- Degree awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Duration
- 3 years [full-time], 6 years [part-time]
- Entry requirements
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- 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
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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 12 January 2024.
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 2024 entry: 30 June 2024
- For January 2025 entry: 30 September 2024
Programme options
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time distance learning | Part-time distance learning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhD | Y | Y | N | N |
Programme description
Your supervised research will normally be related in some way to the research interests of a member of staff. These currently include but are not limited to:
* Early modern material culture and source studies * Early modern music theory and performing practices * Music and multimedia culture in early modern and Enlightenment England * Reception of early modern English music * Beethoven and his contemporaries * Music, politics and aesthetics in 19th-C Germany * Analysis and reception of 19th-C instrumental music * Music in 20th-century Russia and the Soviet Union * The 20th-century symphony * New music reception, historiography and methodology * Music in contemporary culture * Music of South Asia and the South Asian diaspora * Music of the Mediterranean, Balkans and Caucasus * Politics of world music * Music revivals in the 20th and 21st centuries * Theorising listening and listeners * Jazz performance and improvisation studies * Historical performance practice * Manuscript studies * Child composers
Our research across the department involves particular focus on eight core research areas , which are built around themes and topics that are of interest to a number of members of staff, who are able to bring contrasting perspectives and methodologies to solving shared problems within these themes because of their contrasting areas of specialism. These core research areas comprise:
* Creative and performing practices * Sound, space and interactive art * Politics, protest and power * Nationalism, mobility and identity * Historically and culturally informed analysis * Critical reception studies * Voice and vocality * Inter-cultural musicking
Musicologists and ethnomusicologists will produce an 80,000-word dissertation that presents independent and original research executed at a high standard.
You will be assigned a research panel consisting of your supervisor, a co-supervisor and advisor who will meet with you on a regular basis to monitor your progress.
Postgraduate students are expected to take part in the academic community of the department and the University by participating in seminars and presenting their research at regular intervals.
Find out more about our Music research , our staff and what our current PhD postgraduate research students are working on.
Open days
Find out what it's like to study at Manchester by visiting us on one of our open days .
Fees
Fees for entry in 2024 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2023 were as follows:
-
PhD (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £4,712
International, including EU, students (per annum): £21,000 -
PhD (part-time)
UK students (per annum): £2,356
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 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 12 January 2024.
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.
For more information about funding, 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 2024 Entry
- School of Arts, Languages and Cultures PhD Studentships 2024 Entry
- China Scholarship Council - The University of Manchester (CSC-UoM) Joint Scholarship Programme 2024 Entry (TBC)
- Harry Clough Bursary (Music) 2024 Entry
- Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships 2024 Entry
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (High Income Countries)
- Myrtle McMyn Bursary (Music) 2024 Entry
- Humanities Doctoral Academy Humanitarian Scholarship 2024 Entry
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (Least Developed Countries and Fragile States)
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.