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PhD in Music

University of cambridge, different course options.

  • Key information

Course Summary

Tuition fees, entry requirements, similar courses at different universities, key information data source : idp connect, qualification type.

PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

Subject areas

Music Studies

Course type

Postgraduate research in the Faculty of Music is centred on individual scholarly activity in fields such as historical musicology, analysis, ethnomusicology, performance studies, music and science and composition. Doctoral students work in close contact with one or more leading researchers in their field as well as participating in programmes of skills training and colloquia; there are also opportunities to gain experience in teaching. The overwhelming majority of graduate students in the Faculty undertake research that is directly connected with the special research interests of members of the Faculty. Intending applicants are strongly advised to make contact with a prospective supervisor prior to making a formal application in order to discuss the feasibility of their proposed research.

The principal educational aim of the three-year PhD programme is to assist each student to acquire the research techniques, skills and knowledge that will enable them to make an original and significant contribution to scholarship, research or artistic practice in the discipline that is the focus of each individual's thesis. Given the focus of the programme on individual research excellence, it is necessarily tailored to the research interests of the student and the expertise of their supervisor.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the programme students should have acquired:

  • knowledge of and expertise in the techniques and methods appropriate to their chosen subject of study;
  • the ability to engage with both teaching and research at the highest level in the contemporary academic environment; and
  • a clear understanding of the scope and applicability of their research in broader contexts.

UK fees Course fees for UK students

For this course (per year)

International fees Course fees for EU and international students

Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK Masters (Merit).

MPhil in Music

Soas university of london, music and sound phd, university of gloucestershire, music and sound ma by research.

University of Cambridge

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university of cambridge music phd

The Centre for Music and Science (CMS) provides a home for research linking the field of music with psychology, acoustics, computer science, and neuroscience. It is inherently multidisciplinary, though perhaps the chief specialism of the centre is music cognition. Through dedicated studio facilities, the CMS supports technology-based teaching and graduate and staff research that requires technological resources. The centre is a base for collaborative research with other departments in Cambridge and with those in outside institutions.

The Faculty of Music added the CMS as a purpose built wing in 2003 with the assistance of an award of £1.3 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and of funds from the University and Colleges. The site comprises a fully sound-isolated Recording Studio (consisting of a Control Room and Recording Room, both linked to the Concert Hall and Recital Room), a Computer Room and a Research Room.

The CMS was led from its inception in 2003 by Ian Cross , now Emeritus Professor of Music and Science. In 2011 Ian was joined in the CMS by Sarah Hawkins , now Emeritus Professor of Speech and Music Science. Ian and Sarah supervised a great number of students and research fellows during their time, many of whom can now be found in research and teaching institutions all over the world. Ian retired in September 2021, and now the CMS is now directed by Peter Harrison , an alumnus of Cambridge with particular expertise in computational music cognition.

CMS Logo

Latest news

Claire Brillon to start funded PhD at McGill University

8 April 2024

We are proud to share that Claire Brillon, recent CMS MPhil student (2022-23), will be starting a funded PhD later this year at McGill University. Claire hopes to study the emotions of timbre, and will be perfectly located to do so with Stephen McAdams and Marcelo Wanderley. Congratulations Claire!

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find your perfect postgrad program Search our Database of 30,000 Courses

University of cambridge: music, master of philosophy - mphil, full-time, 9 years starts oct 2024.

The MPhil in Music is a nine-month freestanding programme offering advanced training in key areas of musical studies, while at the same time providing preparation for doctoral research. Its main aims are to equip students with research skills and experience beyond the first-degree level:

- critical awareness of issues and trends, informed by current research, across a broad spectrum of music studies;

- the opportunity to acquire or develop research skills and expertise relevant to a specified area of musical scholarship;

- experience in carrying out focused research under close supervision; and

- the opportunity for composers to acquire or develop the technical skills required to bridge the gap between undergraduate work and composition at a professional level.

**Learning Outcomes**

By the end of the programme students will have acquired or further developed:

- knowledge of, and the ability to critically evaluate, research techniques and methods relevant to the study of music;

- familiarity with current debates across a broad range of musical scholarship;

- a range of relevant research skills;

- the ability to utilise established techniques of enquiry in the context of original research; and

- for students specialising in composition, the ability to compose for a variety of vocal/instrumental media (whether acoustic or electroacoustic) with stylistic consistency and a genuine and individual artistic voice.

Full-Time, 9 years started Oct 2023

Phd with integrated study, full-time, 3 years starts oct 2024.

Postgraduate research in the Faculty of Music is centred on individual scholarly activity in fields such as historical musicology, analysis, ethnomusicology, performance studies, music and science, and composition. Doctoral students work in close contact with one or more leading researchers in their field as well as participating in programmes of skills training and research colloquia; there are also opportunities to gain experience in teaching. The overwhelming majority of graduate students in the Faculty undertake research that is directly connected with the special research interests of members of the Faculty. Intending applicants are strongly advised to make contact with a prospective supervisor prior to making a formal application in order to discuss the feasibility of their proposed research.

The principal educational aim of the PhD programme is to assist each student to acquire the research techniques, skills and knowledge that will enable them to make an original and significant contribution to scholarship, research or artistic practice in the discipline that is the focus of each individual's thesis. Given the focus of the programme on individual research excellence, it is necessarily tailored to the research interests of the student and the expertise of their supervisor.

Part-Time, 5 years starts Oct 2024

Full-time, 3 years started oct 2023, part-time, 5 years started oct 2023.

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Music, BA (Hons)

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Music at Cambridge

Music at Cambridge covers a broad range of exciting topics, from Medieval plainchant to the blues.

Learn new approaches to thinking about and understanding music, from advanced analysis to the study of music and science.  

You’ll have the opportunity to study a range of topics, with a strong academic focus on: 

  • composition, including screen and media composition 
  • performance 

By studying this course you'll join some of the most famous names in music who studied or taught here. They include:  

  • composers, like Judith Weir, Errollyn Wallen, Thomas Adès and Academy Award-winning, Steven Price 
  • performers, like Joanna MacGregor and Mark Padmore 
  • conductors, like John Eliot Gardiner and Nicholas Collon 
  • writers and broadcasters, like Sara Mohr-Pietsch who works for BBC Radio 3 
  • crossover artists, like Delia Derbyshire and Clean Bandit 

Teaching and facilities

The Faculty of Music is at the centre of a vast network of musical study, research and practice. 

Our research students, lecturers and distinguished international visitors work on a variety of topics. 

Our areas of special expertise include: 

  • medieval and renaissance music 
  • early modern music 
  • nineteenth-century music 
  • popular music 
  • ethnomusicology 
  • performance studies 
  • composition 
  • scientific approaches to music 

Facilities 

Our modern Faculty of Music is where most of your lectures, seminars and research activities will take place. The Faculty is also home to: 

  • West Road Concert Hall, a professional venue with 500 audience seats 
  • Pendlebury Library, with an extensive collection of music, books, periodicals and recordings 
  • recording studio, fully-equipped with a control room and a recording room 
  • music computing laboratories, with specialised software 

Along with all other students at Cambridge, you'll also have access to: 

  • the impressive Cambridge University Library, one of the world’s oldest university libraries   
  • libraries, practice rooms and computer suites located within our Colleges 

We have a large collection of period instruments that you can use.

A Javanese Gamelan is part of our collection. This is an orchestra of bronze instruments, with keyed metallophones, gongs, drums, a wooden flute and a two-stringed fiddle.

We also host several resident ensembles that perform regularly. They provide masterclasses, coaching and further composition workshops for students.

Course costs

When you go to university, you’ll need to consider two main costs – your tuition fees and your living costs (sometimes referred to as maintenance costs).

Your living costs will include costs related to your studies that are not covered by your tuition fees. There are some general study costs that will apply for all students – you can find details of these costs here .

There are no compulsory additional course costs for Music. If you have any queries about resources/materials, please contact the Department.

Your future career

When you graduate you'll have a variety of transferable skills that employers are looking for. You'll have the opportunity to choose from a range of different career options. 

In recent years, our music graduates have gone on to successful careers in: 

  • publishing and the media 
  • arts administration 
  • public service 
  • charity sector 

Many of our students also go on to careers in the music profession. Recent graduates include: 

  • pianist Tom Poster 
  • Royal Harpist Anne Denholm 
  • composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad 
  • jazz musician Misha Mullov-Abbado 
  • record producer and audio engineer Myles Eastwood

Teaching is provided through lectures, seminars, workshops, masterclasses and small-group supervisions. 

In your first year, you can usually expect to have 4 lectures, 3 supervisions, and aural and practical musicianship classes each week.  

In later years, you’ll have fewer lectures and more seminar, small-group and one-to-one teaching. 

You can also work with individual staff members on your own projects, whether as an advanced performer, composer, historian, analyst, ethnomusicologist or music scientist.  

Assessment takes place at the end of each year through: 

  • written examinations 
  • submission of portfolios 
  • compositions 
  • dissertations 

You won't usually be able to resit any of your exams.

Year 1 (Part IA)

The first year consists of compulsory papers in 3 major areas, and 2 half-papers chosen from a range of options. These papers provide a secure and interconnected foundation for your further study. You take: 

  • historical and critical studies – two papers covering issues involved in understanding music and its relationship to society and culture. These include studying historical topics in Western music and thinking broadly about the place of music in contemporary societies (world music, popular music, new music) 
  • tonal skills and general musicianship – one and a half papers giving you a thorough technical grounding in music of the Western tonal tradition, through writing music in a range of historical styles, aural work, and the acquisition of basic practical skills 
  • music analysis – a paper that gives you an understanding of what makes music work. You will study different approaches to analysing a broad range of music 
  • two half papers chosen from the following: extended essay, performance, composition, music historiography  

Year 2 (Part IB) 

You take a further paper in each of the core areas in year 1 (historical studies, analysis and applied tonal skills). Subject to Faculty approval, you can replace one of these papers with an option. 

You then choose 3 more papers from a range of different topics. Subjects change from year to year but normally include: 

  • in-depth historical topics 
  • jazz, popular music and media 
  • keyboard skills 
  • music and science 
  • performance studies, including recital 
  • a dissertation of 5,000 to 7,000 words 

Year 3 (Part II) 

In the final year, you have even more choice.  

There are no compulsory papers – you choose 6 papers from a wide selection of options which reflect your own interests and which may also develop the skills and knowledge you need for your chosen career path. 

Options available vary each year but recent examples include: 

  • advanced performance 
  • advanced performance skills (keyboard or choral) 
  • a dissertation of 7,000 to 10,000 words 
  • Beethoven: the Late String Quartets 
  • Musical Countercultures of the 1960s 
  • Exploring Music Psychology 
  • Parisian Polyphony 
  • Music, Nationalism and Politics in Spain 
  • Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem in Context 
  • Decolonising the Ear 

For further information about studying Music at the University of Cambridge  see the Faculty of Music website .

Changing course

It’s really important to think carefully about which course you want to study before you apply. 

In rare cases, it may be possible to change course once you’ve joined the University. You will usually have to get agreement from your College and the relevant departments. It’s not guaranteed that your course change will be approved.

You might also have to:

  • take part in an interview
  • complete an admissions test
  • produce some written work
  • achieve a particular grade in your current studies
  • do some catch-up work
  • start your new course from the beginning 

For more information visit the Faculty website .

You can also apply to change to:

  • Management Studies at the Judge Business School

You can't apply to this course until you're at Cambridge. You would usually apply when you have completed 1 year or more of your original Cambridge course.

You should contact your College’s Admissions Office if you’re thinking of changing your course. They will be able to give you advice and explain how changing courses works.

Minimum offer level

A level: A*AA IB: 41-42 points, with 776 at Higher Level Other qualifications : Check which other qualifications we accept .

Subject requirements

To apply to any of our Colleges for Music, you will need A levels/IB Higher Levels (or the equivalent) in:   

  • Music; or  
  • ABRSM Grade 8 Theory at Merit or above     

Colleges may specify A*/7 in Music.     

You can find more information about the subjects our typical entrants have studied below.   

What Music students have studied

Most Music students (who had studied A levels and started at Cambridge in 2017-19) achieved at least A*AA.

The majority of these students took Music (95%). Other common subjects were:

  • Mathematics
  • English (Language, Language & Literature, or Literature)

The majority of students who studied IB achieved at least 42 points overall.

Check our advice on choosing your high school subjects . You should also check if there are any required subjects for your course when you apply.

Admission assessment

If you’re shortlisted for interview, you may need to take a written assessment. Please check back in May 2024 for details. If an assessment is required, you will not need to register in advance and the Colleges will provide details directly to you. 

Submitted work

Applicants to all Colleges are required to submit representative written work and musical material prior to interview. This will normally include one or two essays on the history or analysis of music; and one or two technical exercises (if studied) and/or your own compositions.

Offers above the minimum requirement

The minimum offer level and subject requirements outline the minimum you'll usually need to achieve to get an offer from Cambridge.

In some cases, you'll get a higher or more challenging offer. Colleges set higher offer requirements for a range of reasons. If you'd like to find out more about why we do this, check the information about offers above the minimum requirement  on the entry requirements page.

Some Colleges usually make offers above the minimum offer level. Find out more on our qualifications page .

All undergraduate admissions decisions are the responsibility of the Cambridge Colleges. Please contact the relevant  College admissions office  if you have any queries.

Discover your department or faculty

  • Visit the Faculty of Music website - The Faculty of Music website has more information about this course, facilities, people and research.

Explore our Colleges

  • Find out how Colleges work - A College is where you’ll live, eat and socialise. It’s also where you’ll have teaching in a small group, known as supervisions.
  • How to choose a Cambridge College that's right for you - If you think you know which course you’d like to study, it’s time to choose a College.

Visit us on an open day

  • Book an open day - Get a feel for the city and the university.
  • Find an event - We offer a range of events where you can find out more about Cambridge, Colleges, and your course. Many of our events have hybrid options so you can join us virtually.

Find out how to apply

  • Find out how to apply and how our admissions processes work - Our admissions process is slightly different to other universities. We’ve put together a handy guide to tell you everything you need to know about applying to study at Cambridge.
  • Improve your application - Supercurricular activities are a great way to engage with your chosen subject outside of school or college.

Discover Uni data

Contextual information.

Discover Uni allows you to compare information about individual courses at different higher education institutions.  This can be a useful method of considering your options and what course may suit you best.

However, please note that superficially similar courses often have very different structures and objectives, and that the teaching, support and learning environment that best suits you can only be determined by identifying your own interests, needs, expectations and goals, and comparing them with detailed institution- and course-specific information.

We recommend that you look thoroughly at the course and University information contained on these webpages and consider coming to visit us on an Open Day , rather than relying solely on statistical comparison.

You may find the following notes helpful when considering information presented by Discover Uni.

  • Discover Uni relies on superficially similar courses being coded in the same way. Whilst this works on one level, it may lead to some anomalies. For example, Music courses and Music Technology courses can have exactly the same code despite being very different programmes with quite distinct educational and career outcomes. Any course which combines several disciplines (as many courses at Cambridge do) tends to be compared nationally with courses in just one of those disciplines, and in such cases the Discover Uni comparison may not be an accurate or fair reflection of the reality of either. For example, you may find that when considering a degree which embraces a range of disciplines such as biology, physics, chemistry and geology (for instance, Natural Sciences at Cambridge), the comparison provided is with courses at other institutions that primarily focus on just one (or a smaller combination) of those subjects.You may therefore find that not all elements of the Cambridge degree are represented in the Discover Uni data.
  • Some contextual data linked from other surveys, such as the National Student Survey (NSS) or the Destination of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE), may not be available or may be aggregated across several courses or several years due to small sample sizes.  When using the data to inform your course choice, it is important to ensure you understand how it has been processed prior to its presentation. Discover Uni offers some explanatory information about how the contextual data is collated, and how it may be used, which you can view here: https://discoveruni.gov.uk/about-our-data/ .
  • Discover Uni draws on national data to provide average salaries and employment/continuation data.  Whilst starting salaries can be a useful measure, they do not give any sense of career trajectory or take account of the voluntary/low paid work that many graduates undertake initially in order to gain valuable experience necessary/advantageous for later career progression. Discover Uni is currently piloting use of the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data to demonstrate possible career progression; it is important to note that this is experimental and its use may be modified as it embeds.

The above list is not exhaustive and there may be other important factors that are relevant to the choices that you are making, but we hope that this will be a useful starting point to help you delve deeper than the face value of the Discover Uni data.

Key information

All Colleges, except Lucy Cavendish

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is the University's principal research degree for graduate students and is available in all faculties and departments.

A Cambridge PhD is intellectually demanding and you will need to have a high level of attainment and motivation to pursue this programme of advanced study and research.

In most faculties, a candidate is expected to have completed one year of postgraduate study, normally on a research preparation master's course, prior to starting a PhD.

Completion normally requires three or four years of full-time study, or at least five years of part-time study, including a probationary period.

Terms of research are normally consecutive and, for full-time students, require residency in Cambridge. Not all departments offer part-time research degrees.

Various routes to the PhD are possible and, if you are made an offer of admission, it will be made clear whether you are required to study for a master's degree or certificate in the first instance, or will be admitted directly to the probationary year for the PhD. You are registered for the PhD only after a satisfactory progress assessment at the end of the probationary year (five terms for part-time degrees). The assessment is designed also to focus your mind on the stages necessary for the completion of your research within the normal time limit and to address any structural problems that have arisen during the first year. Students must pass the first year assessment in order to continue their PhD study.

During your PhD, your effort will be focused on writing a dissertation. The word count of the dissertation is dependent on the department and the Student Registry or Educational Student Policy will be able to tell you the maximum word limit. This must represent a significant contribution to learning, for example through the discovery of new knowledge, the connection of previously unrelated facts, the development of a new theory, or the revision of older views, and must take account of previously published work on the subject. Some Cambridge dissertations go on to form the basis of significant publications.

Although you will spend long hours working independently, your department and College will both support you throughout your PhD. You are also able to attend regular seminars in your subject area and could be involved in teaching, perhaps giving seminars or supervising, or in the social life of your department and College.

PhD course search

Go to the Course Directory and filter courses using the relevant checkboxes.

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Honorary degree recipients with Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor.

The University confers higher doctorates in Divinity (DD), Law (LLD), Science (ScD), Letters (LittD) and Music (MusD). These are either:

  • full degrees by submission and assessment of major academic work
  • titular degrees honoris causa – honorary degrees

Other doctorates, such as the PhD, are conferred only by submission and assessment. When higher doctorates are conferred honoris causa the recipients are individuals of outstanding national, or usually international, achievement in their field. Normally no more than eight honorary degrees are conferred in a year. Recipients can be of any nationality.

Occasionally the Master of Arts degree (MA) is also conferred as a titular honorary degree. This degree is for those who have made exceptional and direct contributions to the life of the University or the City of Cambridge.

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Prospective Graduate Students

university of cambridge music phd

Questions for Admissions? 617-495-5315 [email protected]

PhD programs

The Harvard Department of Music does not discriminate against applicants or students on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry or any other protected classification.

Musicology at Harvard offers intensive training in historical and cultural approaches to the study of music. While our program has an emphasis on Western music, students increasingly explore wide-ranging geographies and subjects. We take an expansive view of the field and encourage our students to do the same. Most graduate courses in musicology are research seminars; many treat specific topics and theoretical approaches, while others deal with methodology and recent trends in the field. The musicology faculty also offer proseminars that are open to both graduate and undergraduate students. At the end of two years of study, graduate students take a General Examination. In year three, having passed the General Exam, students begin to teach and craft a Ph.D. dissertation proposal; subsequent years are devoted to teaching, research, writing, and professional development. An important aspect of the Harvard program in musicology is its interdisciplinary breadth, which includes training in ethnomusicology and music theory. Students often also take seminars in other departments – and are encouraged to do so. Accreditation in secondary fields is available through many programs, such as  American Studies ,  Critical Media Practice ,  Medieval Studies ,  Romance Languages and Literatures , and  Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality , to name a few.

Special Resources

The deep holdings of the  Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library  include a substantial recording archive, and the  Isham Memorial Library  houses rare original books, scores, and personal archives ranging from the Randy Weston Archive to Sir Georg Solti’s annotated conducting scores. Additional resources on campus include the Special Collections at  Houghton Librar y and the  Harvard Theater Collection , one of the largest performing arts collections in the world. The department also maintains a selection of musical instruments for study and performance, including early keyboards and a consort of viols. The  Mahindra Humanities Center ,  Film Study Center ,  Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies , Harvard University  Center for Italian Renaissance Studies at Villa I Tatti  (Florence),  Hutchins Center  for African & African American Research,  David Rockefeller Center  for Latin American Studies,  Charles Warren Center  for the Study of American History, and several other campus institutions provide additional intellectual resources and funding for graduate student research. Faculty and graduate students hold conferences each year on a variety of topics; artists in residence and visiting artists often enrich coursework, and some courses provide opportunities for students to perform.

Language Requirements for Musicology

Two languages are required. The languages will be chosen in consultation with the program’s graduate advisor, and wherever possible should be relevant to future research. We encourage students to pass both languages before taking the general exam. In the event this is not possible, both languages need to be passed by the end of the fall semester of the third year.

Ethnomusicology at Harvard offers intensive training in ethnographic method as well as study of theories, problems, and approaches relevant to the study of any living musical tradition in its cultural setting. By the end of the second year of study, students select primary and secondary fields of specialization, which may be defined by region (for example, Turkish or West African music); by musical styles (such as jazz or popular music); or by topic or theoretical approach (organology or aesthetics). The Harvard program has particular strengths in regions stretching from the Mediterranean to India, in Africa and African diasporas, and in urban America. There are excellent resources both in the music department and across the disciplines at Harvard in critical theory. Collaborations are encouraged among ethnomusicology and  other music department programs in historical musicology, music theory, composition, and creative practice and critical inquiry. Six to eight ethnomusicology courses—usually four seminars and four proseminars or undergraduate classes—are offered each year as part of the regular curriculum. Graduate seminars explore ethnomusicological methods and theories as they are applied to the study of music, as well as a wide range of issues and materials, while proseminars focus on music styles or distinctive musical settings. An important aspect of the Harvard ethnomusicology program is that students receive training in Western music and its history as well as exposure to the methods and theories of historical musicology and music theory. A vital aspect of ethnomusicological training at Harvard is exposure to other disciplines, with particular emphasis upon anthropology, history, area studies, linguistic training, and theoretical frameworks related to the student’s specialization.

The Ethnomusicology laboratory ,  Archive of World Music , special library collections,  Peabody Museum , musical instrument collection (India, Iran, Mali, Zimbabwe), extensive sound and video archives (including the Archive of World Music and  Hiphop Archive & Research Institute ). The  Asia Center ,  Reischauer Institute ,  Center for African Studie s,  Center for Middle Eastern Studies ,  Hutchins Center  for African & African American Research, South Asia Institute,  David Rockefeller Center  for Latin American Studies, and several other campus institutions provide additional intellectual resources and funding for student research and language study. Faculty and graduate students hold conferences each year on a variety of topics; music faculty, artists in residence, and visiting artists often enrich coursework and provide opportunities for students to perform. 

Language Requirements for Ethnomusicology

The PhD in music theory is characterized both by a deep involvement in the inner workings of music and by an engagement with the wider philosophical, cultural, and psychological questions surrounding music. The program reflects this interdisciplinary interest of our students, and its structure is designed to explore the links of music theory to other areas of critical engagement. The graduate curriculum in music theory was fundamentally revised in 2018 with the view to the specific needs of professional music theorists in the twenty-first century.  The diverse dissertation projects that our doctoral students propose reflect the unique combination of interests. Recent and current PhD topics include microtonality and colonialism in the 19th century, musical forgery and forensics, the practice of recomposition in music theory, Scandinavian death metal, transformation theory and Hollywood film, and musical and visual lines in the early 20th century. Many of our students establish their interdisciplinary credentials by taking formal qualifications in a  secondary field  outside of music. Students receive a solid basis for their research by honing their musicianship and analytical skills, particularly during their first year in the program. All students take courses on Schenkerian theory and on a range of tonal and post-tonal analytical practices, as well as an introductory course to explore current issues in the field. At the same time, the program also encourages students to build a framework in which to place these techniques and to reflect on the underpinnings of music theory. Regular courses on questions in psychology, temporality, history of music theory, hermeneutics, and aesthetics round off our course offerings and often take music theory into interdisciplinary territory. In addition to studying canonic repertories, graduate courses on challenging repertoires—e.g. modal theory, non-Western music, or very recent composition—expand the field in new directions.  Our course offerings are complemented by a regular workshop in music theory, currently called Theory Tuesdays, in which faculty and students discuss current work, practice analytical techniques, or engage disciplinary and transdisciplinary questions in an informal setting. Our faculty are actively engaged in Harvard’s numerous interdisciplinary centers ( MBB ,  Medieval Studies ,  CES ,  HUCE , etc.). Harvard’s state-of-the-art  Sound Lab  provides the tools and expertise for digital and media-based research, and provides a conduit for music theory to the field of sound studies.

Language Requirement for Theory

Theorists must pass translation exams in two relevant research languages. The languages will be chosen in consultation with the graduate advisor, and should reflect, wherever possible, languages that will be useful to future research. One language requirement must normally be completed before generals, and the second must be completed in the fall semester of the third year.

Harvard’s program in composition is designed to give students the time and opportunity to develop as composers by offering general musical guidance as well as specific individual criticism of their works. The program is centered around the students’ achieving clarity of expression through developing their command of compositional technique. In addition, acquaintance with the literature of the past and present through analysis and performance is considered indispensable. Most courses are seminars and deal with specific topics or student works.PhD candidates in composition take 16 courses throughout their first two years. Students get a weekly individual composition lesson, and choose from composition and electronic music courses and other offerings within the department in theory, historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and CPCI, or graduate courses from other departments at Harvard. When needed, in the first year there is also a remedial course in harmony and analysis. Students of all years are required to attend the weekly composition colloquium.

The third, fourth, and fifth years are devoted to work on the dissertation and teaching, as well as active participation in composition colloquia and Harvard Group for New Music concerts. Composers may spend one term during their 4th year at another art institution or university if a particular research project or artistic residency can be obtained.

On the completion of preparatory training and the passing of the General Examinations (during the summer before the third year), PhD dissertations comprising a substantial portfolio of between five and seven pieces of varied scoring and length may be submitted.

Language Requirement: once enrolled, Composition students must pass a language exam in German, Italian or French unless an alternative language is approved in writing by the graduate advisor.

The program in  Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry  is designed as a special opportunity for exceptional, engaged artist-scholars. Such individuals might frame themselves as composer-performers whose work is driven by a research sensibility, or as committed scholars whose concurrent active involvement in music-making informs and propels their intellectual projects. Candidates interested in this category should clearly lay out their academic interests and musical experience, including research goals and a portfolio of creative work. They should present a clear rationale for the integrated, cross-disciplinary nature of their work.

In the first two years of coursework, students survey multiple fields of intellectual inquiry while nurturing and refining their creative work. Students in the program may take any of the graduate courses offered by the Department of Music, and occasional courses in other departments and programs with approval from the graduate advisor, as well as practice-based music-making courses (composition, improvisation, creative music, and interdisciplinary collaborations). 

During the summer after the second year of study, candidates will take three to four exams, to be determined in close consultation with the faculty. These include a preliminary portfolio of creative work, written exams on theoretical/analytical and historical/cultural topics relevant to the candidate’s individual research goals, and an oral exam encompassing all of the above.

The dissertation should offer original research and creative work that strikes a balance within this unique combination of interests.

Language Requirement: Once enrolled, CP/CI students must pass a language exam in a language relevant to their research interests, to be approved in writing by the graduate advisor.

Admission to the Graduate Program: Frequently Asked Questions

The Music Department does not require applicants to submit GRE scores. Submission of scores is permitted, and when submitted, GRE scores are taken into account during the admissions process. But those who do not submit such scores will not be penalized.

Note: Those who choose to take the GRE and submit their results do not need to take the Music GRE test, and should take the general GRE (math/language).

We take GRE scores into consideration along with the entire dossier, not as a single factor that determines the outcome of an application.

The annual deadline is usually January 2 for entrance the following fall term. Check the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin GSAS website for each year’s deadline.

Yes. If you are accepted into our PhD program, the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will offer you a financial package that guarantees funding for six years, and includes both tuition and living expenses. Teaching stipends may make up part of the package from the student’s third year on. There are also opportunities for additional funding. The Department (and Harvard Griffin GSAS) awards prizes, fellowships, stipends, and grants each year to graduate students for language study, dissertation completion, research assistance, and travel, among other pursuits.

Yes. You need to support your application with samples of your work, be it scholarly or creative.

Students whose native language is not English or who do not have an  undergraduate  degree from English-speaking university are required to take and pass the TOEFL. The recommended passing score is 80.

While many of our entering students do have degrees in music, backgrounds and degrees vary widely. We look at all-around preparation of our applicants and their overall excellence. As a Music Department, we do look for training and expertise in one or more music traditions and an ability to deal successfully with a curriculum that has requirements across the music subdisciplines as well as interdisciplinary studies.

The Harvard graduate program in Music is a doctoral program. The subdisciplines of musicology, ethnomusicology, composition, creative practice/critical inquiry, and music theory do not admit candidates for the Master’s Degree only.

We permit transfer of credit for no more than two courses. Students are allowed to request transfer credit if they are in good standing after the first year of coursework at Harvard and on submission of details about the course for which credit is requested. Graduate courses taken as an undergraduate student may not be presented for credit if those courses counted toward the undergraduate degree.

Our programs both require and encourage coursework in other sub-disciplines of music.

We have graduate programs in historical musicology, ethnomusicology, theory, creative practice/critical inquiry, and composition. Our programs are small, so it is important that you apply to the program closest to your major interests. If the faculty feel your application would be better served in another sub-discipline, they will direct it there.

Harvard has extraordinary course offerings across the disciplines and we encourage our graduate students to take courses that will enhance their knowledge.

You can enroll in language courses to meet the language requirements of our programs, but these courses do not count toward credit for the PhD.

The Harvard Griffin GSAS offers admitted Music students six years of full funding, in the form of stipends, teaching fellowships and finishing grants (this amount covers living expenses as well as tuition). Departmental resources include special funds for summer research and some additional fellowships.

Although we encourage performance, our graduate program is an academic one and performance activities do not count towards a degree (with the exception of creative practice/critical inquiry). As a Department of Music which does not have a performance faculty, we are not able to provide vocal or instrumental lessons. There is a lively musical scene on campus and graduate students are welcome to join many University ensembles, including those sponsored by Dudley House. Graduate student musicians sometimes perform on the special noontime University Hall Recital Series. The Harvard Group for New Music performs student compositions. Boston is home to an active musical world and many students participate as performers in music traditions ranging from early music to jazz.

No. Unfortunately, faculty are not usually available to meet with prospective students.

Prospective graduate students can email [email protected] to ask questions. If you visit the campus you may be able to talk with other students, sit in on a class, or attend a concert or lecture; email ahead to see what is possible.

Admissions Requirements

Phd program.

To apply to the PhD program in musicology, ethnomusicology, theory, composition or CPCI, you must make an application to the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS). All applications are online, and may be found (along with all the requirements, fee information, and procedures) at  http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/apply All recipients of a four-year college degree or its international equivalent may apply (students with and without master’s degrees may apply). If you are unsure whether you are eligible, please read the Harvard Griffin GSAS guidelines. Admissions decisions are made by Music Department faculty, who weigh a combination of factors such as past academic record, strength of scholarly (or compositional or performance) work, and recommendations. The TOEFL test may be required if English is not your first language (recommended minimum score is 80). Detailed information pertaining to requirements for admission are on the Harvard Griffin GSAS site listed above. The GRE General Examination is optional for all applicants.

Samples of previous work

Applicants to the all programs must submit, along with their applications, samples of their previous scholarly work (for composition applicants, this means scores and recordings; see below). The online application will allow you to upload up to 20 pages of material.

Applicants to the Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry PhD program must also submit 20 to 30 minutes of original creative work, in the form of links to online audio or video streams (Soundcloud, YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) or links to a file download (via Dropbox or similar). You may upload or share accompanying scores in PDF format to SLATE. Students should include a one page PDF containing links to online recordings. Applicants to the composition PhD program must submit three compositions in the form of links to online audio or video streams (Soundcloud, YouTube, Vimeo, etc). Recordings can be submitted as links to SoundCloud or other online resources. Students should include a one page PDF containing links to online recordings and PDF scores where applicable. The year of composition must be marked on all scores and recordings.

Submitting an Application

Harvard Griffin GSAS handles the admissions materials. All questions about the admissions process, as well as all application supplementary materials, should be sent to them by December 31 for candidates who seek entrance in the following fall term.

Admissions and Financial Aid Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Harvard University 1350 Massachusetts Avenue Holyoke Center 350 Cambridge, MA 02138-3654

Download an application electronically:  http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/apply You are required to upload all supporting documents (transcripts, writing samples, recommendations, etc) to the online application. If you have questions about your application, call 617-496-6100 (2-5pm EST) or write  [email protected] For financial aid questions call  617-495-5396  or email  [email protected] NOTE: Please do not call the Music Department about the status of your application or the return of your materials. Application materials only come to the Music Department at the very last stages of the process, and are held here in complete confidentiality until admissions recommendations are made.

We have a robust graduate student community, including through the Graduate Music Forum, weekly colloquia and lunch talk series, and performances ensembles in the GSAS Student Center. For more information about community activities happening in the music department, please consult the resources for graduate students page .

Visiting the Department

You are welcome to visit the Department at any time, although we in no way require or expect you to make the trip. We regret that we are not able to make appointments with individual faculty members during a pre-admissions visit.

If you do decide to make a visit prior to the admissions deadline there are optimum times to visit, such as between October and our December holiday break. If you visit at another time of the year, check the academic schedule to avoid reading/exam periods and semester breaks. It is not necessary to visit, nor should you see it as a way to improve your chances of admission.

Rather, a visit is simply a good way to learn about our Department’s intellectual environment and infrastructure. We urge you to consult the  course schedule  so that you can plan to sit in on one or more graduate seminars (please ask permission of the instructing professor first: music professors can be reached via email at [email protected]). This is the best way to get to know the professors and students.

You may also want to attend any colloquia, lectures, or faculty seminars that coincide with your visit (check our  calendar ), or to tour the Music Library and other Harvard libraries. It may also be possible to chat informally with some of our current graduate students, who are apt to be working in the department and library during the academic year.

Admitted students  are invited to visit as part of our admissions process (usually in March). At that time, admitted students meet with faculty, get to know our current students, and are introduced to other students who have also been admitted. This is not required, but is a good way for admitted students to get a sense of the program before they make their final decision.

Secondary Field in Musicology/Ethnomusicology

• Completion of a minimum of four courses in Music. • One of these courses must be an introductory course: Music 201a: Introduction to Historical Musicology, Music 201b: Introduction to Ethnomusicology, or Music 221: Current Issues in Theory. • The remaining three courses may be chosen from other graduate courses (200 level: “Primarily for Graduates”) or intermediate courses (150 level or above: “For Undergraduates and Graduates”). (No more than two courses may be chosen from the 150 or above level.) • Neither Pass/Fail nor audited courses will count towards a secondary PhD field. Contact the advisor in Ethnomusicology or in Musicology in the Department of Music for additional information on a secondary PhD field.

Declaring a Secondary Field

Students interested in declaring a secondary field in music should submit the “GSAS Secondary Field Application” to the Director of Graduate Studies as evidence of their successful participation in four appropriate courses in the Music Department. Once they obtain the approval of the DGS they and the registrar will receive certification of successful completion of secondary field requirements.

For further information contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Harvard University Department of Music, Music Building, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138  617-495-2791   [email protected]

For additional information  click here

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You will have access to an incredible array of resources, including the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, the John Knowles Paine Concert Hall, the Isham Memorial Library, the Harvard University Studio for Electroacoustic Composition, and the Sound Lab, which offers media production suites and equipment.

With a large endowment fund, the program is able to offer you funding from sources outside Harvard Griffin GSAS. You will also have the opportunity to take advantage of many available fellowships and travel, research and writing, and conference funding throughout the year.

Examples of theses and dissertations that graduates have completed include “Activism and Music in Poland, 1978–1989,” “Art of Noise: Sound and Media in Milan, ca. 1900,” “Black Musics, African Lives, and the National Imagination in Modern Israel,” and “Technologies of Transgression and Musical Play in Video Game Cultures.”

Most graduates go on to positions in academia at institutions like the University of Southern California, Michigan State University, and University of Cambridge in England.

AM in Performance Practice *

* Applications are not currently being accepted

The AM in music with a specialty in performance practice is designed to provide intellectual and scholarly background to finished musicians who are preparing or engaged in careers as performers and teachers. The emphasis is on preparing students to work with sources, editions, theoretical writings, organology, and other matters of importance to performance styles as related to repertories. Additional areas such as differences in the meaning of terminology and notation from composer to composer or from era to era, ornamentatio, liberties of tempo and declamation, and improvisation will be addressed. It is a two-year program in which students take a selection of departmental courses focused on this specialty and write an AM thesis.

Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of Music and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Areas of Study

Composition (PhD only) | Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry (PhD only) | Ethnomusicology (PhD only) | Music Theory (PhD only) | Musicology (PhD only) | Performance Practice* (AM only)

* Applications for Performance Practice AM are not currently being accepted

Admissions Requirements

Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of Music .

Samples of Previous Work

Applicants to all programs must submit samples of their previous scholarly work by uploading it in the Additional Materials section of the application. Applicants to the Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry PhD program must also submit 20 to 30 minutes of original creative work, in the form of links to online audio or video streams (Soundcloud, YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) or links to a file download (via Dropbox or similar) by using the Digital Portfolio section of the application. Applicants to the composition PhD program must submit three compositions in the form of links to online audio or video streams (Soundcloud, YouTube, Vimeo, etc.). Recordings can be submitted as links to SoundCloud or other online resources by using the Digital Portfolio section of the application. Students should include a one-page PDF containing links to online recordings and PDF scores where applicable. The year of composition must be marked on all scores and recordings.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Optional

AM In Performance Practice*

* Applications are not currently being accepted Ordinarily, the department expects to enroll one to two AM students a year or every two years. No auditions are required. Financial aid for this program is very limited. Students may apply for Paine Traveling Fellowships and/or the Department Travel Fund to support some of their research. All fellowship funding is at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee. Other University funding may be available. NOTE: AM students wishing to continue at Harvard for the PhD will submit a new application through the standard admission process. Students admitted to the PhD program will be granted credit for work done at Harvard or elsewhere according to departmental guidelines.

Theses & Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for Music

See list of Music faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

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Duration: 4 years full time

Institution code: R72

Campus: Egham

UK fees * : £4,786

International/EU fees ** : £23,400

The Department of Music is consistently rated as one of the top research departments in the UK with an international reputation of high distinction. We offer postgraduate research opportunities in a wide range of musical disciplines, with world-leading expertise in historical musicology, theory and analysis, performance as research, composition and ethnomusicology.

As an alternative, or precursor, to PhD study, we also offer MPhil and MA by Research (assessed entirely on the research dissertation: max. 40,000 words) options.

From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

Research facilities and environment

We offer a strong and highly supportive, collegiate atmosphere in which you will be offered discipline-specific research training, have opportunities to present your research at regular PGR colloquia, and gain experience of teaching through working as an assistant to a member academic staff on delivering and assessing aspects of the BMus curriculum.

Your progress will be monitored through supervision reports and will be reviewed annually, with an upgrade viva which, if successful, moves you onto the PhD programme.

Entry requirements

A good first degree and usually a Masters degree in Music, or in a related subject if the topic of research is interdisciplinary.

English language requirements

All teaching at Royal Holloway is in English. You will therefore need to have good enough written and spoken English to cope with your studies right from the start.

The scores we require

  • IELTS: 6.5 overall. Writing 6.5. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
  • Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
  • Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
  • TOEFL iBT: 88 overall, with Reading 18 Listening 17 Speaking 20 Writing 26.

Country-specific requirements

For more information about country-specific entry requirements for your country please see  here .

Many of our PhD graduates in Music have moved into post-doctoral research positions and other academic opportunities. Others have moved into portfolio careers as creative artists, performers, teachers, and/or researchers.

A PhD in Music can also lead to non-academic careers, as employees recognise the transferable skills and personal qualities required to be successful at this high level of scholarship.

Fees & funding

Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £4,786

EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £23,400

Other essential costs***: There are no additional costs greater than £50 per item.

…How do I pay for it? Find out more about   funding options,   including loans, grants,   scholarships   and bursaries. 

* and ** These tuition fees apply to students enrolled on a full-time basis in the academic year 2024/25.

* Please note that for research courses, we adopt the minimum fee level recommended by the UK Research Councils for the Home   tuition fee. Each year, the fee level is adjusted in line with inflation (currently, the measure used is the Treasury GDP deflator). Fees displayed here are therefore subject to change and are usually confirmed in the spring of the year of entry.   For more information on the Research Council Indicative Fee please see the   UKRI website.

** This figure is the fee for EU and international students starting a degree in the academic year 2024/25.   

Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase all postgraduate tuition fees annually, based on the UK’s Retail Price Index (RPI). Please therefore be aware that tuition fees can rise during your degree (if longer than one year’s duration), and that this also means that the overall cost of studying the course part-time will be slightly higher than studying it full-time in one year. For further information, please see our  terms and conditions .

***   These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2024/25 academic year and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included. 

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Case Western Reserve University

  • PhaikTzhiChua 05.05.2024

Graduate Degree Recital: Phaik Tzhi Chua, Baroque Violin

Phaik Tzhi Chua, baroque violin

1:00 PM (Eastern) Florence Harkness Memorial Chapel Free – open to the public

Watch the performance live >>

ABOUT THE EVENT AND PERFORMER

Corelli: an 18th-century Influencer | works by Viviani, Visconti, Senaillé, Bach, and Pleyel

View/download the full program on this page the day of the event.

  • PHAIK TZHI CHUA, Baroque Violin 
  • JONATHAN GOYA, Baroque Viola
  • ZUGUANG XIAO, Harpsichord

Malaysian violinist Phaik Tzhi Chua is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in historical performance practice under Julie Andrijeski in Case Western Reserve University. She was previously studying with Leah Gale Nelson, Nancy Wilson, and Dongmyung Ahn. Phaik Tzhi was a recipient of the French Frenzy Fellowship by ARTEK (NYC, 2024). She has been to several summer early music programs including Berwick Academy (Oregon, 2023), American Bach Soloists Academy (San Francisco, 2023), Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute (2022), Illinois Bach Academy (2022, 2021), and Virginia Baroque Academy Workshop (2019). Phaik Tzhi is part of a newly founded early music ensemble, Wit’s Folly, that focuses on late 18th century repertoire and beyond. Besides exploring music with Wit’s Folly, her other interests are in baroque dance and partimento.

LOCATION AND LIVESTREAM

The  CWRU Music Concert Series  and special events are free (open to the public) unless otherwise noted. Can't be with us in person? Watch the performance on the  Livestream Channel  in Harkness Chapel. Visit our  Upcoming Events  schedule to enjoy future concerts, student recitals, and more! 

  • Venue Info and Parking
  • Livestream in Harkness Chapel

Safety Protocols:  University Health and Counseling Services is committed to protecting the health and well-being of our campus community. Find the most current guidelines and resources on the (UH&CS)  COVID Information  page.

The Doctor of Philosophy with a major in music education degree is an individualized, research-oriented program that allows for optional emphasis in a number of areas of specialization within music education. The degree is offered by the Federation of North Texas Area Universities and conferred by UNT, with the other participating institutions offering appropriate staff, courses, equipment and libraries.

Degree requirements

The program for the degree includes a minimum of 60 hours in addition to the master’s degree, or its equivalent, or at least 90 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree.

For a detailed description of the program, including areas of specialization, admission and acceptance procedures, leveling courses, qualifying examinations and dissertation requirements, please consult the Bulletin for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Music Education , available through the graduate office of the College of Music or through the administrative assistant for the division of music education.

Some degree programs require participation in a performance laboratory and/or ensemble. Music Laboratories are choir, orchestra, band, jazz lab band, and accompanying. Ensembles available for graduate student participation are: opera theater, early music ensembles, NOVA ensemble, intermedia performance arts, brass ensembles, chamber wind ensembles, jazz ensembles, chamber orchestra, percussion ensembles, string ensembles, vocal ensembles, harp ensemble, and Mariachi Aguilas.

Course requirements

Beyond the fulfillment of leveling and review course requirements and of tool requirements, minimum course requirements for the 60-hour program are as follows.

Required courses, 6 hours

  • MUED 6440 - Systematic Measurement of Music Behaviors
  • MUED 6450 - Qualitative Research in Music

Selected courses, 12 hours

Select 12 hours from the following:

  • MUED 5010 - Music in Special Education
  • MUED 5100 - Music Supervision
  • MUED 5150 - Pedagogy in Practice
  • MUED 5500 - History of Music Education in the United States
  • MUED 5510 - Philosophical Foundations and Principles of Music Teaching
  • MUED 5520 - Psychology of Music
  • MUED 5880 - Teaching Strategies in General Music at Pre-School, Elementary and Middle School Levels of Instruction
  • MUED 6430 - Principles of Music Learning
  • MUED 6470 - Sociology of Music
  • MUED 6580 - College Teaching of Music Courses

Statistics, 6 hours

  • EPSY 5210 - Educational Statistics
  • EPSY 6010 - Statistics for Educational Research

Electives, 24 hours

Three hours must be a dissertation advancing tool course; 9 hours must be in an academic cognate area; 12 hours may be at the discretion of the student and advisor.

Dissertation, 12 hours

The student must complete 12 dissertation hours.

  • MUGC 6950 - Doctoral Dissertation

Special program requirements

Acceptance into the degree program.

Acceptance into the degree program occurs in three steps: (1) permission to enroll in course work; (2) acceptance into the doctoral program in music education; and (3) admission to doctoral candidacy at UNT.

To obtain permission to enroll in course work, the student must:

  • apply for admission to UNT through the Graduate School (an evaluation of the student’s transcript will determine leveling course requirements);
  • contact the College of Music or the Toulouse Graduate School for standardized admission test requirements; pass an in-house writing exam administered by the Division of Music Education;
  • submit an example of scholarly writing (a research paper);
  • document a record of three years of successful teaching experience in group instructional setting; and
  • submit a DVD or videotape of teaching that highlights classroom instructional episodes, such as rehearsals or warm-ups.

After arriving on campus for the first semester’s work, the student must:

  • attend all orientation sessions scheduled by the director of graduate studies in music; and
  • enroll in at least 4 hours of courses in music education.

To be accepted into the doctoral program in music education, the student must have taken a minimum of 12 hours of music education courses. The application for acceptance is directed to the coordinator of the music education PhD program and should contain:

  • a cover letter, and
  • an academic resume.

In making the acceptance decision, the music education graduate committee will take all available information about the student under advisement. Success in course work alone does not guarantee acceptance to the program.

Upon acceptance to the doctoral program in music education, the student will choose a doctoral (dissertation) committee under whose counsel a degree plan is devised and submitted to the Toulouse Graduate School. The qualifying examinations cannot be taken unless the approved degree plan is on file in the Toulouse Graduate School.

Doctoral residence

A doctoral student is officially in residence when carrying at least 9 hours of course work in each of two consecutive long terms/semesters.

Students who acquire residency toward another doctorate in the College of Music may, with the approval of the music education graduate committee, receive favorable consideration for residency in music education. Each case will be considered on an individual basis.

Demonstration of professional activity

Either prior to or shortly after the qualifying examinations, the student must demonstrate specific professional skills within a chosen area of specialization. This demonstration may consist of a workshop/clinic on a given subject, presented at a conference or in a pre-approved UNT College of Music course, or completion and submission of an article to a refereed journal.

Qualifying examinations

To obtain admission to doctoral candidacy at UNT, the student will take the qualifying examinations upon the completion of most of the course work.

There are two portions to the Qualifying Examination in Music Education:

Portion 1: Students will submit a portfolio that includes the following materials: (a) a vita, (b) a 15-minute unedited music teaching video demonstrating the student’s best pedagogical skills, (c) an original syllabus suitable for teaching a university course for music education majors, and (d) an empirical research study suitable for publication (either as the sole author or as first author), (e) a research conference proposal based on the research article, and (f) a 25-minute research presentation (20 minutes for author presentation, 5 minutes for audience questions) based on the research article with accompanying handouts and appropriate visual aids (e. g., PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.).

Portion 2: Students will submit an annotated bibliography with a minimum of 100 references on a proposed dissertation topic. Each annotated entry should include a succinct description of the author’s work in the student’s own words. (Merely copying abstracts from published works is not acceptable.) The student may use complete sentences or sentence fragments as long as details of the study are provided.

​Public Presentation and Private Defense

Approximately two weeks after all materials described in Portions 1 and 2 above have been submitted to all committee members, students will present their empirical research article in a 25-minute public forum, followed by an hour-long private defense of their materials with a three-member committee of Music Education faculty, chosen by the PhD Coordinator.

The examinations are usually given in November, March and June. The student must pass at least 50 percent of the examinations (B minus or better). If less than 50 percent is passed, all portions of the examination must be retaken; if more than 50 percent is passed, only those portions must be repeated in which the student scored below B minus. No more than two repeats are allowed. Oral examinations may be requested by the music education graduate committee in cases for which a repeat of the written examinations is not feasible.

Dissertation

After the successful completion of all portions of the qualifying examinations and upon being admitted to candidacy by the Toulouse Graduate School, the student must maintain continuous enrollment in MUGC 6950    each long term/semester until the dissertation has been completed, defended and accepted by the graduate dean.

The dissertation process is divided into two steps:

  • preparing and defending the dissertation proposal; and
  • writing and defending the dissertation.

The proposal and its defense

The proposal is a public hearing during which the candidate presents to the doctoral committee in writing the purpose, research questions and proposed methodology of the dissertation. The proposal serves as a structural model for the dissertation itself and usually will be from 30 to 50 pages in length.

The dissertation defense and final steps in completing all requirements

The dissertation defense is a public hearing during which the candidate will defend the completed dissertation before the doctoral committee and any other interested students, faculty and members of the community. The dissertation must follow the UNT rules for preparing theses and dissertations.

The successful defense is indicated by the signatures of all members of the doctoral committee. The approved dissertation must be in the office of the dean of the College of Music at least a week before the deadline for filing theses and dissertations in the graduate office of the university. An abstract of the dissertation must be prepared and submitted with one original and two copies of the complete work to the Toulouse Graduate School for final reading and approval. A reading copy of the dissertation is due in the College of Music Graduate Office one week prior to the Toulouse Graduate School submission deadline.

IMAGES

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  2. PhD Studentship In Music For EU & Non-EU Students At University Of

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  3. Music@Cambridge school edition, Michaelmas 2015 by Faculty of Music

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  5. Unspoken Reality behind Cambridge Music Degree

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VIDEO

  1. A week as a Cambridge PhD student

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  4. #MyCambridgeSoc : Music Production

  5. The University of Cambridge

  6. Professor Umbridge (From "Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix")

COMMENTS

  1. PhD in Music

    PhD in Music. The PhD in Music is available as a full-time programme lasting three years, or a part-time programme lasting five years. It is available in all areas in which we can offer supervision, including historical musicology, analysis, ethnomusicology, sound studies, music cognition, composition and practice-based research in performance.

  2. PhD in Music

    PhD in Music. Postgraduate research in the Faculty of Music is centred on individual scholarly activity in fields such as historical musicology, analysis, ethnomusicology, performance studies, music and science, and composition. Doctoral students work in close contact with one or more leading researchers in their field as well as participating ...

  3. Faculty of Music

    The Faculty of Music at the Cambridge Festival 2 of 6. electro//acoustic day, 14 March 2024 3 of 6. Video: Introduction to Music at Cambridge 4 of 6. Research at Cambridge 5 of 6. Study at Cambridge 6 of 6. January 2024: new publications from three members of the Faculty of Music 1 of 6.

  4. How to Apply

    Audio recordings cannot be uploaded through the online application system, but should be submitted directly to the Faculty through Dropbox, by sharing files with [email protected]. Key Dates 15 September 2023 - Applications Open 11 October 2023 - Gates Cambridge USA Funding Deadline 23 Oct to 3 Nov 2023 - Postgraduate Virtual ...

  5. PhD students

    Katelyn Emerson, supervised by Peter Harrison, joined the Centre for Music and Science in 2022. Her research interests include music performance pedagogy and analysis, linguistics, psychology, and ergonomics and injury prevention. Her PhD research investigates explicit and implicit contextual influences on organists' rubato and articulation ...

  6. MPhil in Music

    The MPhil in Music is a nine-month freestanding programme offering advanced training in key areas of musical studies, while at the same time providing preparation for doctoral research. Its main aims are to equip students with research skills and experience beyond the first-degree level: the opportunity for composers to acquire or develop the ...

  7. PhD in Music at University of Cambridge

    PhD theses should not exceed 80,000 words excluding notes, appendices, and bibliographies, musical transcriptions and examples. Candidates whose work is practice-based may include as part of a doctoral submission either a portfolio of substantial musical compositions or one or more recordings of their own musical performance(s).

  8. Prospective PhD students

    It's important to have graduate-level research experience before embarking on a PhD in the Centre for Music and Science. This generally means (i) being well-educated in empirical methods, and (ii) having conducted a substantial empirical study, ideally either published or of publishable quality. An MPhil is a good way to get this experience ...

  9. Faculty of Music

    Music - PhD. Postgraduate research in the Faculty of Music is centred on individual scholarly activity in fields such as historical musicology, analysis, ethnomusicology, performance studies, music and science, and composition. Doctoral students work in close contact with one or more leading researchers in their field as well as participating ...

  10. Centre for Music and Science

    The centre is a base for collaborative research with other departments in Cambridge and with those in outside institutions. The Faculty of Music added the CMS as a purpose built wing in 2003 with the assistance of an award of £1.3 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and of funds from the University and Colleges.

  11. music

    University of Cambridge commits to a major new centre for music performance. The University of Cambridge is creating a Centre for Music Performance (CMP) to transform the visibility, scale, ambition and reach of musical life...

  12. Postgraduate Study

    Our postgraduate programmes include: a 9-month MPhil in Music c ombining structured teaching with individual supervised study. This is a free-standing programme but is particularly suitable as a basis for doctoral studies at Cambridge or elsewhere. a Doctoral programme, available full-time over three years or part-time over five.

  13. Music

    Study Music at University of Cambridge. Explore course details and what's involved. From start dates, entry requirements, university information and more. ... The overwhelming majority of graduate students in the Faculty undertake research that is directly connected with the special research interests of members of the Faculty. Intending ...

  14. Music, BA (Hons)

    music computing laboratories, with specialised software Along with all other students at Cambridge, you'll also have access to: the impressive Cambridge University Library, one of the world's oldest university libraries libraries, practice rooms and computer suites located within our Colleges Resources

  15. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

    The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is the University's principal research degree for graduate students and is available in all faculties and departments. A Cambridge PhD is intellectually demanding and you will need to have a high level of attainment and motivation to pursue this programme of advanced study and research.

  16. Honorary degrees

    Honorary degrees. The University confers higher doctorates in Divinity (DD), Law (LLD), Science (ScD), Letters (LittD) and Music (MusD). These are either: full degrees by submission and assessment of major academic work. titular degrees honoris causa - honorary degrees. Other doctorates, such as the PhD, are conferred only by submission and ...

  17. Prospective Graduate Students

    The PhD in music theory is characterized both by a deep involvement in the inner workings of music and by an engagement with the wider philosophical, cultural, and psychological questions surrounding music. ... Music Building, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 617-495-2791 [email protected]. For additional information click here. 3 ...

  18. Research in the Faculty of Music

    Research in music at Cambridge is internationally renowned, and ranges from creative practice (composition, performance studies) to music and science, analysis, ethnomusicology, and historical musicology. We host two world-leading centres of collaborative research: the Centre for Music and Science, and the Cambridge Centre for Musical ...

  19. Music, Ph.D.

    About. Doctoral students on this Music programme from University of Cambridge, work in close contact with one or more leading researchers in their field as well as participating in programmes of skills training and colloquia; there are also opportunities to gain experience in teaching. University of Cambridge. Cambridge , England , United Kingdom.

  20. Music

    NOTE: AM students wishing to continue at Harvard for the PhD will submit a new application through the standard admission process. Students admitted to the PhD program will be granted credit for work done at Harvard or elsewhere according to departmental guidelines. Theses & Dissertations. Theses & Dissertations for Music. Faculty. See list of ...

  21. PhD Students

    Faculty of Music 11 West Road Cambridge CB3 9DP (01223) 763481. Information provided by: [email protected]

  22. Music PhD

    About us. The Department of Music is consistently rated as one of the top research departments in the UK with an international reputation of high distinction. We offer postgraduate research opportunities in a wide range of musical disciplines, with world-leading expertise in historical musicology, theory and analysis, performance as research ...

  23. Graduate Degree Recital: Phaik Tzhi Chua, Baroque Violin

    Graduate Degree Recital: Phaik Tzhi Chua, Baroque Violin ... currently pursuing a doctorate degree in historical performance practice under Julie Andrijeski in Case Western Reserve University. She was previously studying with Leah Gale Nelson, Nancy Wilson, and Dongmyung Ahn. ... (NYC, 2024). She has been to several summer early music programs ...

  24. Program: Music Education, PhD

    Email & Phone. [email protected]. 940-565-2000. 940-369-8652. Music Education, PhD. The Doctor of Philosophy with a major in music education degree is an individualized, research-oriented program that allows for optional emphasis in a number of areas of specialization within music education.