- Degree awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Duration
- 3 years [full-time], 6 years [part-time]
- Entry requirements
-
- Bachelor's (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and
- Master's degree in a relevant subject – with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent)
- How to apply
-
Please ensure you include all required supporting documents at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered.
Application Deadlines
For consideration in internal funding competitions, you must submit your completed application by 13 January 2025.
If you are applying for or have secured external funding (for example, from an employer or government) or are self–funding, you must submit your application before the below deadlines to be considered. You will not be able to apply after these dates have passed.
- For September 2025 entry: 30 June 2025
- For January 2026 entry: 30 September 2025
Programme options
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time distance learning | Part-time distance learning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhD | Y | Y | N | N |
Programme overview
- The UK's Number 1 Department for Music (Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024).
- Showcase your work through concert performances, collaborations, and interactions with visiting artists.
- Become part of the NOVARS research centre's creative community, with access to the state-of-the-art facilities of our Electroacoustic Music Studios.
Open days
Our virtual week took place October 2024 – to find out about future sessions to explore postgraduate research opportunities across the university, please visit our study fairs and events page.
To stay up-to-date with future events and recorded sessions in the Faculty of Humanities, please join our postgraduate research email update list .
Fees
For entry in the academic year beginning September 2025, the tuition fees are as follows:
-
PhD (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £5,006
International, including EU, students (per annum): £22,000 -
PhD (part-time)
UK students (per annum): £2,503
International, including EU, students (per annum): £11,000
Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.
Please note for the majority of projects where experimentation requires further resource: higher fee bands (where quoted) will be charged rather than the base rate for supervision, administration and computational costs. The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive and, therefore, you will not be required to pay any additional bench fees or administration costs.
All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of the course for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your project.
Scholarships/sponsorships
There are a range of scholarships, studentships and awards to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers, details of which can be found via the links below.
To apply for University of Manchester funding, you must indicate in your application the competitions for which you wish to be considered. The deadline for most internal competitions, including AHRC NWCDTP and School of Arts, Languages and Cultures studentships is 13 January 2025.
All external funding competitions have a specified deadline for submitting the funding application form and a separate (earlier) deadline for submitting the online programme application form, both of which will be stated in the funding competition details below.
You will need to be nominated by your proposed supervisor for a number of our scholarships. Therefore, we highly recommend you discuss these funding opportunities with your supervisor first, so they can advise on your suitability and ensure you meet nomination deadlines.
For more funding information, visit our funding page or use our funding database to search for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.
- AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP) PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
- School of Arts, Languages and Cultures PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
- China Scholarship Council - The University of Manchester (CSC-UoM) Joint Scholarship Programme - Competition Closed for 2025 Entry
- Harry Clough Bursary (Music) 2025 Entry
- Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships 2025 Entry
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (High Income Countries)
- Myrtle McMyn Bursary (Music) 2025 Entry
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (Least Developed Countries and Fragile States) - Competition Closed for 2025 Entry
- School of Arts, Languages and Cultures New Generation PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
- President's Doctoral Scholar (PDS) Awards 2025 Entry
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
- Contact name
- Humanities Doctoral Academy Admissions
- HUMS.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- https://www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/
- School/Faculty
-
See: About us
Programmes in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of programmes in related subject areas.
Regulated by the Office for Students
The University of Manchester is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS aims to help students succeed in Higher Education by ensuring they receive excellent information and guidance, get high quality education that prepares them for the future and by protecting their interests. More information can be found at the OfS website.
You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Manchester, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our regulations website.