Music PhD

I’ve always tried to contribute different ways of doing things. My PhD continues with that.

Bill Bruford PhD Music

Why Surrey?

Surrey is a respected authority in sound technology and musical research. Thanks to our renowned expertise in musicology 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 and collaborators.

Research in music and sound takes place within the School of Arts, which brings together a broad range of interconnected subject areas, including dance, digital arts, film, music, theatre and sound recording. The School is highly collegiate, with a close-knit and supportive academic environment. It is home to the Institute of Sound Recording, one of the world’s leading centres for research in psychoacoustic engineering and sound perception. Our musical research and composition achieves wide international circulation through established scholarly channels and broadcast media. We are principal organisers of the Guildford International Music Festival. Facilities include industry-specification sound-recording studios, music-practice rooms and venues for concert performance and musical theatre.

Programme overview

Our research degrees prepare you for success at each stage of your PhD project development. The structure is designed to provide intensive graduate preparation for a future career and is suitable for either part-time or full-time candidates. Completion of the programme entails submission of a thesis, the submission of practice if undertaking
a practice-based PhD, and an oral viva with external examiners.

PhD students in all programmes in the School of Arts can expect three levels of research training:

  1. 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.
  2. School-level training is offered in the form of interdisciplinary seminars, reading groups, visiting speaker events and conferences.
  3. You will also receive subject-specific training that will vary depending on your programme. You may participate in research “intensives”, featuring formal presentations of work by students, keynote seminars, study groups on current themes in Arts research, and research skills training sessions. You may meet regularly for debate and discussion and participate in annual formal presentations of research.

Academic members of staff within the School of Arts are well known internationally for their exceptionally strong research profile. We have a strong record of graduate completions.

Key research areas include:

  • Analysis
  • 20th-century concert music, especially Bartok, Stravinsky, Mahler, Elgar, Britten 
  • Popular musics, particularly rock, jazz, electronic dance music
  • Aesthetics of sound and music
  • Contemporary music and its composition and performance
  • Critical musicology
  • Music for screen
  • Folk music studies
  • Composition
  • Psychoacoustic engineering
  • Acoustic-perception modelling
  • Performance studies and techniques
  • Improvisation
  • Acoustics
  • Digital signal processing
  • Psychoacoustics (theoretical and experimental)
  • Statistical analysis and user-interface design 
  • Spatial audio: perception and reproduction

Funding

As a member of the TECHNE Doctoral Training Partnership, our highest quality students may be eligible to apply for Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) studentships (stipend and fee waiver).  Faculty studentships are also available for top-quality students, covering tuition fees at the Home/EU rate and maintenance at current research-council rates for full-time or part-time study. Please see the Faculty studentships webpage for further information.

Supervisors

Before you submit your formal application form, please take a look at our list of School of Arts PhD supervisors.

Once you have found an appropriate supervisor, please make contact with them to discuss your proposal. You should then proceed to completing and submitting your formal application form.

Related research areas

Related departments/schools

Apply online

Before completing your application, please get in touch with the relevant department to discuss your proposed area of research – see below for contact details.

Apply now

Programme facts

Type of programme:

PhD

Programme length:

  • Full-time: 33-48 months
  • Part-time: 45-96 months

Start date:

October, January, April, July

Contact:

Postgraduate Admissions Enquiries:

+44 (0)1483 686 509

arts-admissions@surrey.ac.uk

Entry Requirements

Entry is on the basis of a good honours degree and usually an MA in a relevant arts subject or appropriate professional experience. Candidates submitting proposals that include practice-based research will be required to evidence appropriate experience and expertise.

English language requirements

Non-native speakers of English are required to have IELTS 6.5 or above. Auditions will be held for entry to some programmes.

We offer intensive English language pre-sessional courses, designed to take you to the level of English ability and skill required for your studies here.

Fees

Study mode UK/EU fees Overseas fees
Full-time £4,050 £13,300
Part-time £2,025 £6,700

Please note these fees are for the academic year 2015/16 only. All fees are subject to annual review.

A complete list of all fees for our research programmes

Researcher Development Programme

Our researcher development programme provides a range of workshops and support mechanisms for our postgraduate researchers.

More info

In your country

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General Enquiries:

+44 (0)1483 681 681

pg-enquiries@surrey.ac.uk

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