Online learning at the Open College of the Arts provides a significant degree of flexibility in how and when you study the arts. Instead of being tied to a physical campus or rigid timetables, your learning happens where you are – whether that’s your home, studio, or any comfortable space – and you can access your course materials whenever best suits your personal schedule, allowing you to create a study plan that integrates with your existing commitments. Each 40-credit unit has a 12-month timeframe for completion (including an initial induction period) to ensure a focused and progressive learning experience. You’ll also join a diverse and inspiring global community of students, and gain access to a dedicated department space where you can engage with webinars and workshops in addition to your core learning materials.

Our online student platform, OCA Learn, becomes your central hub after registration, providing all your course materials and a space to connect with others. Through OCA Learn, you’ll conveniently submit your completed assignments online. Throughout your studies, you’ll receive expert guidance from a dedicated tutor, a practicing artist, who will offer constructive feedback on your submitted work. This feedback is designed to help you grow, highlighting what you’re doing well and  areas for improvement, often delivered through a mix of detailed written notes directly on your digital submissions within OCA Learn, and the chance to connect with tutors via video.

Starting at Stage 2, the four pathways of this course are: 

Composition 

From your first steps in composition to creating large-scale ensemble works, this pathway guides you through everything you need to know. You’ll explore rhythm, harmony, structure, solo instrumental works and much more. You will learn to produce type-set scores to a high level of quality, suitable for the profession. The course is designed around writing concert music for instrumentalists and singers, but there are opportunities to explore a wider range of compositional approaches as part of your independent study at Stage 3.

Performance

Building on your developing instrumental or vocal skills, this pathway is a unique offer within the online learning environment. You will explore concepts such as interpretation and performance practice, gain the relevant research skills to help you make artistic choices as you develop your creative voice as a performer, and develop approaches to practising and preparing works for performance. Monthly online performance classes provide opportunities to perform in front of your peers, gain specialised feedback and discuss performance-related issues such as performance anxiety, preparation, performance psychology, interpretation and the effective communication of ideas.

Students taking the performance pathway will need to provide their own instruments. 

Orchestration/Arrangement

Designed to enhance your knowledge of instruments and how they can be combined in different ways, this pathway provides ample opportunity to explore different instrumental groupings in a range of styles. From your first steps in orchestration, combining small groups of instruments, to full orchestral scores, you will gain independence in your choice of works and learn to reflect upon the decisions you make which help to define your personality as an orchestrator. Ideal for composers wanting to learn more about how instruments work together, as well as for community musicians or those with a special interest in particular instrumental groupings (eg flute choirs, brass ensembles, string quartets etc). The pathway is also ideal preparation for postgraduate studies in music for film and media, where orchestration is a recognised discipline within its own right.

Musicology

Like the other pathways at OCA, our Musicology pathway is centred on practice. In this case, your practice is research, and you will explore a range of topics from the history of notation to ecomusicology, with plenty of scope to develop your own projects as well. Practical projects might include creating critical editions of musical scores, reconstructing scores (for example historical manuscripts or contemporary works) or creating realisations of performance materials. This pathway brings together academic knowledge and practical skills in a fascinating and hands-on way.

Stage 1 comprises three 40-credit units that must be studied in order. 

Unit 1.1 Exploring Music will introduce you to the four specialist pathways of the OCA Music degree – Composition, Musicology (the academic study of music), Orchestration/Arrangement, and Performance. Through these musical disciplines, you will take your first steps in the OCA music programme, and start developing the skills required for degree level study. You will also explore repertoire by listening to a diverse range of music to widen your awareness of the composers working today and in the recent past. You will be introduced to a range of contemporary musical practices to enable you to begin to consider what it means to be a musician in the 21st century and to develop a sense of how your own musical practices are situated within the contemporary musical world.

To move on to Unit 1.2, you’ll first need to successfully pass the assessment for Unit 1.1. Please be aware that this initial progression step might involve a slightly longer gap between unit enrolments compared to the transition between subsequent units. 

Unit 1.2: Exploring Contexts encourages you to develop an understanding of the musical traditions that have evolved across history, explore the contexts within which a diverse range of music have been written, and expand your knowledge of a range of musical repertoire. You will begin to consider how these influence and inform your own creative and practical work. You will develop and communicate your own opinions and ideas, and gain an understanding of the important developments that have helped to shape the music of today. You will continue to develop your creative practice, gaining skills and techniques in composition, performance and orchestration. You will be introduced to the concept of risk-taking in your creative work  and how this can lead to innovative and exciting results.

Unit 1.3 Exploring Style and Structure, combining your practical work, score study, and academic research, explores the elements of musical style that have emerged and developed in compositional work across history and investigate what the key stylistic trends are that define particular eras. Through gaining an insight into the works of others, you will begin to develop an awareness of the growing characteristics of your own emerging creative style, the influences that help to shape it and to identify possible areas for further development within your creative practice. You will continue to develop your practical and listening skills through a choice of tasks and self-directed study.

Stage 2 comprises three 40-credit units that must be studied in order. 

Unit 2.1: Developing Specialisms begins a more detailed exploration of your specialist areas of interest. You will select two pathways from a choice of composition, musicology, orchestration, and performance. Your two chosen areas of study will be supported by the further development of your research and critical thinking skills, enabling you to begin to investigate the relationships between your practical and academic work. You will build on the academic and practical grounding gained at Stage 1, and use it to inform your ongoing creative work as you move into more specialised areas of study.

Unit 2.2 Experimental Encounters makes the first steps in engaging with other practitioners through collaboration. This unit focuses on collaborative practice and examines the opportunities and challenges when working across and within disciplines with other practitioners. There is potential for student collaborations exploring sound, live art, performance and/or any other relevant media (including but not limited to film, TV, games, dance, drama etc) and the questioning of relationships with audiences. You are encouraged to take creative risks, learn from any errors or mistakes that occur, and to try out new ways of approaching your chosen discipline. Reflection on processes and the social context for practice forms an integral part of this unit, enabling you to identify themes and ideas for further future exploration. 

Unit 2.3: Expanding Practice draws upon your experiences in the previous units to develop more advanced techniques in your choice of composition, musicology, orchestration, or performance pathways. Choose one of the pathways studied as your principal study; this will form the core focus of your work.The other pathway will become your second study. You will be able to incorporate and test further ideas as you take an increasingly independent approach to your practical and academic work. You will explore larger-scale work, for example through the use of bigger ensembles, the performance of longer works or a more in-depth and autonomous approach to research work. 

Stage 3 comprises three 40-credit units that must be studied in order. 

Unit 3.1 Practice and Research aims to synthesize your creative practice and research interests across a self directed body of work and critical thinking assignment, allowing practice and research to inform the other. It provides room to build on your learning, test new ideas, and to identify areas of interest you may want to develop. You will demonstrate your creative voice through a portfolio of self-directed work, a reflective online learning log, a Critical Listening Summary and the articulation of academic knowledge through a choice of assessment tasks.

Unit 3.2 External Projects provides a framework to identify outward-facing projects and opportunities to test, develop, and present your work and ideas. Through this process you will be asked to consider the relationship between your work and other people, including audiences and/or collaborators. The aim of the unit is to lay the foundations for the long-term sustainability of your creative practice, whether this is through professional practice, enterprise activities, further study, or other forms of meaningful engagement. The scope and ambition of this undertaking will be shaped by your interests, motivations, and location. Consequently, the shape and format of projects can vary, including student, tutor, or client-led projects, one sustained project or any number of shorter ones, but all will be externally-facing. Examples might include programming and performing, working with other musicians, online marketing, developing networks that support your practice, self-promotion through social media and/or accessing arts funding. The written project or presentation provides an opportunity to either extend the critical thinking assignment undertaken in the Practice and Research Unit into a dissertation, or to produce case studies, project reports, or business cases to support your chosen external activities.

Unit 3.3 Major Project provides the opportunity to demonstrate all that you have learned over the previous units and levels by undertaking a larger-scale self-directed project, and reflecting on your experiences through a final presentation of your creative language. The Major Project offers a platform to focus on your specialist area of inquiry and to undertake a substantial and sustained body of work. This could be further academic study, setting up as a performer, composer or orchestrator or as a practising musician in another area, showcased in an appropriate, self-managed way, through physical or online demonstrations, contributions to publications, performances, trade shows or other commercial contexts, portfolio presentations, or other platforms, and shared through OCA’s online gallery. To support this, you will produce self-promotional, marketing, and other outward-facing material, and continue to apply increasingly professional personal and graduate skills in your dealings with other people. 

When you complete a unit, you are invited to submit a portfolio of work and critical essays to the next available assessment event. There are three undergraduate assessment events held each year, and when you complete your unit which decide which assessment event you submit to. In some instances, you will require your assessment results before progressing onto your next unit.

You have a total of 12 months to complete each 40-credit unit, starting with a two-week induction.

You will arrange your assignment submission dates with your tutor directly so you can study at your own pace within the unit timeframe (although it’s important to note that full-time study is not available). This means that the course completion time varies depending on the study hours dedicated, and when you submit to assessment.

After successfully finishing a unit, you have a six-month window to enrol for your subsequent unit of study. This six-month period begins from the date you receive your assessment results.

Programme Specifications

Programme Specification

The BA (Hons) Music course was updated in 2021. Students who enrolled before the update will continue with the previous version (the “Teach Out” programme) until they progress to a new stage of their studies. At that point, they will switch to the updated course.

Teaching Out Programme Specification

New students cannot enrol to the Teach Out programme.

Accessibility Guides

Accessibility guides give an indication of the type and format of content, teaching, and learning activities on the course, and how these are ordinarily delivered.

Review Accessibility Guides Here

Curriculum changes

We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available units – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which OCA might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us. This description was last updated on 14 December 2022.

The Academic Regulations for Subsidiary Institutions of The Open University are applicable to all taught courses offered by the Open College of the Arts (OCA).

Academic Regulatory Framework

The Academic Regulatory Framework (ARF) regulations are applicable to all taught courses offered by the Open College of the Arts (OCA). As of January 2024, this will lead to an undergraduate award of The Open University (OU).

You can review the ARF through the link below:

Academic Framework

Enjoy a flexible approach to both learning and financing. Our undergraduate degrees are delivered and paid for on a unit-by-unit basis. You only pay for the specific unit you are registered to study at the time. You’ll typically study one or two 40-credit units per year, depending on your study pace. Our 60-credit units are specific to Teach Out programmes for historic pathways.

While our fees are reviewed annually—meaning the total cost of a degree may fluctuate slightly over time—we are committed to keeping any adjustments to a minimum and always in line with our Student Fees Policy.

Based on 2025/2026 academic year fees, the approximate cost of a BA (HONS) is:

• £20,412 for UK based students
• £23,382 for international students.

Students pay for one unit at a time. UK students pay £2,268 per 40-credit unit, and international students pay £2,598 per 40-credit unit.

Unit fees are reviewed annually therefore the total cost of a degree will vary and may increase over time, however we aim to keep any increases to a minimum where possible and in line with our Student Fees Policy.

[Updated 23/04/25]

Other costs you may encounter will include software subscription, books, materials and equipment. These can be around £400 – £600 per stage of study, though costs will vary depending on your choice of medium and whether books are bought or loaned from a library. Most reading materials can be accessed through the digital library services and eBooks, or sent to you in the post if included within the course materials, and degree students also have access to The Open University online library.