PhD in Music

Program Overview

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Overview

The Department of Music at the University of Bristol is a centre of research excellence in both composition and musicology.

Key Information

Programme Duration

• MPhil: one year full-time; two years part-time
• MMus: up to three years full-time; up to six years part-time
• PhD: up to four years full-time; up to eight years part-time

Start Date

• January 2025, September 2025, January 2026

Application Deadline

• January 2025 start: 1 December 2024
• September 2025 start:
  • Overseas applicants: 25 July 2025
  • Home applicants: 1 August 2025
• January 2026 start: 1 December 2025

Delivery Method

• Distance Learning, On-Campus

Location

• Clifton

Awards Available

• PhD, MMus, MPhil

Programme Structure

MPhil (Composition, Musicology)

• A standalone, one-year (full-time) research degree
• Students will undertake their own research project, concluding in the submission of a portfolio of 25-35 minutes of music and analytical/contextual commentary (c.4,000-5,000 words), or a 25,000-word dissertation
• Either a dissertation or a composition portfolio may include a performance component as part of one coherent project (in flexible proportions, details to be discussed with the department of music)
• Students may have the option to audit units from our taught master's programmes if relevant to their research

MMus (Composition)

• A standalone, two-year (full-time) research degree
• Students undertake own research project, concluding in submission of a portfolio of 50-70 minutes of music and an analytical/contextual commentary (c.8,000-10,000 words)
• It may include a performance component
• Students may have the option to audit units from our taught master's programmes if they are relevant to their research

PhD (Composition, Musicology)

• A research project undertaken across three to four years, culminating in a portfolio of either 75-120 minutes of music and an analytical/contextual commentary (c. 15,000 words), an 80,000-word thesis, or a combination of musicological and compositional components as part of one coherent project (in flexible proportions, details to be discussed with the Department of Music)
• A Music PhD may include a performance component
• As well as having the option to audit taught units, there may be the potential for PhD students to assist on or teach units relevant to their research

World-Leading Research

• The University of Bristol is ranked fifth for research in the UK (Times Higher Education)
• 94% of our research assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent

Entry Requirements

MPhil (Musicology)

• An upper second-class degree or international equivalent
• Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of your readiness to pursue a research degree

MPhil (Composition)

• An upper second-class degree or international equivalent, plus a portfolio of representative compositions
• Please note acceptance also depends on evidence of readiness to pursue a research degree: students will normally not be admitted without having experience equivalent to a taught MA in composition

MMus (Composition)

• An upper second-class degree or international equivalent, plus a portfolio of representative compositions
• Additionally, acceptance will also depend on evidence of a suitable level of professional accomplishment: students will normally not be admitted without having experience equivalent to a taught MA in composition

PhD (Musicology)

• A master's qualification, or be working towards a master's qualification, or international equivalent
• Applicants without a master's qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree (or international equivalent)
• Applicants with a non-traditional background may be considered provided they can demonstrate substantial equivalent and relevant experience that has prepared them to undertake their proposed course of study

PhD (Composition or Musicology)

• A master's qualification, or be working towards a master's qualification, or international equivalent
• Applicants without a master's qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree (or international equivalent) and/or can demonstrate evidence of a sustained and high level of professional accomplishment
• Applicants with a non-traditional background may be considered provided they can demonstrate substantial equivalent and relevant experience that has prepared them to undertake their proposed course of study

Fees and Funding

Home: Full-Time

• £4,850 per year

Home: Part-Time

• £2,425 per year

Overseas: Full-Time

• £21,300 per year
• Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year

Career Prospects

• A significant number of graduates from this programme develop careers in higher education or work on high-level research projects in the field of music
• Others take up careers as composers and musicians

Meet Our Supervisors

• Professor Michael Ellison
• Professor Pauline Fairclough
• Professor Neal Farwell
• Dr Kate Guthrie
• Dr Guido Heldt
• Professor Sarah Hibberd
• Professor Emma Hornby
• Professor John Pickard
• Dr Florian Scheding
• Professor Justin Williams

Research Groups

• Composition: Contemporary vocal, instrumental and orchestral music; electro-acoustic music and live electronics; transcultural composition; music with film and mixed media; traditional media, such as brass band and choral work
• Music, politics and society: Music and cultural transfer; transnationality and colonialism; migration and diasporas; reception studies; music, revolution and totalitarianism; medieval liturgical chant and orality
• Intermediality: Music in multi-medial cultural artefacts and practice, including: popular music, especially hip hop; opera; musicals; music for film and television; medieval music
• Music as performance: Historical performance practice; medieval oral transmission
• Old Hispanic Office Research Project: Medieval liturgical chant (primarily Western European); liturgy; theology; computer-assisted chant analysis; veneration of saints; processions
• Beyond East and West Research Project: Composition for western and traditional Turkish musicians; developing and documenting an evolving transcultural musical practice
• Hip-Hop's Fifth Element: Knowledge, Pedagogy and Artist-Scholar Collaboration: An interdisciplinary study of hip-hop's 'fifth element': knowledge, supported by a collaboration between the AHRC and the German Research Foundation

How to Apply

• Apply via our online application system
• For further information, please see the guidance for how to apply on our webpages

Alumni Discount

• University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study
• Check your eligibility for an alumni discount

Funding and Scholarships

• The University of Bristol is part of the South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (SWW DTP), which will be offering studentships for September 2025
• For information on other funding opportunities, including University-funded studentships, please see the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences funding pages

English Language Requirements

• If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our profile level C
• Further information about English language requirements and profile levels.

Program Outline

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Careers:

A significant number of graduates from this programme develop careers in higher education or work on high-level research projects in the field of music. Others take up careers as composers and musicians.

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Other:

The Department of Music is a centre of research excellence in both composition and musicology. In composition, there is no particular house style, but we are well known for a number of areas, including: acoustic music, ranging from solo to symphonic scale; electro-acoustic, including acousmatic composition, live electronics, and mixed forms with instrument/voice; composition exploring the interface of Western and non-Western traditions. The department also provides access to a wide network of opportunities for professional and amateur performance. In musicology, research strengths include not only the Western art music tradition, but also screen media, non-Western (Turkey) and popular music. We have particular depth of expertise in the early Middle Ages (especially Spain), and in the 19th and 20th centuries (including the music of France, Britain, Germany, and Soviet Russia). We also have strengths in Anglophone vernacular traditions, including jazz and hip hop; opera, film music and the history and philosophy of technology; music and migration; and cultural and reception history more generally.

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UK: full-time £4,758 per year UK: part-time £2,379 per year Overseas: full-time £20,700 per year For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.