Sound Recording PhD

Since the Institute of Sound Recording was created in 1998, it has become known internationally as a leading centre for research in psychoacoustic engineering, with world-class facilities and significant funding from research councils and industry.

Our primary goal is simply this: to make sound better.

We’re interested in human perceptions of audio quality, particularly of high-fidelity music signals. Our work combines elements of acoustics, digital signal processing, psychoacoustics (theoretical and experimental), psychology, sound synthesis, software engineering, statistical analysis and user-interface design, with an understanding of the aesthetics of sound and music.

Our research aims to provide tools to assist in any area where assessment of the quality of audio as perceived by human listeners is desirable but, for one reason or another, potentially problematic; and to provide complementary tools to allow appropriate adjustment where the assessed quality is not as it should be. More generally, we aim to engineer perceptually-motivated signal analysis, processing and control systems.

We have doubled the facilities space in the Department of 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.

We belong to TECHNE, an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded doctoral training partnership, which provides access to comprehensive academic and professional training programmes, as well as the possibility of funding for your studies.

Our Sound Recording PhD will prepare you for success at each stage of your project. The structure is designed to provide intensive graduate preparation for a future career and is suitable for either part-time or full-time candidates. You can also study for an MPhil with us; the differences between an MPhil and PhD is in the volume, originality and significance of the work you will do.

You’ll begin your project with a thorough review of previously published academic literature in relevant areas, which will lead to a critical/analytical report. The conclusions to this report will suggest an appropriate next step, which will normally be some sort of experimental study, designed to test a hypothesis you have formulated from your literature review.

Your study might involve, for example, software design, acoustic measurements and listening tests. The results of this study will be written up in another report (and possibly as a conference paper) which will include a discussion of their significance to your project. Your literature review and experimental study, perhaps together with some additional reading or experimentation, will lead to either:

• MPhil: A thesis (around 50,000 words) drawing appropriate conclusions, and a viva examination. Alternatively, it may be possible at this stage to transfer to PhD registration.
• PhD: A full progress report drawing appropriate conclusions, refining research questions and detailing a research plan to allow these questions to be answered, together with a viva examination.

For a PhD, once you’ve completed a satisfactory progress report and viva examination, you’ll carry out the research plan defined in your progress report. This will lead to further literature-based and experimental research, conference (and possibly journal) publications, and your final PhD thesis (around 70,000 words), and a viva examination.

Your final assessment will be based on 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.

Course details

Throughout the project, you’ll get regular guidance through meetings with your supervisor(s). Your progress will be reviewed formally twice a year, and you’ll benefit from internal seminars to share and discuss findings with other research students.

Your training needs will be identified and met by the University's internal postgraduate research training, modules from the University's taught degree programmes, external courses or guided reading.

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.

Postgraduate research students are strongly encouraged to work here at the University. We have shared office space for all our research students, and it can be very valuable to work alongside others with similar interests and complementary expertise. It’s also useful to be close to the Institute of Sound Recording's academic staff, our technical facilities and the University's Library and other learning resources.

Depending on the nature of your research project, however, it may be possible to undertake much of it away from the University, as long as you stay in regular contact with your supervisor(s) and attend research seminars and progress reviews, which happen twice a year.