Understanding your Bachelor of Music Program

The information below explains some of the terms used and the requirements of your Bachelor of Music program.

Additional program information can be found on the UQ School of Music website.

The University has recently completed a review of the Bachelor of Music (Honours) (BMus(Hons)) program, and as a result there have been changes for students commencing in Semester 1, 2025. Please view detailed information about the changes here

Programs, Courses and Units

At UQ we refer to your degree as a program and a subject as a course.

Courses

Most UQ courses are 2 units in value.

If you are a full-time student you will undertake 8 units (4 courses) each semester.

Units

To complete the Bachelor of Music program you must successfully complete 48 units.

As you progress you will complete courses at Level 1, Level 2, Level 3. You must complete no more than 24 units of Level 1 courses and must include at least 8 units at level 3.

In order to complete the Bachelor of Music program you must complete 48 units comprised of:

24 units for all BMus Core Courses, and
8 units for BMus Flexible Core Courses, and
16 units from General Elective Courses

Make sure to read the program requirements to ensure you understand the requirements of your degree.

Planning your Program

At UQ, a standard full-time workload is 16 units over the year – this breaks down to 8 units (or four courses) each semester.

You don’t have to decide what courses you want to do for your whole program at the start of your first semester – we only ask you to choose courses one year at a time.

So, all you need to worry about at this stage is choosing four courses for Semester 1 and four courses for Semester 2, taking into account all compulsory core courses.

Please use the PDF below for the year in which you commenced your Bachelor of Music (BMus) program to draft an enrolment plan. This planner should be read in conjunction with your program requirements (select your year of commencement from the dropdown box).

2025 (updated March 2025)

The Starting at UQ website provides a guide for completing your enrolment.

Bachelor of Music

Understanding your Bachelor of Music Program

Programs, Courses and Units

Planning your Program

International Students with Credit Arrangements