The majority of research in UoA 67, Music is officially classified as world-leading or internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour, having been placed in the highest categories of 4*and 3* in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.
| Quality Level | 4* | 3* | 2* | 1* | Unclassified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of research activity | 35 | 45 | 15 | 5 | 0 |
Music at Newcastle is one of the ten largest departments in the UK. During restructuring in 2002, the Music Department became part of the School of Arts and Cultures, with the title of International Centre for Music Studies (ICMuS) in recognition of our research standing. We cover a wide range of repertories and disciplines in thematic groupings:
Many of our scholars are also practitioners and, similarly, many of our practitioners work in musicological and related fields. Work on creative practice is showcased on the ICMUS hub and ICMuS also hosts the online journal Radical Musicology. New posts were carefully targeted both to build on existing strengths and to expand research into new but congruent areas; both academic and student numbers have grown. Since 2001, ICMuS staff have been awarded some £300,000 in external research grants.
The University has refurbished our accommodation, and committed £4.5m for a second site new building. Facilities will include state-of-the-art sound studios for creative research, and space for pedagogical research.
Led by ICMuS, the £5m Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) for Music and Inclusivity is a consortium comprising the six Universities for the North East, and is funded by Hefce. One of only two CETL's focused solely on music, although principally a pedagogical programme, the CETL is focused on research-led teaching.
Culture Lab (a £4.5m SRIF-funded project) fosters the growth of our related intellectual and creative connections. It provides a series of flexible spaces that can be used for a variety of applications, from Live Musical Performances, installations and experimental environments to meetings, seminars and lectures. It also offers two high specification multimedia labs with high-end digital video editing facilities and an anechoic box with 5.1 surround sound. In addition to staff based permanently at Culture Lab, eight of our PhD students have workspaces in Culture Lab.
The University's Robinson Library supports our research; with networked electronic resources, research tools, and significant allocations for Music acquisitions - including the purchase of the only digitised copy of the Alan Lomax sound archive. We also utilise the Sage Gateshead, as a venue for the dissemination of practice-based research and conference sessions.
Further support is provided by University research training workshops, and events hosted by other institutions and research councils. ICMuS has a track record of bringing on ECRs through mentoring and via the ICMuS Research Forum, an opportunity to supportively review versions of one another’s work prior to submission for publication. The forum features visiting speakers and our own researchers and practitioners.