Music with French

Music and French is a combination that brings together two of the most profound and formally complex human achievements in Western cultural life. Music as a discipline at degree level is not simply the performance of instruments, though performance may be part of it; it is the study of how music is composed and structured, its historical development, its cultural meanings, and the analytical tools we use to understand how it works. French adds a major world language and the cultural and literary traditions of the Francophone world, from French classical music and opera to contemporary French-speaking cultures across five continents.

At Royal Holloway, this three-year programme takes music as the major element of your degree, accounting for three-quarters of your studies, with French as the complementary minor. You will develop your musical knowledge and analytical skills alongside core French language modules, building genuine competence in both areas rather than spreading yourself too thin across either. A sandwich year in industry and a work placement are incorporated, providing professional experience in music or related creative fields, and a year abroad, likely in a French-speaking country, deepens both your linguistic ability and your engagement with musical culture in a different national context.

Graduates from music programmes go on to work in performance, composition, music education, music management and administration, publishing, broadcasting, and the creative industries. The French dimension adds significant value for roles in European cultural organisations, music journalism and criticism, arts management with international dimensions, and any career that benefits from high-level language ability alongside musical knowledge. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in musicology, performance, composition, or music education.

The combination is suited to students with a genuine passion for both subjects who want a degree that reflects the full breadth of their interests.