Postgraduate Programmes in Music

postgraduate studies in music

On this page you will find the following information:

Student Profile“The academic facility that I make the most use of is the Robinson Library, as most students tend to find is the case particularly towards exam periods. Its working environments are excellent, including the computer clusters, reading spaces, and the “Learning Lounge” and “Yourspace”. As everyone else is there for the same reason, this helps to propel one into a concentrated mindset.”

Georgia Music MA

 

Postgraduate Areas of Study at ICMuS

The International Centre for Music Studies (ICMuS) offers postgraduate opportunities in a wide range of areas:

  • musicology
    • music history including medieval music, early modern music, nineteenth-century and twentieth-century music
    • philosophical and 'critical' approaches to the study of music
    • world music
    • popular music studies
    • music and education (until 2012)
  • composition
    • notated composition
    • studio-based work
    • improvisation
    • mixed-media
  • performance
    • early music
    • classical music
    • folk music

To find out more about the areas in which we have teaching and research expertise, click here to see a list of staff specialisms or here to read about staff research at ICMuS.

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AHRC funding for entry in the period 2009-2014

The AHRC has awarded ICMuS 24 studentship awards over the coming 5-year period:

  • 2009-10: 2 Doctoral awards; 3 Masters awards (these have now been awarded)
  • 2010-11: 2 Doctoral awards; 3 Masters awards (two professional preparation, one research preparation - these have now been awarded)
  • 2011-12: 3 Doctoral awards; 1 Masters award
  • 2012-13: 3 Doctoral awards; 2 Masters awards
  • 2013-14: 3 Doctoral awards; 2 Masters awards

The closing date for 2011 entry applications for AHRC funding was 2 March 2011.

After that date, we will continue to accept applications on to any of our postgraduate programmes for 2011 entry onwards and, for AHRC-funded places, for programmes for 2012 entry onwards.

Please note that, in the light of the coalition government's Comprehensive Spending Review, AHRC has warned that it can no longer guarantee that it will honour its commitment for the full five-year cycle. We will update this page with the relevant information as soon as it becomes available.

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Which Degree is Right for Me?

All our Masters-level degrees (MA, MMus, MLitt and MPhil) are designed both as a qualification in their own right and as training for study at PhD level. They can be taken in one year's full-time study or two years' part-time study. The PhD can be taken in three years' full-time study or six years' part-time study. If you value being part of a learning community, then a taught Masters programmes is probably right for you (MA in Music, or MMus). If you prefer to work on a topic on your own with supervision from academic staff, then a research degree (MLitt, MPhil) is probably right for you. We would not normally accept anyone onto the PhD without their having completed, or be about to complete, a Masters in an appropriate field (music, or related area). The PhD is the highest level qualification available in Higher Education and is the gold standard for a career in academia.

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Taught Masters Degrees

Our taught Masters programmes (MAs, MMus) introduce you to advanced study in a number of areas. You will study with other students in both seminars and tutorials and your major project (dissertation for the MAs and creative projects for the MMus) will be supervised by a specialist member of academic staff.

The taught programmes allow for a particular emphasis on reflection on music or on musical practice, or a mix of the two (on either degree, you can take a number of modules from the other if you wish). They also allow for specialisation in various kinds of music. We have specialists on our staff, for example, in classical music of all kinds (especially nineteenth- and twentieth-century music), late medieval and early modern music, popular music, folk musics (from all over Europe and North America), world musics, jazz, electronically mediated musics and other contemporary musics.

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Research Masters

The MLitt and the MPhil are Masters-level research degrees. They are designed for those students who have a strongly-defined idea of what they want to study, and want to be given the freedom to pursue that idea throughout their programme. They are designed to give students a taste of what research at PhD level might be like. If you are a highly self-reliant student and you enjoy working on your own for much of your time, then either the MLitt or the MPhil might be right for you.

  • The MLitt is a modular research programme (180 credits). This means that you will complete a research training programme (20 credits), a number of discrete research projects (each usually in the form of a written assignment, 80 credits in total) and a dissertation (80 credits). The projects are designed with your supervisors and are structured in such a way as to prepare you for the writing of the dissertation.
  • The MPhil is entirely based on research leading to the completion of a thesis and is not a modular degree like the MLitt. You will be given integrated research training; the thesis, which will normally be about 40,000, will be supervised by two members of academic staff.

To see the areas of study in which staff at ICMuS are able to supervise, click here to connect through to the research degrees pages.

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The PhD in Music

A PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is the gold standard of all research degrees and is normally the minimum requirement for entry into an academic career. The PhD can be taken by thesis (musicology, music education) or by portfolio (composition or performance) or can include elements of both academic and creative work. As part of your programme of study, you will be assessed for your research training needs and, once these have been ascertained and agreed with you, these will be met by a research training programme delivered in your first year both at faculty level and within ICMuS. To see the areas of study in which staff at ICMuS are able to supervise, click here to connect through to the research degrees pages or click here to read more about the research undertaken by staff at ICMuS.

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Funding

We have a range of funding options available for postgraduate students. See our funding pages for more.

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Contact for Further Information

If you have any queries about how to apply for a postgraduate degree in music at Newcastle, or would like to talk through your options, please contact the postgraduate admissions secretary (pgmusic@ncl.ac.uk).

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CETL for Music and Inclusivity

ICMuS has also been the lead partner in the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL): Music and Inclusivity. This is a £5 million consortium project, funded by Hefce (Higher Education Funding Council of England) and has five other university members from across the North East of England. The CETL comprises 12 innovative curriculum development projects all of which address inclusivity by both broadening music education to encompass students of diverse backgrounds and promoting all musical practices that stake a claim to a place in contemporary culture - classical, popular, folk and traditional, jazz, new or avant-garde, and world musics. The CETL will impact directly on you if you choose to study at ICMuS in that it has provided enhanced facilities, curriculum development and a range of new provision across the undergraduate curriculum Click here to read more.

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