Graduate Profile for the
Bachelor of Music (BMus)

Preamble

The papers offered by the University of Waikato towards the Bachelor of Music (BMus) have been designed to achieve the mastery of content, acquisition of skills and development of attributes. Learning experiences are incorporated into the programme to bring about these desired outcomes, and assessment is designed to ensure that students have the opportunity to demonstrate their achievement.

The University has developed strong relationships and networks with communities and businesses to ensure that its programmes and qualifications are relevant and responsive to our students’ needs as well as their needs. The University is also responsive to a range of social and economic goals which have been identified as priorities by Government. The generic capabilities developed by our graduates are of critical importance, as are specialist knowledge and skills. This graduate profile includes an outline of its links with other education sector groups, community groups, industry and employers who have an interest in the capabilities of graduates of this qualification, who contribute to programme planning and development and who also, in many cases, provide workplace experience opportunities.

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences seeks in all its qualifications to familiarise students with central bodies of knowledge in the subject areas of Arts and Social Sciences, to encourage the development of the ability to analyse such knowledge critically, to provide the skills needed to articulate their knowledge and positions and to contribute to the extension of knowledge by research.

The BMus is a specialist qualification for those who want to concentrate their study on aspects of Music. It encourages in-depth study of a range of areas including both creative (performance, composition) and academic (musicology, music history) involvement with the subject.

Mastery of Content

Bachelor of Music graduates are able to read and write music fluently and express their creativity coherently through performance and/or composition.

• Graduates will develop advanced knowledge of either the Performance or the Academic facets of the study of Music.
• They will also develop breadth of knowledge through study of a supporting subject or subjects, such as Art History, Drama (Theatre Studies), French or German.
• Graduates will have knowledge of the main methods of enquiry in their subject(s) of choice.
• Graduates will have knowledge of the different approaches to solving problems and the techniques applicable to research in their area(s) of study.

Acquisition of Skills

Bachelor of Music graduates will have oral and written communication skills, critical thinking skills, practical music skills, self-directed learning skills, c ooperative skills and an ethical awareness. These skills will include:

• the ability to apply a high level of oral and written communication skills in English.
• a familiarity with the appropriate conventions for formal academic communication in the discipline of Music
• the ability to structure their communication clearly and to express sophisticated and subtle concepts and arguments in an articulate manner
• the ability to adapt their communication style to suit different media, contexts and audiences.
• fundamental word processing computer skills.
• the ability to engage critically with information presented in a range of media and styles.
• the ability to analyse and evaluate information and the ability to formulate reasoned arguments leading to rational conclusions.
• practice in musical notation and the ability to write and interpret musical scores.
• the ability to develop their musical ideas creatively and to apply their skills to create new compositions and to adapt existing ones.
• Performance graduates also have advanced skills in performing instrumental or voice works.
• the ability to access information from a range of media (including electronic media) and evaluate its relevance to a situation or topic.
• the ability to utilise their information literacy to provide them with the means of continuing learning throughout life.
• the ability to be self-directed in their approach and to plan their work to meet time and other constraints.
• the ability to work cooperatively with diverse groups and individuals in the writing and/or performance of music.
• the ability to contribute effectively to collective projects and to determine criteria for evaluating their own and others’ performance in relation to a task.
• an awareness and understanding of ethical issues that relate to music. It is intended that the understanding of different approaches, styles and methods within a discipline will help a student develop integrity and tolerance which is applicable to a broad range of situations.

Development of Attributes

Bachelor of Music graduates will have:

• intellectual flexibility and adaptability.
• an ability to integrate knowledge beyond the sphere of their main academic focus, which is fostered through the University of Waikato’s emphasis on interdisciplinarity.
• the capacity to be open to and aware of the wider implications of specific knowledge and are able to adapt their skills to suit varied situations.
• confidence to make decisions in complex and unpredictable contexts.
• the learning ability needed to undertake appropriate further education and/or training.

Graduate Pathways in Further Education

Bachelor of Music graduates are equipped to proceed onto a wide range of qualifications, including the following offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:

Bachelor of Music with Honours
Bachelor of Arts with Honours
Graduate Diploma Graduate Diploma in Arts
Graduate Diploma in Social Sciences
Graduate Diploma in Applied Ethics
Graduate Diploma in Religious Studies
Graduate Diploma in Screen and Media Studies
Graduate Diploma in Social Science Research
Master of Arts
Master of Music in Performance or Composition
Master of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy

Community and Workplace Prospects

Bachelor of Music graduates are equipped for a range of careers, including broadcasting, radio and television production, performer (solo, chamber, orchestral, studio, experimental, theatrical), composer/arranger (for concert platform, television, film, theatre, commercials), multi media creative, arts administrator, communications coordinator, community development, musical director/producer, educator (at all levels: private, primary, secondary, tertiary), film music production, human-computer interface development, journalist, librarian/information consultant and music technician.

However, more generally the breadth of the overall skills and attributes Bachelor of Music graduates have acquired through their studies provide them with the critical analysis skills and the understanding to make a positive, relevant and innovative contribution to the social and economic development, the labour market and community of New Zealand.

Networks into Other Sectors

The Music department and individual staff members have networks and relationships with a diverse range of local, national and international organisations, the support and input of which are invaluable to the disciplines. These include, for instance, networks and relationships with the wider education sector, particularly with secondary schools, cultural groups, creative, theatrical and performing groups, international organisations, and professional groups or organisations. Music also has have links directly with the public at large, for instance, through the Performing Arts Academy.

These networks and relationships contribute to the learning of the students and to the ongoing development of the programmes given the breadth of experience, relevance and access to the community brings home to the students that what they are studying is a society of which we are part. These also ensure the students are informed by and about the wider society and world of which we are a part through research related teaching.

More generalised links and networks exist as many subject areas provide consultancy services using their expertise to the greater community.

Workplace or other sector experience opportunities are provided through these networks and relationships.