PhD
If you have a strongly defined idea for a research project related to some aspect of music and want the freedom to pursue it through rigorous enquiry and reflection, a research degree (PhD) may be right for you.
All students are supported by a supervisory team, drawn from our specialist faculty. We have supervisory expertise in areas relating to musicology, music education, music psychology, composition, performance, and popular music (musicological and practice-based, including production). Research topics and methods should be congruent with that of your primary supervisor, so we advise applicants to start the process by viewing current staff research interests, published on the RNCM Research Portal, before contacting the Head of Doctoral Programmes for an initial conversation.
Whatever your area, you’ll have access to outstanding resources and facilities, exceptional supervision, individually tailored training, and opportunities for career development and enhancement at the RNCM and through partner organisations, including the North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership and the Crafting Care Doctoral Focal College. In addition, PhD students play an active role our research events programme, including participating in the weekly Research Forum.
Key Information
- Duration
- 3 years full time or 6 year part time
- Course Code
- 500F 3 years; 500P 6 years
- Fees
- Fee guide
Entry Requirements
If you are unsure of the status of your qualifications or require further information, please contact Charlotte Wheatcroft (Programmes and Assessments Coordinator) at [email protected].
Research Staff
-
Wiebke Thormählen
Director of Research
-
Austin Glatthorn
Head of Research Management, Lecturer in Music
-
Tom Parkinson
Head of Doctoral Programmes
-
Emily Howard
Professor in Composition and Head of Artistic Research
-
David Bainbridge
Research and Knowledge Exchange Officer
-
Bofan Ma
Research and Knowledge Exchange Post-Doctoral Fellow
-
Charlotte Wheatcroft
Programme and Assessments Coordinator (Research)
Specialist Pathways
There are five specialist pathways:
Performance: including performance practice and practice-as-research including Pop
Composition: in a variety of media and genres including Pop
Musicology: including the historical, analytical and cultural study of music
Music Psychology and Cognate Disciplines: including both quantitative and qualitative research in the fields of expert music performance and training
Music Education and Pedagogy: including the philosophy, history, practice and theory of music education
A full-time PhD degree usually takes three years. UK students can also take the degree part-time, in all pathways, over six years.
How to Apply
First, read the Guidelines for Applicants and browse the research interests of RNCM staff to determine a prospective supervisor for your research project.
You are strongly advised to discuss your research project with the prospective supervisor you have identified, or with one of the members of staff listed below. They will not suggest specific topics to you; rather, they will expect you to be familiar with published and on-going research in your field of interest, and to be capable of constructing a proposal for an original research project.
Performance: Professor David Horne ([email protected])
Composition: Dr Larry Goves ([email protected])
Pop: Dr Stuart McCallum ([email protected])
Music Education: Dr Tom Parkinson ([email protected])
Music Psychology: Dr Sara Ascenso ([email protected])
Musicology: Professor Nicholas Reyland ([email protected])
Once you have received feedback on your draft research proposal from the appropriate member of staff, have identified two referees who know your current or recent academic work, and are ready to make a formal application, you should submit your UCAS Conservatoires application, followed by an Acceptd application.
Applicants must download a PGR Reference Request and Report and send it to their referees. Referees must then complete the form and return it to [email protected] and [email protected].
The initial application deadline for those who would like to be considered for funding is Wednesday 13 January 2027. There will be a later deadline for self-funded applications in the Spring (specific date to be confirmed).
AHRC-funded PhD Opportunity
The RNCM is part of the AHRC-funded Crafting Care for a Healthy People, Place and Planet Doctoral Focal College (DFC), which will fund and train 30 PhD researchers between 2026 and 2029.
The Crafting Care DFC is a consortium of three universities in the Northwest of England: the University of Liverpool, the University of Lancashire, and the RNCM. More information can be found on the Crafting Care DFC website.
Project Themes
Applicants must propose a research project that fits within one of the following four Interdisciplinary Themes:
- Care-as-Craft: Understanding traditions of medical and indigenous care practices, and care for ecosystems (histories/philosophies of environmental protection, ethics, activism) central to human/more-than-human health.
- Ecologies of Care: Using place-led approaches to explore the health-environment nexus, from impacts of ecosystem change on chronic/infectious disease, to effects of community groups on human/more-than-human health.
- Creativity and Care: Exploring how artistic modes of attention shape behaviour and understanding, alongside interrogating phenomenological experiences of care and environments.
- Curating the Future: Addressing socio-environmental inequalities by drawing on our world-leading (medical-history/science-fiction) collections, and co-curating artistic initiatives that re-examine the past to reimagine possible futures, widening access/contribution to health-environmental care.
Further information about each of these themes can be found here.
Expression of Interest
The deadline for expressions of interest is 1 December 2026 and the deadline for all PhD applications to the RNCM is 13 January 2027. Promising candidates will be supported to work with prospective PhD supervisors to develop a full PhD proposal by 1 April 2027. Successful RNCM applicants will then be selected to join the second cohort of Crafting Care PhD students in October 2027 and receive a full AHRC studentship, including:
- payment of tuition fees for the duration of the studentship – typically three and a half years – at the home tuition fee rate
- an annual maintenance stipend (£21,805 in 2026/27)
- reimbursement of research expenses via the Research Training Support Grant
Please note that up to 30% of Crafting Care DFC awards can be offered to international candidates. In such cases, the difference between the home and international fee will be covered by the RNCM.
Partner HEIs
The Crafting Care DFC will be delivered in partnership with 10 non-HEI Partners who represent a range of health, environment, and arts/culture organisations:
- Liverpool Philharmonic
- National Museums Liverpool
- DadaFest
- Liverpool Biennial
- The Mersey Forest
- Canal and River Trust
- Mersey Care
- Wirral Public Health
- Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital
- Alder Hey Children’s Hospital
A small number of prospective PhD researchers will be invited to work with one of these non-HEI partners throughout their doctoral project, with formal co-supervision from the partner throughout the programme. All PhD researchers recruited to the college will have the opportunity to work with one of more of these partners through a placement during the course of their programme or by working alongside them in training and networking events.
Contact Us
If you are interested in applying for a Crafting Care DFC studentship through the RNCM, please visit the Meet Our Staff pages to identify a potential supervisor, and make contact. Please direct any general queries about the Crafting Care DFC to [email protected].
RNCM Studentship
In addition, the DFC has funding for one full RNCM Studentship (covering UK fees and stipend at UKRI rate), available for 2027 Entry. Applicants wishing to be considered for this funding should state this explicitly in their application for PhD study at the RNCM.
PGR Alumni
Alumni Spotlight
Anna Appleby | Composition
‘The RNCM’s fresh and innovative approach was the reason I moved to Manchester. My teachers on the MMus course guided me with so much insight and inspiration, creating a warm community in which to grow. The College also provided a great site for artistic experimentation and creative risk-taking – the best way to learn! I went on to work with companies such as Rambert, Glyndebourne, Dutch National Ballet, and many more, but it’s not surprising that I returned to the RNCM a few years later to do a PhD; it felt like coming back home.’
Anna Appleby is an RNCM Professor of Composition, opera composer, pop musician, and recent PRiSM Doctoral Researcher with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra