Bachelor Degree at AMPA: Music and Dance

Choose your creative direction

AMPA’s undergraduate offering brings the Bachelor of Music (Performance) and Bachelor of Dance together in a specialist performing-arts environment in Sydney. Students apply to one of these distinct bachelor awards and build their training around the creative direction that best matches their talent, interests and professional goals. Both pathways combine intensive practical development with performance experience, academic study and industry-relevant skills.

Individual focus

Individual mentorship is central to the music pathway. Students receive a one-to-one, one-hour Principal Study lesson each teaching week on their main instrument, voice or production specialisation, plus a one-to-one, half-hour Second Study lesson in another instrument or specialisation. A vocalist might add piano, a guitarist might add production, a classical instrumentalist might explore jazz, or a producer might develop instrumental and performance skills. Electives and approved double-focus combinations provide further ways to personalise the degree.

Dance students develop an individual artistic focus through advanced study in a chosen genre, supporting techniques and electives. Training is designed to strengthen each student’s technical foundation, performance identity, choreographic voice and creative confidence. Regular feedback, collaborative projects and stage opportunities help students turn their personal strengths into a versatile professional profile.

Music focus areas

Contemporary Music

Contemporary Music develops confident performers across styles such as pop, rock, R&B, funk, punk and blues. Students work on instrumental or vocal technique, interpretation, stagecraft, band communication, reading, arranging, chart writing, recording and live performance.

Jazz Music

Jazz Music gives students space to build harmonic fluency, improvisation, soloing, stylistic vocabulary and ensemble interaction. Students develop the ability to read and interpret charts, respond creatively in rehearsal and perform across a range of jazz-influenced settings.

Classical Performance

Classical Performance offers intensive instrumental or vocal study with a specialist tutor. Students explore repertoire from different periods while refining technique, musical interpretation, stagecraft, ensemble awareness and performance confidence. Electives may extend into conducting, arranging, orchestration, studio teaching, recording or cross-genre work.

Music Theatre

Music Theatre combines singing, acting and dance to develop adaptable stage performers. Students strengthen vocal and dramatic interpretation, movement, production awareness and ensemble skills while gaining regular experience in a professional theatre environment with live sound, lighting and recording.

Music Production

Music Production focuses on creating, recording and shaping music in the studio. Individual production lessons support practical growth in recording, editing, mixing, sound design and creative workflow, while collaboration with performers helps students understand how to lead sessions and bring musical ideas to life.

Composition and Creative Music Technology

Composition and Creative Music Technology helps students develop an original creative voice through songwriting, composition, arranging, orchestration and technology. Students workshop their own material, explore different modes of music delivery and connect creative practice with music theory, analysis, production and performance.

Dance focus areas

Contemporary Dance

Contemporary Dance develops versatility, physical awareness and expressive range through current movement practices. Students use technique, improvisation, performance and creative exploration to build an individual movement identity.

Ballet

Ballet strengthens alignment, control, placement, coordination and musicality. It provides a disciplined technical base that supports performance across classical and contemporary settings.

Jazz Dance

Jazz Dance develops rhythm, dynamics, precision, stylistic clarity and stage presence. Students learn to move confidently between performance qualities while building the technical adaptability required for commercial and theatrical work.

Hip-Hop

Hip-Hop develops groove, musical response, coordination and individual style through street and commercial movement vocabularies. Students build confidence, performance energy and the ability to work collaboratively in choreographed settings.

Tap Dance

Tap Dance focuses on rhythm, timing, articulation, coordination and musical expression. Students learn to use the body as a percussive instrument and strengthen the connection between movement and music.

Latin and Ballroom

Latin and Ballroom studies broaden partnering, rhythm, posture, coordination and stylistic versatility. These supporting genres can help dancers expand their movement vocabulary and performance range.

Dance Composition and Choreography

Dance Composition and Choreography develops the ability to generate artistic concepts, structure movement, direct performers and communicate ideas through original work. Students create individual and collaborative pieces while building experience in dance projects, production and performance.

Performance, industry and academic development

Across both pathways, students develop more than technique. Music study integrates ensembles, performance classes, musicianship, harmony, ear training, music history, arranging, production and professional electives. Dance study can include body science, performance psychology, somatic practice, dance history, music for dancers, dance and film, production, arts management, internship and electives in teaching, drama, music and music theatre.

Associate Degree pathway

Students who want a shorter qualification or a staged pathway can consider the Associate Degree of Music (Performance) or Associate Degree of Dance. These nested awards cover the foundation and intermediate stages of the relevant bachelor curriculum. Associate Degree graduates can progress into Stage 4 of the corresponding Bachelor degree with completed study carried forward, while eligible Bachelor students may exit after the first four trimesters with the relevant Associate Degree.

Admission requirements

Applicants normally need an Australian senior secondary qualification or an equivalent overseas qualification, at least one full-time year of tertiary study, or suitable mature-age entry credentials. Music applicants complete an audition, interview and musical knowledge assessment; composition-focused applicants may present a portfolio and complete a theory assessment. Dance applicants complete a performance audition, interview and written task. Applicants outside Sydney may be able to submit recorded material or complete parts of the process online.

English requirements

International applicants whose previous education was not completed in English normally need an accepted English result. Direct-entry examples include IELTS 6.0 overall, PTE Academic 50, TOEFL iBT 64 or Cambridge English Advanced 169. English-language pathway options may be available for lower scores, and test results generally need to be completed within 24 months of the proposed course commencement.

Tuition and additional costs

International tuition is around A$13,100 per trimester, with an indicative total tuition fee of A$78,600 across six trimesters. Additional charges include a one-off A$500 application fee and an enrolment fee. Tuition and other charges are reviewed regularly, so students should request a current written quotation from Asia Pathway. Living costs, health insurance, visa expenses, accommodation, instruments, dancewear and personal study materials are additional.

Career pathways

Graduates can build careers across performance, recording, composition, songwriting, production, choreography, teaching, arts administration, stage and studio management, creative direction and other creative-industry roles. The bachelor qualification can also support postgraduate study in areas such as music, dance, education, management and the arts, subject to the entry requirements of the chosen course.

Connect with Asia Pathway to compare the music and dance pathways, choose the right focus area and prepare your AMPA application.