad understanding of the history and cultural context of music.

This is a two year course with a modular structure, working towards recording, performing and commercial release of students’ work.

Students on the Foundation Degree in Music and Production will have access to a wide range of industrial and academic facilities and resources. Our Learning Resource Centre and Music Department contains a wide selection of academic texts, comprising both audio-visual and printed material - academic books, subject specific academic and trade journals. The Learning Resource centre also possesses study and viewing rooms, and a number of PCs for student use.

The Music Building is a dedicated facility housed in Lea House, a listed building on the Lewisham Way Campus. It has three rehearsal rooms; an analogue studio and Pro Tools studio running on iMacs adjoining a dedicated live room; a digital studio with 8 x workstations comprising Yamaha 01V96 mixing desks and PC based computers with RME HDSP 9656 PCI Audio Interface; Two computer suites with 32 workstations running Cubase, Reason and Wavelab; a dedicated keyboard lab and a DJ suite/programming room. The music department is a Digidesign sponsored school. All teaching rooms have smartboard and projector facilities. Future bids include the expansion of live performance areas and upgrading to Mac systems in all computer rooms.

As a student on our Foundation Degree programme you will also have access to all UEL library facilities, which are open 24 hours per day.

At Docklands, the multimedia library is housed in a new building, providing the latest facilities in a purpose-built environment. Stratford Library is housed in a 19th Century Listed Building.

These libraries share a commitment to providing excellence in service and access to the very latest information and media, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout each semester. All libraries provide recommended books and other background reading, slides, journals and videos, as well as Ordnance Survey maps, law reports, company information, market intelligence data and flexible learning materials.

You will have access to a wide range of subject-based electronic information sources, such as hundreds of journals, including both full text and abstracts. Network-based computer provision is also available, providing access to the Microsoft Office software suite, specific learning packages, specialist teaching and statistical packages, and the Internet.

You will also have access to appropriate external information resources via UEL's inter-library loans service or from other libraries in London and beyond via our specialist regional lending or reference schemes such as M25 or UK Plus.

Within the libraries there are study areas for group and individual study. They also provide:

• high-speed photocopiers
• binding machines
• networked PCs and printers
• e-mail facilities
• software for text-to-speech conversions, text enlargement, text to disk scans and Braille printers
• video playback machines
• presentation materials and IT consumables, guides and manuals (charges apply).

Support and information on using the libraries' resources and equipment is always on hand, via:

• staff at dedicated information points
• information skills training from subject specialists
• a range of information leaflets and guides to information sources
• electronic self-help tutorial packages and multimedia programmes
• flexible learning materials to help you acquire skills at your own pace and in your own time.

Many of the assessments you will undertake on the programme will be practical, and will require you to produce music products, usually as part of a student production/performance group. Some of the work you will produce will be to specific briefs, while some will be your own creative work. A proportion of this work will be released as a digital download. Due to the collaborative nature of group work it will be necessary for you to keep a detailed log of all work you undertake in this way. This will take the form of notes from meetings, details of roles you perform in the group and how they interact with others and video recordings of rehearsals and group production projects. In addition, there will usually be a reflective element of the assessment, in which you will be required use your log to critically evaluate the work you have produced, and your own role in its production.

Theory based work will be assessed by means of presentations and academic essays. Modules which contain underpinning theory are 'Music Meanings' 'Music Technology, Creativity and Markets' and 'Systems of Sound'

Each module has a detailed module guide. This explains what the aims of the module are, how it will be taught, what the tasks will be, recommended reading and how the module will be assessed. The module guide also details the balance of teaching in terms of:

lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops

whole group, small group and individual teaching

student led and tutor led sessions

skills based, discussion based and knowledge based classes

student-tutor interaction

work-based learning

through the virtual learning environment

You are required to submit work to be assessed for all modules. The College operates its own Virtual Learning Environment, (EME), for the submission of coursework in digital format, including written tasks, and audio products. EME is used for on-line assessment and tracking, and also offers a range of electronic resources and web-links designed to support your studies. EME can be accessed outside of the College.

The first piece of assessed work you submit as part of any assessment task will be formative - we will give you feedback on your work to help you improve so that the final piece of coursework is more successful.

Although traditional academic essays will form a part of your assessment, there are several other ways in which work will be assessed. These include reports, group and individual presentations and portfolios.

Assessment methods include:

• portfolios including reflective commentaries on practical focused enquiries
• critical appraisal of materials and resource use
• critical appraisal of music products produced by students
• individual and group presentations
• case studies
• performances of own work and reflections on and evaluations of those performances
• accounts of plans for and evaluations of professional development
• academic essays

As part of your work on programme modules, you will be required to devise a plan for your own digital download release and a live music event. You will work in the areas of production, production management, event management, sound engineering, PR work and performance.

This work will begin in your first year of study, and will continue until you have completed your Foundation Degree. This will constitute an ongoing work placement, which is assessed as part of your study.

In addition to this, the college has established links with external music companies, who will, subject to availability, offer a number of work placements, usually in the second year of study.

Availability of placements will depend on employer need and successful student interview and therefore we cannot guarantee you a placement with these companies. However the fact that an on line release and event promotion lie at the heart of our degree programme, and that your learning relies in large part upon your taking a full and active role in their running and management, means you have a very strong fallback position should an external placement not become available.

Alternatively, placement opportunities may be organized independently by individual students. If you organize such a placement, it must be approved by the Work Placement Officer.

Work placements with participating companies will be administered and organized by the Work Placement Officer, who will liaise and maintain regular contact with our external employers, and who will be responsible for making new contacts with employers who may wish to become involved with the programme. It is expected that work placements will be allocated as and when they arise, throughout the year. All students will be eligible for work placements; however allocation of placements will be decided by students' interviews with the employer concerned. More than one student therefore will be competing for each placement.

It will be necessary for all employers to demonstrate an ability to meet all relevant regulations and legal obligations regarding employees; this will be ascertained by the placement officer. All employers participating in the placement scheme must hold employers' liability insurance.

At the heart of the Foundation Degree in Music and Production is your individual digital download release and the live music event which will be run by student teams. The release and the live music event will also be fundamental to many of the assessment tasks students will undertake. For example, the module ‘Producing an EP’ requires you to produce and commercially release product as a digital download. The 'Music Event’ module requires students to liaise with a local council, charity, business or venue to set up a promotional performances. 'Writing a Music Business Plan' is designed to inform the marketing of product from the module 'Producing an EP'. Wherever possible, students will be encouraged to collaborate on projects, in order to inform and enrich each others' work, and to reproduce the practices which take place in a wider industrial context. Product created as part of 'Producing an EP', for example, may be performed by one group and produced by another.

• Extensive personal support throughout the programme
• Sound practical as well as academic training
• Enhanced job prospects for all students at the end of the programme in music industries and elsewhere
• Improved professional standing
• Graduates can continue to the final year of an honours degree
• Close proximity to heart of UK music industry

• professional practice in Music
• Industries
• how the music industry works
• creating music through technology or performance
• music industry structure
• the marketing and distribution of music products
• Live performance at music events

• working in groups and individually on cutting edge projects
• organising and developing your own ideas as well as working with others on theirs
• challenges and innovation
• performing, producing
• being creative

• to begin building a career at the same time as you are studying
• to record with a thorough understanding every creative decision you make;
• to be part of a team running a label to learn by working in the music industry
• to gain two years of music industry experience
• to learn traditional and new industry relevant skills to increase your chances of employment in this competitive industry
• to understand the way popular music has developed and it's place in the world,
• to improve your academic skills to gain a valuable degree

if you're interested in the latest trends and think you could set the next one

This is the programme for you!

The programme will open up a wide range of career opportunities for you in the music industry. Over the two years of the course you will gain a huge range of skills through hands-on experience. You will also gain a full and thorough understanding of the theoretical and academic perspectives involved in popular music, which will inform both your understanding of the industry and your own approach to your professional work. The degree programme will also give you a wide range of transferable skills. Skills that you will need in any kind of employment;

• How to communicate your ideas clearly and effectively, both in written and spoken form;
• How to have the confidence to critique your own work and performance;
• Leadership skills
• Independent decision making
• how to work effectively as part of a team.

When you have completed level 2 of the programme you will have gained a Foundation degree in Music and Production, at which point you will be ideally placed to seek employment in your chosen area of musical activity; or, should you wish to continue with your studies, you will be eligible to enrol with UEL for the third year of the BA (Hons) programme:

Music Culture: Theory and Production

After this course you can find work as a producer; an engineer, in a studio or live setting; perform as a solo musician, in a band or as a session player; become a songwriter; composer, for film, animation and the internet; set up your own business; teach music and production.

You may also progress to a third year at UEL to complete a BA Hons.

On your course you will have a course leader who will support you through tutorials, there is an entitlement and support team who will help you with advice on student funding, housing and benefits as well as access to counselling, dyslexia support and childcare issues. As well as the resources available in the music department you will have access to our learning centre offering ICT facilities and staff who can offer study skills support. As a part of our validation link you will also have access to the Library and student union services at UEL Docklands campus.

With London on your doorstep, there is a thriving local music scene with great venues, rehearsal and recording studios, that provide performance and engineering opportunities,

Further your musical career and gain a valuable qualification at the same time!

• Close links with industry
• Working within a industry context
• Close links with UEL