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Music Therapy master degree programme

Do you want to define your own career path in music therapy? Our part-time master programme is a response to the growing demand for independent registered music therapy practitioners.

Alongside the development of music therapy skills, the advanced study of research-led practice is a defining feature of the course. After completing this two-year programme, you will be ideally prepared for working in established and emerging fields of music therapy.

The degree programme: Master of Science in Health Studies (MSc)

Our Music Therapy master programme is geared to providing music therapists with an academic education that equips them with professional and research skills. After completing this programme, you will meet all the legal requirements for becoming an independent registered music therapist (eigenverantwortliche Berufsausübung der Musiktherapie) in Austria.

The curriculum places a strong emphasis on research skills, the development of advanced therapeutic competences, as well as interdisciplinary cooperation with practitioners in other healthcare occupations. The content of our modular programme reflects international standards in music therapy. The Music Therapy master programme runs every two years, and the next degree starts in 2020.

Important: a qualification which entitles you to register as a music therapistis an entry requirement for the Music Therapy master programme.

Get the full programme details in German

Our established position within the Department of Health Science’s interdisciplinary environment and links with international and multiprofessional research teams via the Josef Ressel Centre are what makes our master programme unique.
Programme director Patrick Simon

Core topics

Professional skills and practice-driven research feature strongly on the curriculum, in addition to self-reflective practice, effective therapeutic communication and expertise in intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary work.

Direct contact with scientists and researchers

Our university has its own music therapy research centre – the Josef Ressel Centre for establishing principles of personalised music therapy.

It focuses on research into music therapy processes and relationships in selected areas of neurological rehabilitation. The goal is to record and analyse resonance experienced between therapists and their patients, which is often difficult to investigate scientifically.

Research assistants working at the Josef Ressel Centre will supervise work related to your master thesis from the first semester, and give you deeper insights into important scientific approaches and methods using practice-based examples.

Small groups provide a fertile environment for devising and enhancing distinctive research concepts. You will also have access to equipment for measuring psychophysiological parameters such as heart rate variability and skin conductance responses, as well as video analysis technology. This opens up opportunities for pursuing exciting master thesis research questions, which you can systematically investigate with professional support.

Self-reflection and therapeutic communication

The Reflection, Clinical Work and Therapeutic Communication modules prepare you for specific challenges in routine clinical work. Central to this are approaches to proximity and distance, and processing stressful clinical experiences.

You will reflect on and analyse your clinical work in small groups under the supervision of an experienced course tutor with reference to your selected therapy situations, sometimes with the help of video analysis. This will help you to identify your own perceptual and behavioural patterns in relation to music therapy practice, and, if necessary, modify them.

You will hone your communicative abilities in the therapeutic setting and practise leading intervision and supervision sessions with your fellow students.

A respectful attitude to the environment and yourself is crucial. Musical interactions are another focus. You will learn how to adapt your repertoire of musical interaction techniques to your clients and appropriately organise the therapeutic setting.

Interdisciplinary work in health sciences

This programme prepares you for interdisciplinary work in health sciences. Music therapy at IMC Krems benefits greatly from being firmly embedded in the multidisciplinary environment of the Department of Health Sciences.

We are surrounded by colleagues specialising in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, obstetrics, and general nursing. We also cooperate with our neighbours at Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences to organise joint courses and enable students to complete multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary theses. Our aim is to promote knowledge of different fields in preparation for working in interdisciplinary clinical environments.

Career options for graduates of the Music Therapy master programme

As a university-educated music therapist you will play an important role in establishing the profession as an academic discipline.

As a university-educated music therapist you will play an important role in establishing the profession as an academic discipline.

After registering as a music therapist, you will be eligible to practise as an independent music therapist (eigenverantwortlich berufsberechtigte Musiktherapeutin) in accordance with the Musiktherapiegesetz (Austrian Music Therapy Act; Federal Law Gazette I No. 93/2008 as amended). Your options include opening your own practice or working on a freelance basis for a range of healthcare institutions.

You will also be in a position to continue your studies with a PhD.

 

 

The professional areas open to graduates include
Neonatology
Neurology and neurorehabilitation
Geriatrics
Psychosomatics
Psychiatry
Palliative care
Intensive care
Disability and developmental delay
Teaching and research

10 good reasons


What makes us special? We are more than happy to tell you about the aspects of our university, which we are especially proud of.

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Krems


Friendly and cosmopolitan: The city attracts students from all over the world, who come to study, research and work together.

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Service centers


Our university has removed a host of administrative hurdles, leaving you free to concentrate fully on your studies.

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Advisory Service


Do you have questions regarding our degree programmes or the application? Contact our Prospective Student Advisory Service.

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Our team

Get to know the core team of our master degree programme Music Therapy.

  • Prof. (FH) Dr. Patrick Simon - IMC Fachhochschule Krems

    Programme Director Musictherapy

    Prof. (FH) Dr. Patrick Simon
    Core Competencies
    PsychophysiologyAction researchSelf-experience
  • Prof.(FH) Priv.-Doz. Mag. Dr. Gerhard Tucek - IMC Fachhochschule Krems
    Prof.(FH) Priv.-Doz. Mag. Dr. Gerhard Tucek
    T
    Head of Institute Therapeutic and Midwifery Sciences
  • Mag. Marlies Sobotka - IMC Fachhochschule Krems
    Mag. Marlies Sobotka
    S
    Professor Department of Health Sciences
  • Mag. Dr. Claudia Wenzel - IMC Fachhochschule Krems
    Mag. Dr. Claudia Wenzel
    W
    Professor Department of Health Sciences
  • Iris Zoderer, MA - IMC Fachhochschule Krems
    Iris Zoderer, MA
    Z
    Professor Department of Health Sciences