The Beatles in an undated photo. A British university has launched what it says is the first Master of Arts (MA) degree course on the Beatles, to study their impact on popular music and society

A university has launched what it says is the first Master of Arts (MA) degree course on the Beatles, to study their impact on popular music and society.

Students taking the postgraduate¹ course at Liverpool Hope University -- in the Fab Four's home city -- will take four 12-week modules² and be required to write a dissertation³.

"There have been over 8,000 books about The Beatles but there has never been serious academic study and that is what we are going to address," said course leader Mike Brocken, a senior lecturer in popular music.

"The Beatles influenced so much of society, not just with their music, but also with fashion from their collar-less jackets to their psychedelic clothes," he added.

Their output covered a huge range of music and film, from the black and white film "A Hard Day's Night" to "Strawberry Fields Forever," which Brocken noted⁴ was "accompanied by arguably the first pop video."

He added: "Forty years on, now is the right time and Liverpool is the right place to study The Beatles. It is definitely the first Beatles related MA in this country and I would say probably the first in the world."

The course entitled Beatles, Popular Music and Society -- which can also be taken part-time -- starts in September, and Brocken said he has already had expressions of interest from the United States as well as in Britain..

Fees for an MA course at the university are around 3,500 pounds and students will have to fund themselves unless they win backing from another institution, although there may be "some" bursaries.

The course has a maximum of 30 places. Asked why people would study the Beatles at a time of global economic crisis, Brocken said: "I think any MA equips people with extra study and research skills.

"MAs of any description are vital for the work place. You will find that once you have done a masters degree it separates you from the pack," he said.

英国一所大学最近开设了首个“披头士文学硕士”学位课程，该学位专门研究披头士乐队对流行音乐和社会影响。

在（披头士成员的家乡）利物浦的赫普大学攻读该学位的学生需完成4个为期12周的模块课程及一篇学位论文。

课程负责人、流行音乐高级讲师麦克•布莱肯说：“有关披头士乐队的论著有八千多本，但至今还没有正规的学术研究，我们想填补这一空白。”

他说：“披头士乐队对社会有广泛影响，不仅是他们的音乐，他们以无领夹克和迷幻服装为标志的时尚也不例外。”

披头士乐队的作品包括一系列的音乐和电影，如黑白电影《一夜狂欢》，以及被布莱肯称为“配有首个流行视频的”音乐作品《永远的草莓园》。

他说：“披头士乐队解散已有四十年之久，现在是个合适的时候，而且利物浦也是个合适的地点。我们肯定是英国首个与披头士乐队有关文学硕士点，很可能也是世界首个。”

名为“披头士、流行音乐和社会”的课程将于今年九月份正式开始，并且可以兼修。布莱肯称他已经收到了来自美国和英国国内的课程垂询电话。

赫普大学一门文学硕士课程的学费约为3500英镑，尽管可能会有“些许”的奖学金，但如果学员没有得到某个机构的资助，就得自己负担。

“披头士”硕士课程最多招收30人。在被问及为什么人们会在全球经济危机时研究披头士乐队时，布莱肯说：“我想任何一门文学硕士课程都能让人们多一门知识和研究技能。”

他说：“任何一类文学硕士对工作都很重要。你会发现当你取得硕士学位后，你的世界就与众不同了。”