Music PhD

We are a highly respected authority in musical research and sound technology at Surrey. Thanks to our renowned expertise in musicology, performance, and composition, and the prestige of the Institute of Sound Recording, we can count many household names in entertainment, audio technology and the recording industry among our partners, collaborators, and alumni.

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Key course information

Entry requirements
See full entry requirements
Start date
January 2027
Attendance
Full-time
Duration
48/48 months
UK fees
£5,238*
Overseas fees
£24,300
Subject area
Music and sound recording
Funding
Funding information

Why choose this programme?

  • Our research in music brings together musicology, performance, composition, creative practice and music technology, engaging with diverse musical traditions, cultures and practices and providing a broad, interdisciplinary environment for doctoral research.
  • You will join a collegiate and supportive research community whose academics are internationally active as researchers, composers, performers and practitioners, working across historical and contemporary music and a wide range of cultural and creative contexts.
  • We are home to the International Guitar Research Centre, the Institute of Austrian and German Music Research and Institute of Sound Recording, providing opportunities to connect your research with specialist communities, international networks and facilities across the University.
  • Our academics supervise research across areas including music performance and performance psychology, historical recordings and recording technologies, popular music, music and cultural identity, transnational perspectives, opera and voice studies, music history and biography, composition, improvisation and creative practice.
  • Our interdisciplinary research also explores the intersections between music, artificial intelligence and digital technologies, including machine learning and computational approaches to sound and media, computer and electronic music, spatial audio, digital performance, data sonification, algorithmic and computer-assisted composition, and technologically mediated approaches to musical creativity and analysis.
  • Our distance-learning route allows you to pursue doctoral research with full academic support, remote supervision and access to online resources, without needing to relocate or interrupt your professional and/or caring commitments.
Find out more information

Statistics

100%

Of our music research students are satisfied with the experience of their programme (Postgraduate Research Experience Survey 2025)

Top 20 in the UK

Surrey is ranked 19th in the UK for the quality of our research outputs (Research Excellence Framework 2021)

Course details

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What you will study

Our research degrees prepare you for success at each stage of your PhD project development. The structure of our Music PhD is designed to provide intensive graduate preparation for a future career and is suitable for either part-time or full-time candidates.

As a postgraduate researcher, you will conduct a research project within one of our areas of research strengths. PhD students can expect three levels of research training: university-level, department-level and subject-specific.

University-level training is provided by the Postgraduate Skills Development Programme and the University Library including a PhD induction, workshops on writing skills and preparation for the confirmation and viva. There is also an annual student-led university postgraduate conference.

Department-level training is offered in the form of interdisciplinary seminars, reading groups, visiting speaker events and conferences.

You will also receive subject-specific training that will vary depending on your programme.

Assessment

Your final assessment will be based on the submission of practice if undertaking a practice-based PhD, and the presentation of your research in a written thesis, which will be discussed in a viva examination with at least two examiners.

You have the option of preparing your thesis as a monograph (one large volume in chapter form) or in publication format (including chapters written for publication), subject to the approval of your supervisors.

Location

You can study for your PhD in person here in Surrey on our Stag Hill campus or by distance learning online.

Research areas

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Research themes

  • Composition
  • 20th-century concert music, especially Mahler and 20th-century English composers
  • Performance studies and techniques
  • Guitar history, practice, and composition
  • Popular music styles, particularly rock, jazz, electronic dance music
  • Analysis
  • Aesthetics of sound and music
  • Contemporary music and its composition and performance
  • Critical musicology
  • Music for screen
  • Biography
  • Improvisation.

Discover more about our music and media research.

Research centres and institutes

Digital World Research Centre

Music student playing violin

Institute of Austrian and German Music Research

Man using keyboard

Institute of Sound Recording

Denim-clad legs, a guitar, rainbow and greenery

International Guitar Research Centre

Academic staff

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See a full list of all our music and media academic staff.

Support and facilities

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Research support

The professional development of postgraduate researchers is supported by the Doctoral College, which provides training in essential skills through its Researcher Development Programme of workshops, mentoring and coaching. A dedicated postgraduate careers and employability team will help you prepare for a successful career after the completion of your PhD.

Facilities

Facilities include industry-specification sound-recording studios, music-practice rooms, edit suites, and venues for concert performance and musical theatre.

We have doubled the facilities space for music and media. Our Performing Arts Technology Studios have been upgraded and complemented by a £1.7m investment in state-of-the-art production and media suites.

All studios, edit rooms and acoustic rooms in the new space are linked by a new Dante digital audio network, providing audio interconnection between each room, plus video interconnects for flexible configurations of the recording spaces and studios.

Hear from our students

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Entry requirements

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UK qualifications

Applicants are expected to hold a good honours degree and usually an MA in a relevant arts subject or appropriate professional experience.

Country-specific qualifications

International students in the United Kingdom

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English language requirements

IELTS Academic: 6.5 or above (or equivalent) with 6.0 in each individual category.

These are the English language qualifications and levels that we can accept.

If you do not currently meet the level required for your programme, we offer intensive pre-sessional English language courses, designed to take you to the level of English ability and skill required for your studies here.

Selection process

Selection is based on applicants:

  • Meeting the expected entry requirements and providing all relevant documents including a satisfactory research proposal
  • Being shortlisted through the application screening process
  • Completing a successful interview
  • Providing suitable references.

Fees and funding

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Fees per year

Explore UKCISA's website for more information if you are unsure whether you are a UK or overseas student. View the list of fees for all postgraduate research courses.

* Please note: any start date other than September will attract a pro-rata fee for that year of entry (75 per cent for January, 50 per cent for April and 25 per cent for July).

Fee options

UK
£5,238
Overseas
£24,300
UK
£5,238
Overseas
£24,300
UK
£2,619
Overseas
£12,200
UK
£2,619
Overseas
£12,200
UK
£5,238
Overseas
£24,300
UK
£5,238
Overseas
£24,300
UK
£2,619
Overseas
£12,200
UK
£2,619
Overseas
£12,200
UK
£5,238
Overseas
£24,300
UK
£5,238
Overseas
£24,300
UK
£2,619
Overseas
£12,200
UK
£2,619
Overseas
£12,200
UK
To be confirmed
Overseas
£25,300
UK
To be confirmed
Overseas
£25,300
UK
To be confirmed
Overseas
£12,700
UK
To be confirmed
Overseas
£12,700
  • Annual fees will increase by 4% for each year of study, rounded up to the nearest £100 (subject to legal requirements).

Additional costs

There are additional costs that you can expect to incur when studying at Surrey.

Funding

A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan can help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate doctoral course.

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Application process

Applicants should contact potential supervisors before submitting an application via the website. Please refer to section two of our application guidance.

Apply online

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  1. Select your course

    Choose the course option you wish to apply for.

  2. Sign in

    Create an account and sign into our application portal.

Music PhD

Full-time, January 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 11 October 2026
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Full-time with Distance Learning, January 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 11 October 2026
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Part-time, January 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 11 October 2026
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Part-time with Distance Learning, January 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 11 October 2026
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Full-time, April 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 17 January 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Full-time with Distance Learning, April 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 17 January 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Part-time, April 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 17 January 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Part-time with Distance Learning, April 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 17 January 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Full-time, July 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Friday 16 April 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Full-time with Distance Learning, July 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Friday 16 April 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Part-time, July 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Friday 16 April 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Part-time with Distance Learning, July 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Friday 16 April 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Full-time, October 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 11 July 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Full-time with Distance Learning, October 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 11 July 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Part-time, October 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 11 July 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

Music PhD

Part-time with Distance Learning, October 2027

Status

Applications:
open
Closing date:
Sunday 11 July 2027
Select

If you are applying through a studentship, there may be an earlier deadline listed on the studentship advert which should be followed. The above closing date is the last day that any applications for this entry point can be submitted.

Apply

After registration

Students are initially registered for a PhD with probationary status and, subject to satisfactory progress, subsequently confirmed as having PhD status.

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Code of practice for research degrees

Surrey’s postgraduate research code of practice sets out the University's policy and procedural framework relating to research degrees. The code defines a set of standard procedures and specific responsibilities covering the academic supervision, administration and assessment of research degrees for all faculties within the University.

Terms and conditions

When you accept an offer to study at the University of Surrey, you will be agreeing to follow our policies and procedures, student regulations, and terms and conditions.

We provide these terms and conditions at the offer stage. You will be asked to accept these when you accept the offer made to you. You will be provided with these terms and conditions again at registration by way of reminder.

Disclaimer

This online prospectus has been published in advance of the academic year to which it applies.

Whilst we have done everything possible to ensure this information is accurate; some changes may happen between publishing and the start of the course.