World Music Studies is intended for musicians and educators who would like to know more about the music of the world and the academic discipline that studies it, ethnomusicology.

World Music Studies seeks to provide training in the research methods used by ethnomusicologists, and to explore these methods as a means of gaining new musical insights and skills.

World Music Studies is a part-time course, and is normally completed in two years. The course intakes students every two years, our next intake being in August 2012. It is taught using specially written materials, with tutorial contact via post, fax, and e-mail. In addition, students attend short residential courses in Sheffield, where they participate in lectures, discussion groups and individual tutorials.
The course aims to equip you to:

* Use information resources to find out about music and research that is relevant to your interests
* Evaluate ethnomusicological theories in relation to each other and to your own experience
* Write clearly and knowledgeably about world music and ethnomusicology
* Generate new knowledge about music through collecting, analysing and interpreting data
* Decide for yourself what ethnomusicology has to offer to musicians and teachers

"World music studies" can be taken quite literally, for it encompasses, in principle, the study of any and all musical activity in the world, Western as well as "exotic," popular as well as classical, amateur as well as professional. This study is pursued through the methods of ethnomusicology, a discipline that seeks to understand the whole human process within which music is conceptualised, discussed and made. Wherever possible, these methods include fieldwork and direct participation in the music studied as well as library research and theoretical interpretation.

While opportunities to study ethnomusicology exist elsewhere, the distance learning MA course at Sheffield uses the methodology of ethnomusicology as a means to an end, focusing primarily on music and musical activity as the object of study. The course makes it possible for students anywhere in the world to gain a thorough and distinctive training in world music and ethnomusicology.

We know that many applicants are interested in studying their own musical traditions, and have designed a course structure and academic environment that encourages this, while providing a grounding in the broader literature and methods of the discipline. Practical performance as a means of research is not neglected, and suitably qualified and experienced students can include performance activities as part of their course. Moreover, the degree is open to applicants from a variety of backgrounds, including mature students and those with appropriate musical experience whether or not they have a first degree in Music. The use of electronic resources such as e-mail and discussion lists allows us to integrate all our students into a diverse and international peer community. Each semester begins with a short residential in Sheffield, where students participate in lectures, seminars and tutorials with the course staff and visiting experts, and are given guided hands-on experience in both fieldwork methodology and world music performance. This is done in the belief that making music respectfully with other people is itself a model for human engagement that is at once analytical, ethical, responsive, and collective yet individually nuanced. Residentials also prepare the student thoroughly for the ensuing months of independent work, supported through e-tutorials, worksheets and an e-mail discussion list.

The course takes full advantage of the department´s research and teaching strengths: course tutors have published widely on world music topics, and the ethnomusicology course is internationally respected as one of the strongest in Britain. We anticipate that graduates will be widely employable in educational and research-related fields and in the media, as well as qualified and prepared for taking a research degree in ethnomusicology or a related subject.