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Creative Music Production

Higher Education CAO
DL838

Take a unique opportunity to gain industry experience and contacts in Ireland’s leading studios and performance spaces. Learn from some of the finest industry practitioners in today’s music scene.

Award Name Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ)
NFQ Classification Major
Awarding Body Institute of Art Design and Technology
NFQ Level Level 8 NFQ
Award Name NFQ Classification Awarding Body NFQ Level
Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) Major Institute of Art Design and Technology Level 8 NFQ
Alternate Provider:
Location:
Dun Laoghaire
Attendance Options:
Daytime, Full time
Qualification Letters:
BA (Hons)
Apply to:
CAO
Restricted Entry:
Yes
CAO Points Round 1
Year Points
2023 804
2022 747
2021 713
2020 754

Duration

4 years full-time.

Specific Subjects or course requirements

CAO Points: Combination of Leaving Certificate and Portfolio assessment points

Min Entry Requirements

2 H5 + 4 O6/H7
English: O6/H7
Maths: O6/H7

Foundation Level Maths not accepted

Portfolio Yes

A portfolio is a collection of your work – both finished and in progress – that showcases your interests and enthusiasms. It should demonstrate curiosity, inventiveness and ideas through a wide range of media, as well as your ability to develop your projects around selected themes. You can include course and school projects as well as any independent work. We like to see a portfolio that demonstrates a high level of visual skill, creativity, self-motivation, experimentation, flexibility and stylistic variation.

We offer a portfolio masterclass at our Open Days. Check iadt.ie for dates.

The deadline of 5pm 11th March 2024 is the date for the Portfolio submission.

Leaving Certificate General Entry Requirements

Entry Requirements
For standard applicants, selection is based on points. These are calculated by adding together the points scored in the best six subjects in a single sitting of the Leaving Certificate Examination (or equivalent). In the courses for which a portfolio is required, additional points to a maximum of 600 are added, based on the outcome of the portfolio assessment.

Maths Requirements
Some courses will accept Foundation Level Mathematics while others require Ordinary Leaving Certificate Mathematics. Please refer to the entry requirements for each individual course.

Bonus Points for Higher Level Maths
A bonus of 25 points will be allocated to students who achieve a grade H6 or above in Higher Level (HL) Mathematics. This means that the maximum cumulative LC points total will increase from 600 to 625 (maximum points plus bonus points).

The bonus points will only be relevant in cases where the subject HL Mathematics (including bonus points) is scored as one of the candidate’s six best subjects for points purposes. Consequently, if HL Mathematics (cumulative points score) is not among these six subjects, the bonus points will not be included in the total points score.

Irish Language Requirements
Foundation Level Irish, at F2 or higher, will meet the minimum language requirement for entry to all courses, but currently no points are added.

Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP

LCVP is accepted as a sixth Leaving Certificate subject and is counted for points purposes as follows:

LCVP Grade Points

Distinction 66
Merit 46
Pass 28

QQI FET Applicants General Information

QQI / FE Links Scheme

IADT is committed to encouraging QQI / FE award holders to progress onto our courses. For details of QQI / FE courses and Higher Education Links, please refer to qqi.ie.

Applications are made through the CAO, and all relevant closing dates and conditions apply.

If you have any full QQI / FE Level 5 or Level 6 award, you are eligible to apply for a place on our Ordinary Degree (Level 7 award) course – DL701.

If you have any full QQI / FE Level 5 or Level 6 award, with a minimum of three distinctions, you are eligible to apply for a place on any of our Honours Degree (Level 8 award) courses.

Please note that some courses (Applied Psychology, Creative Computing and Creative Music Production) require at least a pass (O6/H7) in Mathematics in the Leaving Certificate or a pass in a Mathematical Methods module as part of your QQI / FE award.

Points are awarded on the basis of QQI / FE results. See qqi.ie or cao.ie for details on the scoring system used.

Some courses require a portfolio in addition to your QQI / FE award. Please see the individual course listing and and details on portfolio assessments.

QQI FET Entry Requirements

Careers / Further progression

What will I do after I graduate?
On graduation, you can work towards undertaking a range of specialist roles including Sound Designer, Project Management, Sound Engineer and Producer, Audio Innovation Specialist, Audio Coding Specialist, and many more. Graduates have moved on to roles all over the world, working with huge acts like REM, George Michael, Sinead O’Connor, and Emeli Sandé, amongst others. And from international recording studios, production companies, and AV specialists to major organisations like RTÉ and Ryanair, our graduates have excelled in all sorts of technology and innovation roles. After graduating, you could also choose from a range of postgraduate opportunities at universities in Ireland and abroad.

Course Web Page

Further information

Mature and Non-standard Applicants
We welcome applications from mature students to all courses. Mature applicants – i.e. those who are 23 years of age or over on the 1st of January in the year of entry to a course – are not required to meet the minimum entry requirements as specified for standard applicants.

Mature and non–standard applicants must apply to the CAO by the above closing dates and tick the relevant box (mature student or disability/ specific learning difficulty) on the CAO application. You will then receive the ‘Supplementary Information Form’ from the CAO for completion. You may then be invited to an informal interview to discuss your application.

If applying for a course that requires a portfolio, mature and non–standard applicants must submit their portfolio for assessment as above. The 1st February application deadline applies to such applications.

45

Entry 2024 - Restricted Course

Early online application (discounted): Fee €30 Closing Date: 20 January 2024 at 5pm

Normal online application: Fee €45 Closing Date: 1 February 2024 at 5pm

Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid submitting an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all fees are non-refundable.

Restricted Courses
Applying for a restricted course – you must have applied to CAO by 1 February 2024 at 5pm if you wish to apply for a restricted course. The restricted course must be included on your course choices list by that date, or added to your application using the facility to amend course choices (for a fee of €10) before 1 March at 5pm.

Restricted courses normally require additional assessment procedures, for example, the submission of a portfolio, an oral assessment or interview, or a written assessment. Restricted courses are identified in the handbook by the words “(Restricted - see page 3)" on the same line as the restricted course’s title. Please make sure to acquaint yourself with the additional requirements, if any, of the restricted course(s) that you have applied for and go to page 24 of the 2024 CAO Handbook for more information about interviews and assessments.

Exception: If a restricted course shares the exact same assessment procedures with a course you had applied for by 1 February 2024, you may be permitted to introduce it on a Change of Mind. You should consult with the relevant HEI before introducing such a course.

Mature Applicants
Mature applicants – most HEIs will require mature applicants, who wish to be assessed on mature grounds, to have applied to CAO by 1st February 2024 at 5pm, and include course choices by that date or add them using the facility to amend course choices (for a fee of €10) before 1 March at 5pm. (This restriction does not apply if the applicant wishes to be considered on the basis of school leaving qualifications only.) For more information about applying to CAO on the basis of mature years go to www.cao.ie/mature

Supplementary Admission Routes
Applying for DARE and/or HEAR – to be considered for DARE and/or HEAR, applicants must have registered on the CAO system by 1 February 2024 at 5pm. To apply to DARE, you must answer YES to Question 1 ('Do you wish to be considered for DARE?) on Section A of the fully completed Supplementary Information Form (SIF) by 5pm on 1 March 2024.

To apply to HEAR, you must indicate on your CAO application that you wish to apply for HEAR and fully and correctly complete all elements of the online HEAR form by 5pm on 1 March 2024.

Supporting documents for DARE and/or HEAR applicants must be sent to CAO offices before 15 March 2024 at 5pm

What is this course about?
Designed with the needs of the contemporary music industry in mind, this course offers a creative pathway enabling and enhancing the production and practice of music and audio. Combining creativity with technical capabilities at the early stages of the programme, you will learn to be proficient in industry-standard tools, processes, and client-artist relationships. Delivered collaboratively with the Sound Training College (STC), you will learn the trade of modern music production in some of Ireland’s leading commercial recording studios and performance spaces.

What will I do?
You will learn how to use industry-standard recording equipment and software from some of the finest music industry practitioners in Ireland.

Following a shared first year, study one of two pathways:

Creative Music Production
Gain in-depth knowledge of studios and music production software. Focus on the integration of sound engineering and audio creation skills. Topics include audio electronics, audio programming, production for games. Cultural context is offered via research-based modules.

Creative Music Practice
Develop musicianship as an instrumental performer while focusing on the creation of music and audio. Develop performance skills and learn to use technology creatively. Genre and ensemble provide opportunities for collaboration across instruments

International Study Opportunities:
For this course, IADT has developed Erasmus Programme partnerships with colleges in Portugal.

What will I study?

In first year, you will get an understanding of the fundamentals of music production as well as covering other core areas like production practice, acoustics, broadcast, and more.

Year two sees you take on common subjects like clientbased composition and production, while also undertaking the first year of elective study in one of the two streams; Creative Music Production or Creative Music Practice.

For year three, research methods are added alongside common modules and further exploration into your chosen elective stream.

And in your final year, you will study creative entrepreneurship as well as developing your professional portfolio, readying you for your career ahead.

T +353 1 239 4400
E info@iadt.ie
W iadt.ie
S @myiadt

Alternate Provider:
Location:
Dun Laoghaire
Attendance Options:
Daytime, Full time
Qualification Letters:
BA (Hons)
Apply to:
CAO
Restricted Entry:
Yes
CAO Points Round 1
Year Points
2023 804
2022 747
2021 713
2020 754