Music  PhD / MPhil

Overview

The Centre for Music Studies is one of the University's top-rated research centres, being placed in the top 15 music research establishments in the UK in the 2008 Higher Education Funding Council's Research Assessment Exercise, and with an 'esteem indicator' of 100 per cent in the 4* (highest) category. This reflects research activities of the highest international quality.

With a strong research-active faculty and a lively postgraduate community, the Centre's research places an emphasis on integrating musicological and ethnomusicological approaches, and on exploring contemporary music and world culture through composition and performance.

The graduate community is one of the largest in the country, with around 50 students pursuing research or taught postgraduate degrees. In recent years the Centre has been successful in securing several University Research Fellowships and University Studentships.

The Centre for Music Studies has a vibrant research culture and welcomes strong applicants with original research topics for its PhD Programme (see 'Research Areas' in the 'Structure and Awards' tab). Find out more about our current Research Students.

  • School of Arts and Social Sciences,
  • Centre for Music Studies

    • Start Date:

    The University offers two registration points for research degree students, in September and February each year.

    Entry Requirements

    Applicants should normally hold a Masters-level degree in music or an area cognate to their area of research.

    English Language Requirements

    For students whose first language is not English, the following qualifications will meet the English language requirement for entry to a postgraduate course of study:

    • A first degree from a UK university or from the CNAA.
    • A first degree from an overseas institution recognised by the University as providing adequate evidence of proficiency in the English language, for example, from institutions in Australia, Canada or the United States of America.
    • GCE O-level/GCSE English language or English literature, grade C minimum.
    • Cambridge ESOL CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English) at grade C or above.
    • An overall score of 6.5 in the English Language Testing System (IELTS) with a minimum of 6.0 for each subtest.
    • A score of 600 minimum (computer score 250, internet-based score 100) in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
    • Satisfactory standard in the verbal section of the Princeton Test (GMAT).
    • US SAT with 500 in verbal performance.
    • Warwick English Language Test (WELT) with pass grades of BBC minimum.
    • Other evidence of proficiency in the English language which satisfies the board of studies concerned.

    Visa Requirements

    City University London retains Highly Trusted Status from UKBA, enabling us to sponsor international students to study in the UK.

    The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course at City, there are different rules for:

    • Students on courses of more than 6 months
    • Students on courses of less than 6 months
    • Students on a pre-sessional English Language course

    For more information see our main Visa page.

    Start Dates / Duration of Studies

    Start Date

    The University offers two registration points for research degree students, in September and February each year.

    Duration of Studies

    Full-time students are permitted a maximum of four years' registration. Part-time students are permitted a maximum of seven years' registration. Students must submit a thesis and be examined within this period.

    As a full-time student, you will spend the majority of your working time in research at the University. You are expected to dedicate yourself full-time to your research. As a part-time student, you are expected to spend the equivalent of two days per week on your research. This period shall not exceed 15 hours of organised daytime study per week.

    Research students follow individually supervised programmes leading either to the submission of a thesis (musicology; ethnomusicology), or a portfolio of compositions (instrumental and vocal composition and/or studio-based digital or electroacoustic work). Please note: the thesis for the composition is not a commentary on the student's works composed but a dissertation on an area of research related to the student's compositional interests.

    Initially students are registered for the MPhil degree. Transfer to PhD status occurs once good progress has been made on the initial stages of the research; this can take place at the end of the first year of full-time study, the second year of part-time study, or later. The work completed at the time of transfer contributes to the PhD.

    The PhD will normally be completed after three years of full-time research (five years part-time), followed by a one-year period of 'writing-up' during which the final preparation of the thesis or portfolio takes place. Students intending to complete the MPhil only will normally carry out two years of full-time research (or three years part-time), plus the period of 'writing-up'.

    As a general guideline MPhil theses do not normally exceed 60,000 words, and PhD theses do not normally exceed 90,000 words. Audio and visual media may form part of the submission.

    In Composition, the MPhil portfolio will normally contain at least three, and the PhD at least five, substantial works, or negotiated equivalent, with a contextualising commentary. The portfolio is accompanied by a thesis, which will usually consider aesthetic and contextual issues related to the works but is not about them. Substantially fewer words are expected for composition-based theses.

    Research Areas

    Musicology

    • Biography
    • Byzantine and Modern Greek art music
    • Choral music of the Slavic Orthodox churches
    • Church music
    • Critical Musicology
    • Feminist, gay and lesbian musicology
    • Gender and sexuality in Popular music
    • Gender representation in music
    • Historiography and canonicity
    • Historical performance practice
    • Music and literature
    • Music and society
    • Music for film, television and video games
    • Music in the Third Reich
    • Music in cultural history
    • Music in 19th-century Russia and the Soviet Union
    • Music in 20th-century Germany
    • Music videos
    • Nineteenth-century music
    • Plainchant
    • Pop-Rock music
    • Popular music studies
    • Reception history
    • Studies of musical performance, both live and recorded
    • The Frankfurt School, Theodor Adorno and Marxist aesthetics
    • Twentieth-century and contemporary music
    • Women composers

    Ethnomusicology

    • African-American music
    • Balkan traditions
    • Creative processes in music, with particular reference to the Middle East
    • Diaspora studies
    • Ethnicity, identity and music
    • Ethnomusicology of Western art music
    • European folk music traditions
    • Greek song
    • Japanese traditional music
    • Middle Eastern musics
    • Music and issues of globalisation
    • Music and the politics of cultural representation
    • Music in Middle Eastern cinema
    • Music, power and ideology
    • The study of musical instruments 
    • Urban Ethnomusicology

    Composition

    • Instrumental and vocal composition
    • Composition for film, television and videogames
    • Studio composition
    • Analysis and aesthetics of composition

    Performance-based research

    Applicants should normally hold a Masters-level degree in music or an area cognate to their research topic.

    Research students follow individually supervised programmes leading either to the submission of a thesis (musicology, ethnomusicology); a portfolio of compositions (instrumental and vocal composition and/or studio-based digital or electroacoustic work); or a performance plus thesis (for performance-based research).

    Please note: the thesis for the composition is not a commentary on works that the student has composed but a dissertation on an area of research related to the student's compositional interests.

    Fees

    • Full-time EU: £4,200 per year (2013 entry)
    • Part-time EU: £2,100 per year (2013 entry)
    • Full-time Non EU: £10,000 per year (2013 entry)
    • Part-time Non EU: £5,300 per year (2013 entry)

    Fees for doctoral candidates are charged annually and cover registration, supervision and examination. Fees are subject to review each year and may vary during your period of registration.

    You pay the above fees (which usually increase each year in line with inflation) annually until you are ready to go into 'writing up' status, whereby you are no longer researching your research topic and are solely writing up your thesis for examination. You will not be required to pay further tuition fees but you will be charged the writing-up fee of £300 which will cover you for the duration of the writing-up period (a maximum of 12 months for full-time and 18 months for part-time students).

    If a student fails to submit their thesis within the maximum writing-up period, they will be reverted to full registration (full-time or part-time depending on their status before moving to writing up) and will be required to pay the full fees. Students will only be expected to pay for the time taken to complete the thesis and once the thesis has been submitted the remaining proportional fees will be refunded to the student.

    Fees are payable upon registration. Details of methods of the payment of tuition fees can be found on the University's website, at: http://www.city.ac.uk/study/why-study-at-city/fees-and-finance/paying-fees.

    Funding

    University Funding

    The University offers doctoral studentships on a competitive basis each year.

    Further information. Link for further information to http://www.city.ac.uk/research/research-degrees/fees/university-doctoral-studentships.

    School Funding

    The Centre has been successful in securing or supporting research funding, and applicants for research degrees are encouraged to apply for University Research Studentships where appropriate.

    In the past few years the Centre has been awarded five two-year University Research Fellowships, of which only two are awarded each year, in Film Studies, Composition, Music Therapy and Historical Musicology. Two three-year University studentships, in Musicology and Ethnomusicology have also been awarded.

    The Centre has also been successful in gaining external funding for research, including various Research Council funds and a Leverhulme Trust grant for the City University-London Sinfonietta composition project.

    Preliminary Enquiries

    To be considered for an MPhil or PhD, one of our staff must be willing to supervise your research. You are therefore encouraged to contact a staff member whose research interests accord with your own prior to making an application. Their profiles can be found on our website: http://www.city.ac.uk/arts/creative-practice-and-enterprise/music/research/staff-research. Further information about research within the Centre for Music Studies can be found here: http://www.city.ac.uk/arts/creative-practice-and-enterprise/music/research.

    How to Apply

    In order to apply for a place on the MPhil/PhD programme, please visit the following webpage to download an application form: http://www.city.ac.uk/research/research-degrees/application. Please submit the following documents to ensure there are no delays processing your application:

    • One copy of the completed application form.
    • A full curriculum vitae specifying academic qualifications, and experience or achievements relevant to the application and the research proposal.
    • A research proposal, giving as much details as possible about the research area, and the reasons for carrying out the research.
    • An account of the ideal resources - hardware, software and supervisory support - needed to enable the work to be carried out.
    • An example of written work which demonstrates writing skills and intellectual ability.
    • Compositions: composers should submit a folio of recent compositions with recordings if possible. Electroacoustic composers should submit digital recordings.
    • Certified copies of your degree certificates and transcripts.
    • Two references - these may be submitted as hard copies in signed and sealed envelopes. If your referees would prefer to email the recommendation letters they can do so, as long as they send them directly to me from their official work (not private) email account.
    • Proof of your English language proficiency (if applicable).

    Completed applications may be sent by email or post to the address below:

    Zazie Psotta
    Quality & Doctoral Administrator,
    School of Arts & Social Sciences,
    City University London,
    Northampton Square,
    London,
    EC1V 0HB.

    Phone: +44 (0) 20 7040 8504

    Email: 

    N.B. Please note that the maximum size of any individual file you send by email should be 1mb, and that the combined size of all files you email should be less than 2mb. If the size of any files you need to send are larger than this, you should consider re-sizing these, or uploading them to a website rather than sending by email.

    When this information is received the application will be assessed by the relevant academic staff. Further information or an interview may be required. The applicant will be contacted if this is the case. The outcome will be reported to the applicant as soon as is practicable.

    Writing Your Research Proposal

    Your research proposal should give an outline of the research you intend to conduct, along with the research questions you will be attempting to answer, and an initial plan for how you will complete the research. A preliminary literature research which shows where you think your research will sit within existing knowledge would also be useful.

    Supervision

    Each student is assigned a supervisor whose role is to:

    • Ensure that the student develops a detailed research plan and has clear targets
    • Assess research training needs
    • Enable access to necessary resources
    • Encourage and support initiative and motivation
    • Provide regular feedback on work.
    The University runs an induction programme, covering training in research methods, computer and library facilities, and discussion of research students' needs.

    All research students present their work in progress in the Department's annual Research Seminar Series which acts as a regular meeting point for research students. There are also occasional postgraduate seminars in specialist areas, including a postgraduate composers' listening group.

    Training Provision

    Information on central provision for doctoral students can be found here: http://www.city.ac.uk/research/research-degrees/development.

    Research Environment

    With strong links between research and postgraduate teaching, research students benefit from the Centre for Music Studies' integration of Western and non-Western music, and an interdisciplinary approach that encourages studies related to popular culture and contemporary creative practice, performance, technology, aural culture and world music.

    Research students are studying areas as diverse as London-based Klezmer music, 18th-century publishing practices and the nature of collaboration in live electroacoustic performance. All students benefit from participation in a weekly research seminar series, attended by both staff and student researchers across the Centre. Other events held throughout each term include public concert series, specialist seminars and student performances.

    For instrumental and vocal composers, the Centre's ongoing association with the London Sinfonietta allows composers to have works performed by the ensemble at LSO St Luke's. Composers and creative practitioners working in electroacoustic and electronic music can work in the Centre's well-equipped studios, and regularly perform their work in the Centre's purpose built performance space, which is fully equipped with multimedia and network facilities.

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