PhD Music (Musicology)

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.

Find out what it's like to study at Manchester by visiting us on one of our  open days .

Apply online

Please ensure you include all required supporting documents at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered. A Personal Statement is NOT required to be submitted. You should select 'Supporting Statement is not required for this programme'.

Application Deadlines

Admission to studying for a PhD is highly competitive, so please allow as much time as possible to prepare your application, browse our research pages and academics' profiles, and familiarise yourself with the application process and any important deadlines.

To be considered for all funding sources, you need to apply far enough in advance of the relevant funding competition deadlines, which are usually much earlier than the programme deadline listed below. For studentships within the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures (including AHRC NWCDTP and ESRC NWSSDTP), you must submit your completed programme application by Friday 13 January 2023 unless specfied otherwise in the funding competition information at www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/opportunities/

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 relevant deadline to be considered. You will not be able to apply after these deadlines have passed.

• For September 2023 entry: 30 June 2023
• For January 2024 entry: 30 September 2023

We recommend all research applicants attempt to find a suitable supervisor here at Manchester by browsing the subject website and looking at the staff list . 

Find out more on the how to apply page.

Please note that we do not teach evening classes or offer distance learning courses.

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.

Graduate School

All of our postgraduate students become members of the Graduate School when you start at Manchester. It has dedicated facilities for students and offers opportunities to collaborate with other postgraduates.

Manchester is home to one of the UK's five National Research Libraries - one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the UK and widely recognised as one of the world's greatest research libraries.

Academic staff and PhD researchers in Music can access the large collection of music manuscripts and early printed scores held at the John Rylands Library, the internationally important collection of music manuscripts and printed material at the Henry Watson Library, and the major collection of broadsides and song publications dating from 1680-1750 held in Chetham's Library. 

Find out more about libraries and study spaces for postgraduate research students at Manchester.

We also have one of the largest academic IT services in Europe - supporting world-class teaching and research. There are extensive computing facilities across campus, with access to standard office software as well as specialist programmes, all connected to the campus network and internet.

Every student is registered for email, file storage and internet access. If more demanding computer access is required, our specialist computing division can provide high-end and specialist computing services.

The Graduate School offers dedicated state of the art facilities to research students, including common rooms and workstations.

Learn more about our facilities for Music students .

PhD study in Music (Musicology, Composition and Electroacoustic Composition) provides graduates with in-depth research experience and training, and wider practical and transferable skills. Our graduates have gone on to academic appointments in leading universities in the UK and abroad, as well as diverse professional careers.

Recent music PhD graduates have been appointed to lecturing, teaching and researcher positions including ENES Morelia, National Autonomous University of Mexico; Royal High Conservatory of Music in Madrid; High Conservatory of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain); dBsMusic (Germany); Tamagawa University (Japan); Kunitachi College of Music (Japan); RNCM; Futureworks; Liverpool Hope University; University of Liverpool; Keele University; Royal Holloway University of London; Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts; Birmingham Conservatoire; San Jose State University (USA); Kingston University London; City University London; Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; Royal College of Music; Canterbury Christchurch; Simon Fraser University (Canada) and Southampton University.

Recent alumni have also established careers in television music composition (Danny Saul) or formed their own music and sound business enterprises (for example, Ignacio Pecino's Recursive Arts and Josh Kopecek's Echoes).

The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help support you with your goals for the future.