Fans of The Beatles will be able to study for a Masters degree in the Fab Four as the University of Liverpool opens applications for a new programme.
The MA, The Beatles: Music Industry and Heritage, is aimed at students from around the world with an interest in the music and creative industries, as well as those employed in museums and galleries, the arts, and tourism and leisure sectors.
Dr Holly Tessler, programme leader and Beatles expert, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that we are able to bring formal study of The Beatles to the University of Liverpool’s Department of Music and Institute of Popular Music – the world’s first specialist centre for the study of popular music.
“What makes this MA unique is its focus on The Beatles in a future-facing way, considering the legacy’s influence on the music and creative industries, in popular culture, and within heritage, culture and tourism in the 21st century.
“This MA is as much about the wider study of Liverpool’s – and Britain’s – heritage, tourism and culture sectors as it is about the role The Beatles played in them.”
The course description says students will have the chance to visit and explore sites in Liverpool and Merseyside which featured in the group’s early years, as well as interact with the tourism and heritage sectors and hear from guest lecturers.
Dr Mike Jones, a member of the Beatles Legacy Group – which seeks to establish the economic value of Beatles tourism to Liverpool’s economy, said the MA would explore the “deep, significant and lasting relationship” between the band and the city.
He added: “Liverpool should be regarded not just as the birthplace of The Beatles, but their cradle.
“What The Beatles took to the world was, in part, Liverpool’s unique culture.”
Students of the postgraduate qualification will also consider how the band’s influence could be replicated in different places, industries and contexts around the world, the university said.
