Music and Politics

Music and Politics is an unusual degree, but a genuinely illuminating one. Music and politics have been entwined throughout human history: anthems, protest songs, state-sponsored concerts, censorship, the political economy of the music industry, and the use of music in propaganda and resistance all testify to how deeply the two are connected. Studying them together means developing analytical and creative skills on both sides, bringing musical understanding to political questions and political intelligence to the study of music.

At Liverpool Hope University, this three-year full-time programme includes a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and a work placement, offering significant professional and international experience. Liverpool itself is a culturally rich context for this degree: as one of the world's most celebrated music cities, with a scene spanning popular, classical, jazz, folk, electronic, and experimental music, it provides a living laboratory for much of what the programme examines. You will study music theory, history, and practice alongside political science and political theory, exploring how music shapes and reflects political life, how the music industry is organised as an economic and political system, and how musicians and audiences engage with questions of power, identity, and social change.

The placement year gives you professional experience that could be in the music industry, in political organisations, or in cultural or media settings.

This combination produces graduates with creative, analytical, and critical skills that apply across many sectors. Career pathways include the music industry in roles such as management, journalism, promotion, and production, as well as arts policy and administration, broadcasting, political communication, campaign work, the civil service, teaching, and the charitable sector. Some graduates pursue postgraduate study in music, politics, cultural studies, or music journalism.