
Year
01 / 03
1
Part IA
Foundations across history, skills and analysis
Students take compulsory historical and critical studies, tonal skills and general musicianship, and music analysis, plus two optional half-papers.
概要
Music at Cambridge (W300) is a three-year BA (Hons) with a typical A*AA offer, an academic Music requirement, and College-level assessment tasks at interview rather than a central registered test. It combines analysis, history, listening, tonal skills, performance and composition before flexible Part II specialisation.
なぜCambridgeでMusicを?
Cambridge's official Music course page currently presents the course as #2 in the UK for Music in the Complete University Guide 2026.

Section 01
下のマップで自国をクリックすると、出願に必要な情報(受け入れられる資格、要求スコア、英語要件、現地の文脈)が表示されます。
International Applicants
Pick a highlighted country to see the admissions-test, score, and English-language requirements that apply for applicants from that country.
Section 02
| Qualification | Typical Offer | Key Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| A-Level | A*AA | Music (or ABRSM Grade 8 Theory at Merit or above) required. |
| IB Diploma | 40–42 with 776 at HL | |
| Advanced Placement (AP) | Minimum five AP Tests at score 5 in subjects relevant to the course, plus strong SAT or ACT results and high High School Diploma performance. |
Section 03
Jun–Jul 2026
Open days & shortlist colleges
Visit Cambridge in person if you can. Open days run in late June and early July. Begin narrowing your college list and reading first-year reading lists.
Sep 2026
Draft your personal statement
Write for the subject, not the institution. Cambridge admissions tutors look for ~80% academic content and genuine super-curricular engagement.
28 Sep 2026
ESAT / TMUA registration deadline
Pre-registration via the Pearson VUE admissions testing portal closes at 18:00 UK time. Late entry is not normally possible.
15 Oct 2026
UCAS deadline
Submit your UCAS application by 18:00 UK time on 15 October 2026.
12–16 Oct 2026
Sit ESAT / TMUA
ESAT and TMUA are sat in this window at Pearson VUE centres. LNAT and UCAT use their own test windows — check each test's site for booking dates.
22 Oct 2026
My Cambridge Application deadline
Complete the My Cambridge Application supplementary questionnaire by 18:00 UK time on 22 October 2026. This replaced the old SAQ.
10 Nov 2026
Submitted written work deadline
Most arts and humanities courses ask for one or two pieces of marked school work. Each college confirms its exact deadline; 10 November is the standard date.
Dec 2026
Interviews
Around three-quarters of applicants are interviewed. Typically 1–2 interviews of 25–45 minutes each at your chosen or allocated college.
27 Jan 2027
Main decisions released
Cambridge releases its main decisions on 27 January 2027. Around a quarter of offers are made through the Winter Pool — strong applicants reconsidered by colleges with remaining places.
Jun–Jul 2026
Open days & shortlist colleges
Visit Cambridge in person if you can. Open days run in late June and early July. Begin narrowing your college list and reading first-year reading lists.
Sep 2026
Draft your personal statement
Write for the subject, not the institution. Cambridge admissions tutors look for ~80% academic content and genuine super-curricular engagement.
28 Sep 2026
ESAT / TMUA registration deadline
Pre-registration via the Pearson VUE admissions testing portal closes at 18:00 UK time. Late entry is not normally possible.
15 Oct 2026
UCAS deadline
Submit your UCAS application by 18:00 UK time on 15 October 2026.
12–16 Oct 2026
Sit ESAT / TMUA
ESAT and TMUA are sat in this window at Pearson VUE centres. LNAT and UCAT use their own test windows — check each test's site for booking dates.
22 Oct 2026
My Cambridge Application deadline
Complete the My Cambridge Application supplementary questionnaire by 18:00 UK time on 22 October 2026. This replaced the old SAQ.
10 Nov 2026
Submitted written work deadline
Most arts and humanities courses ask for one or two pieces of marked school work. Each college confirms its exact deadline; 10 November is the standard date.
Dec 2026
Interviews
Around three-quarters of applicants are interviewed. Typically 1–2 interviews of 25–45 minutes each at your chosen or allocated college.
27 Jan 2027
Main decisions released
Cambridge releases its main decisions on 27 January 2027. Around a quarter of offers are made through the Winter Pool — strong applicants reconsidered by colleges with remaining places.
Section 04

Music(University of Cambridge)の2027年度入試では、出願者に書面の入試テストは課されません。出願は推薦書・成績・パーソナルステートメント・提出物・面接で評価されます。
Always verify on the official Oxford admissions tests page.
Section 05
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Question Types You’ll See
Cambridge Music interviews are subject-focused conversations about musical thinking.
You may be asked to discuss an unfamiliar score, recording, text or analytical prompt, or to talk about music, composers, genres, performance choices or compositions mentioned in your application.
We recommend practising aloud. A good answer usually starts with evidence — a feature in the score, recording, harmony, texture, rhythm, context or notation — and then turns that evidence into an argument.
The strongest preparation is not memorising scripts. It is being able to change your mind when an interviewer gives you a new angle.
無料のMusic面接練習問題バンクで本番さながらの問題を練習しましょう。
無料練習問題 →
Section 06
Cambridge says each application is considered individually using the academic record, school or college reference, personal statement, submitted work where relevant, assessment evidence where relevant, contextual data, extenuating circumstances and interview performance if interviewed.
For Music, the submitted evidence includes representative written work and musical material.
Cambridge does not publish a numeric weighting formula for Music. That means no single element should be treated as a fixed percentage: selectors read the evidence together and look for a coherent picture of academic readiness, musical understanding and potential.
In reality, the application has to cohere. Strong grades help, but the selectors are also looking for the way you listen, analyse, write, perform, compose, revise and think under discussion.
Our recommendation · weighting of admission factors
Oxbridge Mentors recommendation, drawn from observed offer patterns. University of Cambridge does not publish official weightings — exact balance varies by college, course and year.
Section 07

The strongest Music personal statements are specific about musical evidence. Instead of saying you love a period, composer or genre, explain one problem you noticed and how you investigated it.
It helps to combine three kinds of material: close listening, reading and practical musicianship. A useful paragraph might connect a score feature, a recording comparison and a historical or analytical idea.
We recommend avoiding a performance-only statement unless performance is explicitly connected to interpretation. Cambridge Music is an academic course, so your statement should show how you turn musical experience into questions and arguments.
Use any compositions, arrangements or essays carefully. Reflection matters more than listing: what changed between draft 1 and draft 2, and what did that teach you about harmony, form, texture, notation or style?
専門家による一行一行の解説付き完全例文を見る。
Music PS例文 →Section 08
A strong Music project gives you something concrete to discuss at interview. It should have a question, evidence, method and conclusion, even if the conclusion is provisional.
For Cambridge, it helps if the project connects academic and practical musicianship: score analysis, listening, writing, performance decisions or composition. Keep your notes clear enough that you can explain what changed as you worked.

Section 08
Other preparation should widen the way you hear and explain music. The point is not to collect activities; it is to build better musical judgement.
These activities are support, not substitute. They only help if they improve the way you analyse, listen, write or make music.
Score analysis:
Analyse form, harmony, texture, motivic development and instrumentation in contrasting works; keep notes that move from description to argument.
Critical listening:
Build a listening diary across Western classical, contemporary, jazz, popular, early, non-Western and experimental traditions, focusing on what can be evidenced aurally.
Concert and recording reviews:
Write short reviews that explain interpretive choices and musical effects rather than simply saying whether a performance was enjoyable.
Composition and arranging:
Experiment with pastiche, variation, recomposition, orchestration, electronic production or song analysis, and document the technical decisions behind each piece.
Performance and ensemble work:
Use performance to deepen analytical understanding: compare rehearsal decisions with score evidence, style, historical context and practical constraints.
Reading beyond the syllabus:
Read accessible musicology, ethnomusicology, theory and criticism, then connect the reading to actual listening examples and interview-style discussion.
Section 08
Competitions are not required. What they can do well is stretch your preparation, make you work to a deadline and give you a reason to reflect on feedback.
None are required; one or two done well beats five half-attempted.
Section 09

Year
01 / 03
1
Foundations across history, skills and analysis
Students take compulsory historical and critical studies, tonal skills and general musicianship, and music analysis, plus two optional half-papers.

Year
02 / 03
2
Developing core areas with wider options
Students continue historical studies, analysis and applied tonal skills, then choose three additional papers from a changing list of options.

Year
03 / 03
3
Advanced choice and independent direction
There are no compulsory papers. Students choose six papers from a wide selection of options.
Section 10
Start with compact, high-yield reading. Music: A Very Short Introduction is useful for thinking critically about music across culture, performance, history and listening, while A History of Western Music gives a broad historical framework.
For a wider intellectual range, Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening pushes you to treat music as social action, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century opens twentieth-century listening through politics and culture, and The Study of Ethnomusicology: Thirty-Three Discussions introduces ethnomusicological questions.
Use video to sharpen explanation, not to replace reading. Adam Neely can help you turn theory, jazz, notation and listening into spoken argument, which is useful for interview discussion. 12tone is useful for practising concise harmonic and formal analysis. Early Music Sources connects historical evidence to performance practice, helping you discuss how sources shape interpretation. David Bruce Composer is useful for composition-minded applicants because it models how to explain orchestration, rhythm, harmony and creative decisions.
For regular listening and argument-building,The Listening Service,Music Matters, Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast and Song Exploder all give different models for turning sound into explanation.
Structured courses can fill gaps. Fundamentals of Music Theory, Listening to Music, Fundamentals of Music andComputational Music Theory and Analysiscover theory, listening, notation and analytical approaches.

Section 11
29 colleges offer this subject. ~10% (2024) of applicants submit an open application. ~19% (2024) of places come through the pool.
You can choose a College or make an open application.
If the original College thinks an applicant is strong but cannot offer a place, it may place the applicant in the Winter Pool so other Colleges can consider them in January.
For Music, College choice should be based mainly on living environment, accommodation, community, access needs and College-specific admissions details such as assessment, submitted material or interview arrangements.
We do not recommend treating College choice as a tactical shortcut. A better question is whether you can live, work and practise there well for 3 years.

Section 12
Cambridge presents Music graduates as moving into a wide range of music and non-music careers, including publishing and media, academia, arts administration, banking, law, public service, the charity sector, professional performance, composition, conducting, teaching and sound engineering.
Because Cambridge course-level employment data are not published on Discover Uni for this small course, sector percentages in the visual should be labelled as national music-graduate context rather than Cambridge-specific outcomes.
Section 13
Cambridge uses contextual data as part of holistic admissions rather than applying a systematic lower-offer scheme.
Relevant individual circumstances can include care experience, refugee or humanitarian protection status, estrangement, free-school-meals indicators and declared disruption or extenuating circumstances.
School and college context can help admissions staff interpret GCSE or A-level patterns and the institution's history of Oxbridge offers.
For Music, subject availability matters: if school Music is not available at the required level, Cambridge allows an equivalent such as ABRSM Grade 8 Theory at Merit or above.
Contextual information should support, not replace, evidence of academic readiness in analysis, aural work, writing and musical thinking.
Watch & Learn
学生ブログ・模擬面接・講義体験・入試アドバイス。
Introductory Open Yale lecture for Listening to Music, useful for approaching listening as an active analytical process.
Adam Neely video essay on how musicians learn and evaluate musical knowledge in a digital environment.
A concise entry point into 12tone's music-theory explanation style and analytical vocabulary.
Introduces the Early Music Sources project and its use of historical evidence for performance and analysis.
Explores how early music can be reconstructed from sources, connecting history, notation and performance practice.
All videos are the property of their respective creators.
Further Reading
専門講師が推薦するSupercurricular読書リスト・ウェブサイト・ツール。