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Students at a Scottish university are being given the opportunity to master in pop music.

Glasgow University's music department has defended its decision to launch the post graduate course in popular music, claiming that it will add to the city's music scene, which has spawned a number of top bands including Franz Ferdinand and Belle and Sebastian.

Those signing up for the course, which begins in September, will reportedly carry out placements with music companies to learn about the business side of pop, in addition to studying the cultural impact the genre has had by examining events such as the emergence of punk in the 1970s.

Course creator Dr Martin Coogan told the Glasgow Herald: "Pop music has always been, at a certain level, about entertainment, not revolution, and primarily what young people want from contemporary music is that entertainment, which isn't to say it is not a valid topic for academic inquiry."

The course will be open to graduates from all disciplines, with Dr Coogan's department stressing that applications will also be welcome to those with relevant experience within the music industry who can prove they have the ability to undertake academic study.

It remains to be seen whether the unique course will be 'popular' with students or employers, some of whom may be critical of non-traditional subjects.

The former chief inspector of schools in England Chris Woodhead famously lambasted "vacuous" degree courses offered by some universities in an article for the Sunday Times back in 2000, when he slammed subjects such as golf course management and knitwear.