Course Summary · 2027 Entry
Music at University of Cambridge
Key requirements for Music at University of Cambridge, compiled from the official course page, with 1-to-1 tutoring from Oxford or Cambridge graduates.
In a nutshell
Cambridge Music is a three-year academic degree, not a conservatoire course. You write essays on tonal harmony, music history and analysis from Year 1; performance and composition are options rather than the core. A short audition or performance opportunity is offered at most colleges as part of the interview, but is separate from any Choral or Organ Scholarship audition.
Course summary
What University of Cambridge publishes for Music.
- UCAS code
- W300
- Degree
- BA (Hons)
- Duration
- 3 years
- Typical A-Level offer
- A*AA
- Required subjects
- Music
- Admissions test
- No pre-registered admissions test. Twelve colleges (Downing, Girton, Gonville & Caius, Jesus, Newnham, Queens', Robinson, Selwyn, St Edmund's, St John's, Trinity and Trinity Hall) assess aptitude and potential through at-interview tasks; the rest rely on the interview alone. No advance registration is needed.
- Interview
- Two interviews. The academic interview discusses your submitted essays, a short pre-read or recent listening; a separate slot may include keyboard skills, sight-singing or a short performance. Choral and Organ Scholarship auditions are separate processes run earlier in the year.
- Official course page
- https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/music
Always verify these details on the official University of Cambridge course page before applying - entry requirements and assessment formats can change between cycles.
Insider tips
Things Music applicants commonly miss.
- 01
Choral and Organ Scholarship auditions are a parallel route - they happen in September (organ) or earlier in the year (choral) before the main UCAS deadline. They are application boosters, not substitutes for the academic application.
- 02
You do not need Grade 8 piano or composition to apply - analytical writing is the academic core, and tutors weight your essays and academic reference more heavily than performance grades.