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PhD

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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
Apply on UCAS Conservatoires

Entry Requirements

Qualifications and Standards

Applicants for PhD are normally required to hold a good (Distinction or Merit) master’s qualification in a relevant subject, having undertaken research training and produced a dissertation and/or portfolio of compositions or performances. They will also be considered for a place on the RNCM-Manchester Metropolitan University research degree programme if they expect their master’s qualification to be awarded within the first three months after they have enrolled. All enrolments are expected to take place in September.

English Language Requirements

For applicants whose first language is not English, minimum scores on language tests are required for entry to all programmes of study at RNCM and Manchester Metropolitan University, regardless of how long applicants have lived in the UK and whether they undertook their bachelor’s and/or master’s degrees at UK higher education institutions. Applicants may be exempted if they achieved the minimum scores required before they undertook their master’s degree at RNCM, or another HEI where their learning was undertaken in English, and can provide evidence of having produced a dissertation of at least 8,000 words.
 
The minimum requirement for applicants to the composition and performance pathways is an average IELTS score of 7.0 with no less than 6.0 in any of the four components, or equivalent scores on a test approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) taken no more than 12 months before the application was made.
 
The minimum requirement for applicants to the music education, music psychology and musicology pathways is an average IELTS score of 7.0 including a minimum of 7.0 for writing and no less than 6.0 in any of the other three components (listening, reading and speaking), or equivalent scores on a test approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) taken no more than 12 months before the application was made.

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].

Professors

Meet our staff

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: Professor John Habron-James ([email protected])
Music Psychology: Dr Tom Parkinson ([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 download and complete an application form.
 
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].

PGR Alumni

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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

Resources

  • Guidelines for Applicants (26/27 Entry)

    Download

  • PhD Application Form (26/27 Entry)

    Download

  • Crafting Care DFC Expression of Interest Form (26/27 Entry)

    Download

  • PGR Reference Request and Report (26/27 Entry)

    Download

  • Ethnic Classification Form (26/27 Entry)

    Download