You must be able to read and understand specialist literature in English in order to pursue your studies. However, you will not be required to provide separate proof of your language proficiency.

Additionally, you will need foreign language proficiency in a second modern language or in Latin.

Furthermore, you must have basic knowledge of harmonics and ear training as they are taught in school music lessons and be able to read scores (sheet music with multiple simultaneous parts).

Highly recommended, but not required: You should be interested in not just listening to music, but also in creating it. Therefore, you should be able to play at least one instrument.

You will study this subject as part of a two-subject bachelor’s degree program. The degree program always consists of an academic major and minor, which can be combined according to your interests or professional goals.

If you choose the subject as a minor, you will generally complete only a portion of the modules and classes taught to students of the major subject. As a result, you will focus on a selection from the content listed below.

Program structure

In the Musicology degree program, you will attend courses in the following subjects:

• Musicological working methods
• Musicological questions and techniques
• The fundamentals of European music theory and musical analysis
• European music history prior to 1600
• European music history from around 1600 and up to the present day
• Music and media (elective area)
• Music informatics (elective area)
• Musicology as historic cultural studies

If you are studying Musicology as a major within the bachelor’s program, you will either select the ares of specialization “Music and Media” or “Music Informatics,” starting from the 4th academic semester. If you are studying Musicology as a minor, you can decide between “Music History before 1600,” “Music and Media,” or “Music Informatics,” starting from the 3rd academic semester.

Stays abroad

Would you like to live abroad for a semester or a year? Do you want to learn another language and get to know a new culture? Or gain a different perspective on your particular subject? A stay abroad provides you with the perfect opportunity to achieve this and is possible with every degree program – either self-organized or by taking advantage of one of the popular exchange programs. This is made possible by various cooperation agreements and partnerships with foreign universities.

For more information on this topic, please visit our websites on studying abroad. Visit our student exchange platform for an overview of cooperating universities in your field.

This program of study does not require you to spend time abroad, but you nevertheless have the opportunity to do so.

For the Bachelor in Musicology, it is recommended that a semester abroad be carried out after the 4th semester.

Internships

If you pursue Musicology as a major, you will complete an internship for a duration of at least four weeks in a relevant professional field. The ideal time to complete an internship is during the semester break after your 2nd or 3rd academic semester.

Voluntary internships are another good opportunity to obtain more in-depth insight into a professional field.

An internship allows you to discover whether everyday life in a particular occupation suits your career expectations and interests. You can gain qualifications for a professional field and acquire important professional and personal skills to start a career. An internship helps you both shape your career path, and mold the remainder of your course sequence – in particular by selecting specializations that suit your practical experience.

You can find further information and relevant internships on the Career Service website.

As a graduate of musicology, you will have acquired the following competencies that are relevant for your future career:

• Methods of (musical) academic work, such as research, analysis, and processing
• Critical and academic approaches to working with musical resources like sheet music, sound recording media, performances, and written, visual, and online sources
• A solid overview of European musical history from ancient Greece to present today
• The ability to understand any type of musical phenomenon, and to be able to contextualize it historically and culturally
• A critical awareness of the characteristics of music in different forms of media like sheet music, recorded music, performances, etc.

Typical professional fields include:

• Music publishing
• Music editing for radio, television, and internet
• Music journalism and critique
• Culture and concert management
• Dramaturgy and/or public relations at concert halls or theaters
• Music libraries and archives

Not sure what to do after graduation? Don’t worry!

A university degree generally does not prepare you for a single profession but qualifies you for a wide range of career paths – for example, in research, in a typical profession related to your field of study, or in one of many other academic fields.

This is why career orientation is also part of your studies. Gaining practical experience is key, and you can do so through internships, working student positions, part-time jobs or voluntary work, for example.

JGU’s Career Service will support you throughout the entire process with information, advice, workshops and numerous events – from career orientation and working on your profile and skills to finding your dream job and successfully applying for it.