Program Overview

You’ll explore education from many theoretical and ideological perspectives in your core modules. This in-depth knowledge of the education industry, combined with your specialist subject knowledge, gives you that all-important edge when you embark on your professional education career.

Secondary Education

A warm welcome to Education Secondary at Bath Spa University

Education Secondary is taken as a combined honours award in education studies. It is ideal if you have the ambition and prerequisites (see entry requirements) to become a secondary school teacher.

Education Secondary develops your knowledge, critical understanding and skills needed to explore education in a variety of ways and become change makers of the future. It enables you to appreciate what education is for, how it is constructed and how it succeeds or fails in its aims. As such, it is not ‘teacher training’ or a ‘theory.’ It is a course that helps you understand education and schooling from a variety of viewpoints informed by theory, practice and research. It will help you understand your place in teaching and give you an excellent preparation to embark on one of our post-graduate teacher training courses

The programme places you in secondary classrooms in each year of your degree. It also offers you placement in other educational contexts, including opportunities for international visits and study abroad. Education Secondary is combined with your other chosen academic subject e.g. biology. At the end of the programme you have the option to continue onto our Secondary PGCE course in your subject specialism; Primary PGCE or to apply for alternative routes into teaching.

We will offer you personalized academic support. Each year you will have an academic tutor who will help you identify your academic strengths and how to build on these. In addition, we work closely with our Careers and Employability team who offer support and advice about future careers opportunities and the application processes for initial teacher training.

You can also take this programme as a 'sandwich' degree, studied over 4 years.  This includes a Professional Placement Year module, taken in the education sector. The placement year is usually taken after you have completed year two of your degree. During this time you will be able to apply knowledge gained during your studies in a work environment.

Music

BA Music is a practice-led general music degree that enables you to follow either a broad-based approach to music or a specific focus. The programme emphasises creativity in performance and composition supported by academic strands together with modules developing industry skills and employability. You can pursue your specialist areas in western art music, particularly early and contemporary, jazz, musical theatre and world music; music education and music psychology are also a focus with past students increasingly making career choices in these areas. The programme provides pathways in vocal performance studies, with an emphasis on opera and musical theatre, which blends conservatoire-style training with academic study; community music (which links to education and psychology) and in jazz performance

Tutors on the BA Music programme encompass a wide range of musical styles and areas of research and practice. Collectively, they provide a highly experienced and multi-disciplinary approach to the study and practice of music. Specialist instrumental tutors enable your continued development of musicianship and performance skills through one-to-one instrumental/vocal teaching. Performance experience is a constant element of the programme through teaching and assessment activities, and through a range of ensemble groups for instruments and voices.

Employability lies at the heart of BA Music. For example, work placements in a wide variety of work environments provide students with opportunities to explore the application of music beyond performance. The programme has particular strengths in composition, community music, music psychology and music education, working with regional and national groups.

The trans-cultural nature of music engages you with the wider international music community. Opportunities for international exchange and performance opportunities underpin the programme’s commitment to developing global citizens.

The breadth of BA Music allows you to create a bespoke music programme that fits with your particular strengths and interests.