Archive of the University of Manchester, Faculty of Music

The records comprise minutes of the Board of Faculty 1904-1987. It is not believed that any other Faculty records have survived.

The establishment of the independent University of Manchester in 1903 led to faculty organization being adopted as part of academic governance. Initially, there were five faculties: arts, science, law, music and medicine. These were joined by theology and commerce in late 1903, technology in 1905 and education in 1914.

The University charter of 1903 empowered faculties to undertake various aspects of academic governance for the subject areas under their control: including: admissions, curriculum, examinations and degree awards. Most faculties were responsible for a number of academic departments. Each faculty was governed by a board, comprising all academic members of staff at the level of lecturer and above, and each faculty was headed by a dean, invariably but not always recruited from a department within the Faculty. Faculty boards could recommend to Senate regulations for courses of study and the appointment of examiners. Over time, faculty organization became more bureaucratic, with a variety of sub-committees being established, e.g. for postgraduate and undergraduate degrees, research and libraries.

The Faculty of Music was the smallest of the faculties, having responsibility for only one department (music). Many of the Faculty Board members were drawn from other Faculties , including the Dean. As a small faculty, Music did not develop a system of standing sub-committees. The Faculty was formally dissolved on 1 October 1987, when the Faculty of Arts took over its responsibilities.

Arranged chronologically.

The collection is open to any accredited reader.

The collection includes material which is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998. Under Section 33 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), The University of Manchester Library (UML) holds the right to process personal data for research purposes. The Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) Order 2000 enables the UML to process sensitive personal data for research purposes. In accordance with the DPA, UML has made every attempt to ensure that all personal and sensitive personal data has been processed fairly, lawfully and accurately. Users of the archive are expected to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, and will be required to sign a form acknowledging that they will abide by the requirements of the Act in any further processing of the material by themselves.

Open parts of this collection, and the catalogue descriptions, may contain personal data about living individuals. Some items in this collection may be closed to public inspection in line with the requirements of the DPA. Restrictions/closures of specific items will be indicated in the catalogue.

The minute books appear to have been transferred to the Registrar's Office when the Faculty was dissolved in 1987. They were transferred from a Registrar's store to the University Archives in July 2002.

The archive is owned by the University of Manchester.

Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

A number of items within the archive remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; it is the responsibility of users to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study.

Prior written permission must be obtained from the Library for publication or reproduction of any material within the archive. Please contact the Head of Special Collections, John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3EH.

The collection has not been subject to appraisal.

No further accruals expected.

For the post-1987 period, see the Faculty of Arts archive (FAR/1). See the Reports of Council to Court 1905-1991 for the annual reports of the Faculty. The Vice-Chancellor's Archive VCA has files relating to the administration of the Faculty: VCA/7/65 (1935-1949) and VCA/7/397 (1952-1975). The records of the Department of Music (later the School of Music and Drama) form a separate collection in the University Archives.