An innovative, industry focused degree that explores the skills needed to create, produce and perform high quality electronic music. At its core, this Electronic Music Production degree covers both essential and advanced composition and production techniques. During the three years, you will explore new and exciting methods of sound creation and manipulation using industry standard software, such as Ableton and Logic Pro.
This degree explores the fundamentals of game art and development including character, concept and environment art, 3D modelling and sculpting, as well as what is needed to make a game, development roles, asset creation and pipelines and how to pitch game ideas. The creative digital industries are crying out for versatile professionals with transferable technical and creative skills who can meet the challenges of this fast developing sector and this course will thoroughly prepare you for this.
For those who want to explore music composition and creative sound specialist within the exciting and ever-changing television, film and new media industries.
This Music Production and Sound Engineering degree is aimed primarily at people who see themselves as producers or engineers and want to focus on studio-based production.
If you have an Foundation degree or HND in any area of music production, from electronic music production to studio engineering, then we offer the opportunity to top up your qualification to a full BA (Hons) undergraduate degree with one further year of study in either Electronic Music Production or Music Production & Sound Engineering.
If you have an Foundation degree or HND in any area of music production, from electronic music production to studio engineering, then we offer the opportunity to top up your qualification to a full BA (Hons) undergraduate degree with one further year of study in either Electronic Music Production or Music Production & Sound Engineering
Our exciting Live Sound degree is highly practical, gear heavy, packed full of industry connections/opportunities and will give you the skills needed to progress onto a successful career. We’ll teach you current mixing technologies, acoustics, modern speaker systems, sound system optimisation techniques, analogue and digital live sound production, while elevating your listening skills and honing your professional practice.
Push your electronic music production to a professional level with this flexible, industry-focussed, postgraduate course.
This postgraduate course has been designed to help you push the boundaries in your chosen field; developing not only your academic prowess but also the capacity to move beyond music and sound, exploring broader realms of creative possibility. It also offers a flexible and multidisciplinary approach allowing you to tailor the course content to suit your own creative and career goals.
Establish yourself as a music production and sound engineering specialist with this multi-dimensional, professionally-targeted, postgraduate course.
Push your electronic music production to a professional level with this flexible, industry-focussed, online postgraduate course.
Establish yourself as a music production and sound engineering specialist with this multi-dimensional, professionally-targeted, online postgraduate course.
Moving to a brand-new city to start university is an adventure. That’s why it’s so important to move to a city that is exciting, full of things to do and populated with other creatives to collaborate with.
Manchester ticks all of those boxes and many more, which is why we’ve made it our new home! We love it here, and we’re sure you will too. Manchester is the UK’s unofficial ‘second city’ and has one of the most vibrant music, art and youth cultures in the world, let alone the country!
To help you find your feet when you arrive, we’ve curated some of our favourite areas in the city and the venues, exhibition spaces, pubs and clubs that make them special.
NOMA is the latest in a long line of neighbourhood regeneration projects in Manchester and dBs is a part of it! This is where we call home and with urban spaces, restaurants, bars, venues and a city-centre garden, there’s plenty to do aside from study!
New Century is the home of dBs. Our teaching facilities are located in the basement and in the two floors above us, there is a kitchen and social space packed full of amazing independent food vendors as well as an 1,300-cap venue which will be connected to our studios to allow real-time recording, mixing and mastering of live shows. Steeped in music heritage, the regeneration of New Century will ensure it becomes a hive of creative activity for the future.
Just outside of New Century is Sadler’s Yard - a public square with sitting areas, rotating art exhibitions and pop-ups and the Sadler’s Cat - our very own local! It’s the perfect place to chill between lectures.
The Angel pub is a stone’s throw away from New Century on Angel Square and known locally for it’s excellent selection of real ales, quiz nights and cozy surroundings.
Manchester is arguably the most famous city on the planet when it comes to football. Home to two of the world’s premier football clubs, it’s apt that England’s National Football Museum is based here - and it's only a short walk from our campus!
When the sun is out, St Michael's Flags and Angel Meadow Park is a great spot for our students to take in some fresh air in between lectures. Located just a short walk from our campus, it’s a perfect spot for a short walk or a picnic in the heart of the city.
NOMA in Manchester is one of the newest locations for the New Zealand coffee chain Allpress Espresso - and it’s conveniently located around the corner from our Manchester campus for those early morning lectures and workshops on-site
Manchester’s famous Northern Quarter is one of the most popular places to live, eat, drink and shop in the city. Full of trendy bars, restaurants, clubs and shops, the area is covered in street art and celebrates the independent-ethos of the city.
One of Manchester’s best clubs, Soup often welcomes some of the best DJs in the country and abroad through its doors. It’s intimate, award-winning and prides itself on being accessible for those with disabilities.
Located in the heart of the Northern Quarter, The Castle Hotel is a popular pub with a long history and an 80-cap live music venue. It’s become a favourite for music lovers in the city and it’s not too far from New Century either!
Purezza is a pizza chain specialising in vegan pizza, but, even if you’re not vegan, you don’t have to feel like you’re missing out. Instead of focusing on meat substitutes, they lean into the flavours that complement the vegan diet and their dough balls are INCREDIBLE.
If you’re looking for a chilled-out bar in the Northern Quarter, 33 Oldham Street should be firmly on your list. As well as running live music events, it’s also a go-to spot for bottomless brunch, bagels, burgers and beer.
Like a trendy pub with good food, great beer a regular open mic night and quiz night? The Bay Horse Tavern in the Northern Quarter is a popular haunt and ideal as a location to chill out with mates after uni.
If you’re looking for an intimate space to listen to tunes in the heart of the city’s most famous area, Matt & Phred’s Jazz Club fits the bill. Head there for smooth jazz, pizzas, cocktails and a chilled evening.
Salt & Pepper is an institution in Manchester, where you can get Chinese-inspired British food in a classic takeaway style. It won’t break the bank either!
£1 tacos should be all we need to say to get you to Wolf at The Door. With plenty of incredible dishes to choose from at reasonable prices in an effortlessly cool setting, Wolf at The Door is a must-go spot for a quick bite and a drink.
Band on The Wall has been helping shape Manchester’s vibrant live music scene for years. From DJ sets to reggae, folk and world music, the historic venue showcases it all and they have a learning centre where you can join classes and workshops in everything from filming to jazz.
For great beer, cocktails and New York-style pizza slices, head to Common - the home of Nell’s. Open from noon until late every day of the week, this place is a guarantee for a great evening out with your mates.
The oldest bar in Manchester, Sinclairs Oyster Bar is one of the best places to have a drink in the sun across the whole city. It’s reasonably priced, is in a great location and you’ll be able to bask in one of the remaining echoes of the city’s great past.
If you enjoy craft and design as well as producing music or developing games, you can join the Manchester Craft & Design Centre community by hiring one of their studios, attending an event or setting one up yourself! Keep an eye out for their exhibitions, events and workshops if you want to delve into the design and art heritage of the city.
Head down to NQ64 for a game-themed cocktail, retro arcade machines and consoles to play on. It’s a booze-filled, sugar-rush of nostalgia and perfect for people who love classic arcade games.
Afflecks is an eclectic indoor market that sells everything from collectible toys to clothes, jewellery and records. Bustling on a weekend, it’s one of the most popular shopping areas in the city and includes an LGBTQ+ bookshop and a tattoo parlour.
If you’ve got a sweet tooth, Gooey is the perfect breakfast spot. Their french toast is famous - or infamous - and incredibly decadent and it’s only a stone's throw from the campus as well!
Another of the Northern Quarter’s best live venues, Night & Day Café has live music most days of the week, as well as rolling art exhibitions from local artists with paintings that are hung around the venue and rotated every few months. It’s a relaxed and interesting place to hang out and has its finger on the pulse of the local music scene.
This & That is a charming family-run curry house that’s one of the city’s favourites. Tucked away on Soap Street, it’s easy to miss, but well-worth seeking out!
Level up your night out at Pixel Bar! You can book your own booth, play the latest consoles and enjoy some incredible cocktails and beers.
West of the City of Manchester, the City of Salford is part of Greater Manchester and the only other city in the county region. Salford has become synonymous with Manchester and, although they’re very close, Salford has its own distinct cultural and musical heritage.
Named after Laurence Stephen Lowry, the painter who was inspired by the industrial landscapes of the North West, The Lowry is one of the premier exhibition spaces, galleries and theatres in the North West. They also have a range of creative learning programmes for anyone who wants to flex their creative muscles outside of the studio!
Another one of the coolest clubs in the Greater Manchester area, The White Hotel is intimate, industrial and unassuming and brings in some of the best up and coming electronic music producers and DJs in the country.
For a free afternoon of art and history exhibitions, the Salford Museum & Art Gallery is definitely one to check out. It’s not too far from the city - just a 30 minute walk from New Century - and has excellent exhibits on rotation across the year.
HENRYKK is a hidden gem of a club and a relative newcomer to the live music scene in Manchester. It’s definitely one to check out if you find yourself out in Salford.
The Eagle Inn is one of the most popular watering holes for the hipsters of Manchester, but it’s also one of the most well-trodden venues in the city circuit, too! As well as being a venue and a pub, they also have rehearsal rooms that can be booked out affordably for up and coming bands and artists.
Described as “Britain’s most bohemian backstreet boozer”, The King’s Arms is just a 10-minute walk from Deasngate and has a calendar filled to the brim with eclectic live music, pub quizzes and comedy nights.
The Salford Lads Club is one of the most iconic buildings in the city. It’s a location synonymous with The Smiths, as they posed in front of it for the inside sleeve of their record 'The Queen is Dead', and has become emblematic with the music culture of the city. The club is still open for tourists and is part of a music tour of the city.
If you like more independent minded art, rather than the bigger exhibitions at national institutions, the Salford Arts Theatre is a great place to check out. From open mic nights, small-scale theatrical performances, poetry readings and much more, there’s tonnes on offer.
Located on the western edge of Salford, Worsley Woods is an area to depart from the hectic rhythm of life in the city. The perfect spot for a walk on a summer weekend!
The area of Manchester city centre, just north of the A57 and around Manchester Piccadilly and Princess Street, is a bustling hive of activity and is home to one of the most exciting superclubs in the country.
The Warehouse Project is, without question, one of the best clubs in the country - arguably even Europe and the world! The curation of nights there is second to none and the calendar isn’t saturated - there isn’t something on every weekend which only adds to the excitement. This place is a must if you love electronic music.
Set in the old building of the infamous Factory Records, Factory 251 is another one of the city’s best clubs. There are nights for everyone, from straight-laced commercial dance music to more eclectic electronic music.
Owned by event specialists JBM Music, Joshua Brooks is part bar & kitchen and part underground club, with some of the best DJs in the country heading down into the intimate basement for extended sets. During the day, the beer is cold and the food is delicious and it doubles up as a sophisticated place to have lunch.
Set across four floors, YES is a cultural centre with everything from club nights, to live music and a relaxed bar. It’s one of the many old warehouses that have been repurposed into important cultural institutions for the city.
Spread over three floors, Hello Oriental is Manchester’s newest food market where you can grab a quick bite to eat or stay for a drink. It’s a must-visit location for lovers of Asian cuisine.
Oxford Road is one of the main thouroughfares in Manchester, running from the city centre south into the suburbs. It’s also home to some of the best pubs, venues and shopping areas in the city!
This pub is a cult classic in the city. It’s a no-nonsense pub in a Grade II listed building and known as one of the most beautiful boozers in the city.
Much like Boxpark in Shoreditch and Cargo in Bristol, Hatch is a shipping container village in Manchester that has some excellent independent food vendors, cafes, bars as well as a packed events schedule.
Many of the venues in Manchester make use of the old industrial buildings that were so important during the Industrial Revolution and Gorilla does it as well as any other. Located under the railway arches, the bar, club, live music venue and restaurant has embedded itself, quite literally, into the brickwork of the city.
Ancoats is another of the most trendy areas in Manchester alongside the Northern Quarter and home to a swathe of cool pubs, fine dining restaurants and hang-out spots.
The Loft isn’t technically in Ancoats, it’s further up the Oldham Road in an industrial estate. However, it’s still well-worth a visit. It’s an intimate nightclub that’s off the beaten track, but feels raw and takes DJ bookings from across the spectrum of electronic dance music.
A corner shop isn’t usually the kind of place we’d usually be recommending as a place to hang out, but the Ancoats General Store is a corner shop with a difference. As well as all the basics, the shop is packed full of craft beer and items you won’t see at your local Tesco. As well as that, they sometimes even host impromptu events!
Hip hop and chips. Need we say anymore?
Elnecot is an effortlessly cool food and drink spot in Ancoats that’s inspired by British cuisine. It’s not the cheapest place in town, but the food and atmosphere are great and it’s definitely worth checking out.
The Hope Mill Theatre is another of the city’s smaller, independent-minded theatres with small-scale productions from local actors. It aims to bring new and exciting performances to the city and is located in the perfect neighbourhood to do so!
The New Islington tram stop isn’t an official location per-se, but its become a hugely popular place for people to chill out, have a picnic and a couple of beers in the sun. Perfect for one of the (rare) days when the sun is shining in Manchester!
Around the area of the Rochdale Canal is Manchester’s Gay Village, an area of the city which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and is packed full of thriving bars, relaxed cafés and the Alan Turing Memorial in Sackville Garden.
The Molly House on Richmond St is the least-well-kept secret in the Gay Village. It’s a well-trodden bar and restaurant in the area, but it remains popular for a reason! The tapas is great and it’s a welcoming spot for everyone.
G-A-Y Manchester is arguably the epicentre of the Gay Village when it comes to bars and clubs. It’s open until the early hours and is almost always filled to the rafters!
Vanilla has been described as the ‘lesbian Mecca of the North’ and is easily the premier lesbian bar in Manchester. The award-winning bar has a calendar stacked full of events and club nights.
Canal Street is the main artery that runs through the Gay Village. As the name suggests, it runs alongside the Rochdale Canal and is peppered with some of the best bars, clubs and cafes in the city.
Strageways is the name of the area surrounding Manchester Prison, which changed its name from Strangeways in 1994. It’s on the border with the eastern edge of Salford City.
Manchester is one of the best cities in the world when it comes to reusing and regenerating buildings to serve a purpose completely differently to the one they were built for. Hidden is another of the city’s industrial night clubs that does just that with a packed calendar of techno, electro and the full spectrum of electronic music.
The Yard is a creative hub in Manchester; a space for some of the most creative minds in the city to work, collaborate and hang out in. As well as acting as a work space, it also hosts events including fashion fairs, club nights and more.
Spinningfields is Manchester’s financial centre and a popular location for shopping, but there are also some hidden gems and great cultural hotspots to check out.
Located on the banks of the River Irwell, Aviva Studios is the home of Factory International, and is a, “Landmark new cultural space for Manchester and the world.” Aviva is the home of everything from spoken word, poetry and performances to creative workshops and seminars.
If you’re a film buff, you can’t do better than Everyman. With meals and cocktails served to you as you watch the latest movie, as well as sofas to sit in, Everyman provides a more glamorous experience when going to the cinema.
The Castlefield area is the industrial heart of the city, which is now packed full of green spaces and water-side cafes and restaurants.
“Your local on the locks,” Lock 91 is a historic venue in Manchester’s city centre - located in an old lock keeper’s cottage. The exposed brick and wooden beams give a warm atmosphere to the place and it’s a great place to stop off for a drink in Castlefield.
Rebellion is the city’s best alternative music venue, showcasing the best in hardcore, punk as well as electronic music at their regular club nights. During the day, it’s also one of the most popular bars in the area!
The Castlefield Gallery is one of the best contemporary art galleries in Manchester. Located just outside Deansgate station, it’s within walking distance of the Canal Basin and has a wealth of rotating exhibitions, workshops and talking events from international artists.
Perfect for a summer afternoon, the Canal Basin is a thriving area of Castlefield that’s peppered with pubs, cafes and water-side restaurants. The warehouses that used to line the water here have now been converted into swanky flats and bars, but they have managed to retain the industrial heritage of the area.
Manchester’s City Centre is home to some of the best restaurants, art galleries, bars and cultural hotspots in the country. Get the low-down on some of them here!
Corbieres is a secret, low-lit wine bar which is steeped in local history and tucked away just off St Ann's Square. It’s a Manchester institution with a brilliant atmosphere.
Located in Chinatown, the Manchester Art Gallery is completely free to enter and has some great exhibitions for you to check out and get inspired by.
Founded in 1824, the John Rylands Library is housed in a beautiful Neo-Gothic building in the heart of the city and “Promotes research in the humanities and sciences using the astonishingly rich special collections of the University of Manchester Library.”
If you’re a fan of Southeast Asian cuisine, Pho Cue is one of the very best eating spots in the city. Head there for a hot, warming bowl of Pho, noodle salads or Vietnamese tacos.
Mancunians pride themselves on being able to make a banging cup of tea, so if you’re looking for a great brunch spot and a great cuppa in the city centre, you can’t go wrong with Pot Kettle Black.
Located to the south of the city centre, the Old Trafford, Firswood and Whalley Range areas of Manchester have a few great spots to visit if you ever find yourself in that neck of the woods.
If you’re a Red Devil, the Theatre of Dreams is a must-visit. As one of the most famous football grounds in the world, it’s a must-see for any football fan.
Are you an adventurous foodie? If so, Tibetan cuisine is a lovely treat. The Tibetan Kitchen in Manchester is a great spot for something different and the momos are stunning.
Set in the heart of the Whalley Range area, the Charlton Club is a great spot for a chilled drink and a brilliant music venue south of the city.