BSc in Sound Engineering and Production
Birmingham, United Kingdom
DURATION
3 up to 4 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 9,250 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* UK students: £9,250 per year | international students: £13,980 per year
Scholarships
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Introduction
Our BSc (Hons) Sound Engineering and Production degree course will provide you with the creative skills and versatility you need to succeed in a constantly evolving, challenging industry.
You’ll have access to world-class facilities so that you can experiment with music production, sound engineering, audio electronics and much more.
Available in the UK to home and international students, the course enables you to study a diverse programme, ensuring students are incredibly well equipped for employment within the industry once completing their degree.
Our students come from around the world and our Sound Engineering and Production course reflects this diversity.
What's covered in this course?
This course has been designed to meet the requirements found within the audio industry, providing a dynamic study programme that focuses on live and studio sound engineering, audio electronics, audio software engineering, acoustics and business principles. This combination of subjects ensures you’ll be employable in a range of career paths.
You’ll be able to use technology to assist in the capture and manipulation of sound. Our course combines practical, hands-on training with theoretical and academic understanding, giving you a holistic conception of sound technology.
Audio engineering is a highly dynamic sector, driven by rapid technological advancement. We will ensure that you have the skills to develop and maintain the next generation of models for production, performance and measurement.
You will develop key transferrable skills, such as teamwork, reflection and self-awareness. You’ll also gain analytical skills through coursework tasks, as well as enhance your problem-solving using a range of systems and technologies.
Throughout the duration of your course, you will be presented with several chances to gain hands-on industry experience, through musical festivals, events and much more. As a Sound Engineering and Production student, you will receive the opportunity to undertake trips through the Live Sound Society.
Professional Placement Year
This course offers a professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, between the second and third years of your degree and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies.
The University will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. If you do not find a suitable placement, you will be automatically transferred back to the standard, non-placement version of the course.
Please note that fees are payable during your placement year, equivalent to 20% of the total full-time course fee for that year (£1,850 for UK students).
Why choose us?
- Brand new facilities at STEAMhouse - This state-of-the-art building will become the new home for its School of Computing and Digital Technology from the start of the 2022 academic year. Based at our expanding City Centre Campus, this unique centre will give you access to outstanding facilities and teaching spaces, as well as opportunities to collaborate with people and businesses across multiple sectors and work on real industry-based projects.
- Range of industry opportunities - Graduates of this course have successfully entered the audio industry, working in live sound, software development, production, sound design and audio post, through to product development, acoustic consultancy and education.
- Preparation for employment - This course will prepare you for a range of technology-orientated career paths in the highly dynamic audio technology environment. Our students have gone to work with companies such as Eurotec International and BBC.
- Get real-life work experience - This course has the option of a sandwich year which you can take between your second and final year.
- Members of WISE - Inspiring female talent in physics and computing.
- State-of-the-art campus and facilities - You’ll be taught across our three City Centre Campuses that include; Millennium Point, which has recently had a £6.5 million investment in facilities; the £57 million Royal Birmingham Conservatoire; and £62 million Parkside Campus.
Gallery
Curriculum
Year One
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):
- Acoustic Fundamentals
- Sound Recording
- Digital Audio Fundamentals
- Live Sound Reinforcement 1
- Audio Software Development
- Audio Electronics
Year Two
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):
- Broadcast Sound
- Recording, Production and Delivery
- Digital Signal Processing
- Audio Systems
- Music and Audio Industries
- Acoustic Applications
Professional Placement Year (Optional)
In order to qualify for the award of BSc (Hons) Sound Engineering And Production with Professional Placement Year a student must successfully complete the following module.
- Professional Placement Year
Year Three
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):
- Individual Honours Project
- Live Sound Reinforcement 2
- Music Information Retrieval
- Digital Audio Effects OR New Interfaces for Musical Expression
- Game Audio
Career Opportunities
Enhancing Employability Skills
Your experience at Birmingham City University will ensure you’ll graduate as a creative problem solver, with significant experience in professional industry-standard hardware, and software systems. You will leave with a global outlook, primed to engage with the technical and aesthetic issues that will challenge the music and audio industries in the technologically mediated world ahead.
The Module Industrial Mentors scheme supports the enhancement of graduate employability through ongoing engagement with industry specialists throughout the course. This initiative is based on facilitating interactions between students and individuals working across the music technology and audio sector via module-based forums. This innovative approach allows you to explore specific subject areas with experienced professionals working in the field.
You have the option to undertake an assessed sandwich year between your second and final year, which will provide you with valuable work experience and give you the real-life skills you need.
The first-year Music and Audio Industries and second-year Employability, Projects and Management modules have been designed to give you a deeper understanding of aspects of this dynamic sector and offer insight that will help with your career development.
Lewis Planter
BSc (Hons) Sound Engineering and Production
After completing his degree in Sound Engineering and Production, Lewis Planter developed a career as a freelance music producer and songwriter.
He has worked with artists including Danielle DI, with whom he released the single ‘Nothing on Me’. He also collaborated with a Jamaican radio personality and disc jockey on the ‘Ragga Riddim Compilation’ which features dancehall acts including Beenie Man, Assassin, and Bugle. This was released earlier this year under the Elektra Music Group label in conjunction with Zojak distributions.
He has also worked with Protoje, producing the track ‘Answer to your Name’, which was the third single from Protoje’s chart-topping reggae album ‘Ancient Future’. This single was featured on Soccer AM in 2015, as well as being used on FOX’s ‘Lethal Weapon’ TV series which aired in the US in October 2017, and will be shown in the UK on ITV in 2018.
"BCU is where I honed my skills in music production and engineering. I hope that current students will see the progress I have made and be inspired about where their degree can take them."
Placements
The Sound Engineering and Production course offers you the chance to take a ‘sandwich’ year, in which you can undertake an industrial placement. This takes place after the second year of study and extends the course duration to four years.
There is a wide range of potential placements that you may pursue such as working in recording studios, record companies, professional audio and theatres. Previously students have undertaken placements with companies such as SSE, Midas/Klark Teknik (The Music Group) and Dolby.
In the past, our students have undertaken year-long placements gaining crucial contemporary industry experience. One example is Christopher Savva who undertook a placement at the International Federation of Phonographic Industry. Christopher’s role included anti-piracy work, where he worked hand-in-hand with the major record labels on content protection and the pre-release protection of singles and albums. His work led to him being offered the chance to undertake some work at EMI as well as a week-long assisting role within Sony RCA Records’ marketing department.