CIT Cork School of Music is the largest conservatory of music and drama in Ireland with a history of 140 years of high-quality education in these fields.

The School offers four-year, level-eight, honours undergraduate degrees in: music - BMus CR121 (catering for classical, jazz, and traditional Irish performers), a specialist BA in Popular Music CR125, 126, 127, 128, 129 – and a BA in Theatre & Drama Studies, CR700. These are all restricted access courses on CAO, so you must apply before 1 February.

CIT Cork School of Music also offers Masters degrees in Performance, Conducting, Composition and Arranging, and have a dedicated programme for Music & Technology.

Visit www.csm.cit.ie to get a sense of its world-class facilities and courses or email csm.info [at] cit.ie.

See details on courses below.

Bachelor of Music (BMus Honours) –  CR121
This four-year programme leads to the award of an Honours BMus Degree. The course offered by the CSM differs fundamentally from those available elsewhere in the country in a number of ways. In particular, Performance Studies are an integrated feature throughout the course and students receive credit for them proportional to their level of ability and specialisation.

One of the attractions of this Honours Degree course is the nature of Years 1 and 2, which are best described respectively as “Foundation” and “Transition”. The carefully coordinated elements of the Year 1 course seeks to ensure that every student is subsequently able to fulfil their potential, whatever specialisations are chosen. During Year 2, the continuation of core studies is balanced by the introduction of elements that ensure students can make an informed decision about which subjects they would like to concentrate on during the third and fourth years. Whilst these might prove to be Performance Studies, or Music in the Community, or Pedagogic [Music Teaching] Studies, or Music and Technology, or Music Therapy, it is equally possible to specialise in Applied Musicianship Skills and/ or Music History. Students specialising in conducting and/ or orchestration reap the bene ts of multiple sessions with the CSM’s most senior performing groups, including the Fleischmann Choir, Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.

Coach accompanying at CSM offers an invaluable resource allowing students to explore their chosen repertoire in an open and supportive environment. Valued highly at the school, it is considered an integral part of the education offered on the BMus programme. CSM’s coach accompanists are professional pianists with extensive experience in coaching and performing the duo and chamber music repertoire. As part of the BMus degree, instrumental and vocal students are assigned their own personal coach accompanist. Students have regular coaching sessions, tailored to fit the needs of students. Regular rehearsals and performance platforms provide students with ample opportunities to prepare and perform recital programmes in advance of exams and competitions. Under the guidance of the coach accompanist, students are encouraged to explore performance aspects of their chosen repertoire, to collaborate effectively and to develop their own musical ideas and personality. Open dialogue is encouraged, reflecting professional, real-life situations such as the preparation and performance of public recitals, competitions and recordings.

Potential professional performers can study with people who have played in and/or conducted professional orchestras, choirs and bands, are (or have been) members of professional chamber ensembles, and perform regularly as soloists. Aspiring teachers take courses in Pedagogic Studies that teach the very best practices to be found in a School that has been at the cutting edge of music education for over 130 years. In addition, there is also coherent and meaningful provision for students whose interests and strengths lie in the fields of Applied Musicianship Studies (including Analysis, Conducting, Composition and Counterpoint) and/or Historical Studies.

Staff of the CSM have blazed the trail for both Community Music and Music Therapy studies in Ireland, and the Music and Technology Studies are enhanced by the unique availability of state-of-the-art digital equipment in the CSM and linkages with the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Multimedia offered by CIT in its Bishopstown Campus.

The CIT Cork School of Music occupies a purpose-built conservatory building that is one of the nest facilities in the world for music and drama education, with an amazing technological infrastructure. For more info visit the facilities page. http://csm.cit.ie/college

Bachelor of Arts in Popular Music (Honours) – CR125–9
This is a four-year programme leading to the award of a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Popular Music. Singers and instrumentalists who play guitar, bass, keyboards or drums in a pop style will study together: performance skills, ensemble, theory & harmony, songwriting, music technology and music business, law and entrepreneurship. In third and fourth year, students’ electives include Music Therapy, and Music in the Community. Those wishing to specialise in Music Technology have access to some of the most sophisticated electronic and computer equipment available in the country.

Graduates will be able to compete in the busy world of commercial music in Ireland, for recording contracts, gigs in clubs and concert halls, TV and stage shows, corporate entertainment, and the fertile melting pot that is the Irish singer-songwriter circuit. Synergies with the classical, jazz and traditional musicians on the BMus course will open creative doors and career opportunities such as those fostered in the famous performing arts schools and colleges of Britain and the U.S.A.

The CIT Cork School of Music occupies a purpose-built conservatory building that is one of the nest facilities in the world for music and drama education, with an amazing technological infrastructure. For more info visit the facilities page. http://csm.cit.ie/college

Masters in Music (Taught MA)
The Masters in Music is an intensive course offered in the specialist areas of Performance, Conducting and Composition. There are separate strands available in Classical, Jazz, Popular and Irish Traditional Music as well as Early Music.

Performance candidates can specialise in solo or ensemble work. Chamber groups who have been working together have the opportunity of completing the programme as an ensemble.

The course is centeredaroundthe preparation and delivery of three public performances for instrumentalists/singers, or three rehearsals and performances for Conductors or three portfolios of compositions for those engaged with Composition. Candidates have the opportunity to design the content of the performances/compositions they undertake under the supervision of expert staff. Students explore a variety of complementary skills through the Professional Studies course, as well as electives ranging from research skills to music technology or pedagogy.The CIT Cork School of Music occupies a purpose-built conservatory building that is one of the nest facilities in the world for music and drama education, with an amazing technological infrastructure. For more info visit the facilities page. http://csm.cit.ie/college

Masters in Music & Technology (Taught MA/MSc)
The Masters in Music & Technology  focuses on the use of technology to enhance music creation of all kinds. Core studies include Computer Music, Recording Studio, Acoustics & Psychoacoustics and Sound Synthesis. New skills are taught and existing ones enhanced, in both technical and artistic areas. Students are encouraged to explore a variety of complementary skills through electives, these include subjects from multimedia, music performance, engineering, and computer science. The ethos of the programme is a “hands-on” approach and core studies are assessed primarily by project work throughout the year.

The Cork School of Music is a purpose-built conservatory building that is one of the finest facilities for music education in all of Europe with an amazing technological infrastructure. 

The teaching staff come from a variety of areas of expertise - Music Performance and Composition, Art, Multimedia, Business, Electronic Engineering, Computer Programming and many more. Each staff member has an interest in Music & Technology and the integration of the diverse disciplines is discussed and contextualised in the Computer Music classes and industry seminars.

The Masters in Music & Technology at CIT Cork School of Music is a full-time 12-month intensive programme with two pathways - Master of Science or Master of Arts - depending on the electives chosen. The programme is designed to take full advantage of the technological resources of the Cork School of Music. http://csm.cit.ie/college

Bachelor of Arts in Drama & Theatre Studies (BA Honours) – CR700
This is a four-year programme that centres on theatre performance training, with supporting modules to facilitate wider career options. The programme aims to produce artists that are physically and vocally exible and intellectually alive and curious. Alongside core disciplines of voice, movement and acting studies, you will develop a range of creative and practical techniques and transferable skills that will encourage you to be an independent thinking and motivated artist, an articulate and re ective practitioner equipped to succeed in a competitive profession. Small group and large ensemble practical and workshop sessions are balanced with lectures, tutorials and field- based studies.

Capstone Module: In the fourth and final year, each student works on an integrated production. As the emphasis throughout the programme is on performance, this allows an involvement at a professional level as a theatre practitioner as the culmination of the four years’ work.

The CIT Cork School of Music occupies a purpose-built conservatory building that is one of the nest facilities in the world for music and drama education, with an amazing technological infrastructure. For more info visit the facilities page. http://csm.cit.ie/college