Master Music Therapy

• Structure of the course

The part-time Master's course in Music Therapy lasts six semesters (120 ECTS) and takes place in block seminars: eight extended weekends (Thursday to Sunday) and two block weeks (Saturday to Saturday/Sunday, usually in March and September) per year. In addition to the block seminars at the institute, students must complete at least 210 hours of practical training, teaching music therapy (75 hours) and supervision (50 hours).
The course starts every three years in the winter semester - the next start is in 2026.

• Course content

The course is aimed at students who have completed at least a Bachelor's degree (180 ECTS) in the fields of music, psychology, medicine, education or social sciences. The therapeutic orientation of the course is psychodynamic and developmental psychology with a body-oriented focus (psychodynamic movement) and is unique in Germany in this tradition.
During the Master's program, students acquire scientific-theoretical, musical and professional skills and competencies that go beyond their respective initial qualifications. The program is closely related to music therapy practice and is dedicated to the training of music therapy and musical-creative skills; it also imparts scientific-theoretical knowledge from the disciplines of medicine, psychology, social sciences and musicology, qualifying students to work in therapeutic teams and to conduct music therapy research, practice and teaching. It builds on the musical, communicative and human science skills acquired by students in their first degree and deepens these with regard to the therapeutic use of music and communication.

Practical and research-related aspects of the course are established through cooperation with the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), which acts as a teaching hospital for the institute.

• Qualification goals

The students qualify for later co-responsible music therapy practice in application-, teaching- and/or research-related fields of activity. The license to practice music therapy on one's own responsibility can be obtained following the course by examination at the responsible health authority.
The degree is recognized as an admission requirement for certification as a "Music Therapist DMtG"(https://www.musiktherapie.de/musiktherapie/qualitaetssicherung/).

• Academic networking

The Master's degree program at the Hamburg University of Music and Drama is part of theAssociation of Music Therapy Education in the State/State Recognized Tertiary Sector (AMA).It is an association of all state and state-recognized courses of study in the German-speaking countries (D-A-CH). The aims of the AMA are the further development of studies, teaching and research in music therapy degree programs at university level as well as their promotion and expansion.