At the School of Music, we provide a dynamic environment for study and investigation into a wide range of musical disciplines, including performance, composition, musicology, music education, popular music and jazz. Our range of doctoral programmes prepare candidates to research, perform, compose and/or teach at an internationally recognised level.

Discover the options for doctoral study at the School of Music: 

1. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The traditional PhD thesis is a formal piece of advanced research, with a final examined thesis of up to 100,000 words. Your thesis serves as a contribution to the field of music research on both a local and international level. To find out more about the programme structure, entry requirements and start dates, visit Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

2. PhD including Scholarly Creative Work

You can also consider completing your PhD including Scholarly Creative Work. This allows you to submit a portfolio of compositions, a performance or teaching portfolio as examinable work. There are some specific guidelines around the admission requirements and timing of the examination for creative works. To find out more about this option, visit PhD including Scholarly Creative Work.

We understand that decisions about where to undertake doctoral study are often based on supervisor quality and a strong candidate-supervisor relationship. School of Music staff are internationally renowned composers, musicologists, performers, scholars and educators who have made significant contributions to national and international music endeavours. You can browse the profiles and research interests of our available doctoral supervisors below.

As part of your application, you need to submit a Statement of Research Intent for Doctoral Study in the Faculty of Arts and Education. The purpose of preparing the documents is to obtain sufficient information for the school to assess your application for doctoral study and allocate supervisors best able to support your research.

Your Statement should include a summary of what you plan to study, describe the methodology with which you plan to undertake your research, and provide a preliminary bibliography of existing literature in your area of research.

We recommend that you draft your Statement of Research Intent early. You can do this before you contact the Postgraduate Adviser, as the information can helpful when selecting the most suitable supervisor(s). The statement can always be refined at a later date, and the School may require you to revise your statement on more than one occasion.

You can contact our Postgraduate Adviser, Dr Olivier Holland, for more specific information and advice about doctoral study at the School of Music. He can help you with understanding how long the application process can take, how to write your Statement of Research Intent and which supervisors are appropriate for your research. If you already know which supervisors you are interested in, you may wish to contact them directly.

Postgraduate adviser

Dr Olivier Holland

You may need to contact the Student Hubs or the School of Graduate Studies at different points of your planning and application process.

Student Hubs

For queries about how to apply, admission, and enrolment, please visit Student Hubs or contact us online.

School of Graduate Studies

Contact School of Graduate Studies