Music student Brenna Cowe hails flexibility of new part-time degree course
An Edinburgh College student has hailed the flexibility of the College’s recently introduced part-time honours degree course in Music as she aims to use her positive experience on the course to make a successful career in the industry upon completion of her course.
Validated by Kingston School of Art, the course is part of a suite of three new part-time honours degree programmes in Music, Music Business and Audio Production that were introduced by the College at the start of the 2023/24 academic year.
Students are only required to attend classes one day per-week and the rest is made up of independent study, which means students have more flexibility to fit their studies around their other commitments.
Brenna said: “The course being part-time has been really beneficial, as I’m in less during the week which means I can work or spend time with my friends. It’s so much easier, so much more flexible and it's not as overwhelming as I expected it to be. I have more time to focus on the work that I do have and more time to enjoy it rather than be stressing out about all different deadlines.”
As Brenna looks to the future, she credits her time on the course to opening her eyes up to different career opportunities that are available in music.
She said: “As part of the course I did my placement at Milton Road Campus, which really opened my eyes up to teaching. I would be happy to continue on doing that or something similar within a community setting when I complete my studies. It’s so nice and something I might consider doing after what I’ve learned this year.”
With a reduced time, commitment, recognition of professional experience and a project-based curriculum, the new courses fit around work and other commitments, allow for upskilling, reskilling and professional development, and are also eligible for the SAAS part-time fee grant.
In addition, the flexibility of the courses means that students can gain entry with an HND or equivalent level qualification, or just by using a portfolio of professional experience through the Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) route.
Head of school for Media, Music and Sound Production Jonathan Bennett said: “After some research, we have responded to the need for more flexible, individualised and relevant degree-level qualification in Music and Sound Production – not only for those who are progressing from other courses – but, importantly, those who are working in a related field or want to re-skill.
“In addition to allowing for previous experience to be recognised for entry, the courses allow for students own professional work outside of college to be used for assessment and where possible we will coach students through a project of their choosing to support their own professional goals”.
“Thanks to the partnership with Kingston School of Art, it takes one year less for a student to gain their degree compared to the typical Scottish honours degree routes, meaning these degree programmes take one year less than the typical four-year route in Scotland.”