Music PhDs
All the key information about applying for a postgraduate research degree in music at Sheffield.
PhD study in Music
To apply to study for a PhD with us, we would like you to first get in touch with a potential supervisor with whom you will develop the proposal, before you submit a formal application.
Please include your research proposal and a brief CV when contacting a potential supervisor.
A formal application is made using the University’s online application form. We will not be able to make a decision on an application until we receive all of the required details, including a research proposal, reference letters and supporting documents.
Application checklist
- I have a relevant merit MA degree or equivalent.
- I have an IELTS grade that meets the University's English language requirements for research degrees.
- My research proposal is ready to upload.
- My proof of previous degrees, academic references, English language certificates (if required), and CV are ready to upload.
- Sample of academic level work (eg dissertation, composition or recorded performance).
- I have in-principle agreement from a supervisor to support my PhD proposal.
Our aim is to deal with your application promptly, although most applications are considered by at least two members of staff and the process can take several weeks.
You can contact us at any time if you want to know the progress of your application. You can email music-admissions@sheffield.ac.uk for information.
Research proposal
Every PhD candidate at Sheffield is required to submit a research proposal prior to acceptance onto the programme.
This document is vital to the success of your application. It should be fully referenced and approximately 1,500 words (excluding bibliography) in length.
You can add visual, audio, or video information as supporting documents, which may be relevant when applying for a PhD in Composition or Performance.
The research proposal should include the following:
- Title of your proposed research
- Research background and context, including a summary of existing research
- Research aims and objectives, explaining the original contribution of the work
- Research approach/methodology
- Research relevance and implications
- Timetable and practical considerations including required resources
- Motivation of why you would like to study at the Department of Music
About the PhD
- (MUSR31) PhD - three years full time
- (MUSR41) PhD - up to six years part time
The doctoral degree requires completion of a major, original research project. It is supported by individual supervision and by school and University doctoral training programmes. Graduate Study Days, weekly research seminars and meetings organised by research clusters provide further input. Research findings may be presented for examination in any one of the following formats.
Dissertation
Typically, a dissertation at this level comprises approximately 70,000 words. The thesis should be of publishable standard and must be suitably original and substantial for the degree to be successfully completed.
Composition
Students may apply for a PhD in the area of original composition. A folio of original compositions is prepared by the student and discussed in individual meetings with his or her tutor. An accompanying commentary not exceeding 10,000 words in length is also submitted. The compositions should show coherence, invention and originality in a variety of extended structures.
Performance Studies
This degree is examined through presentation of a dissertation (around 50,000 words) and a performance element. The performance element may take a number of formats, including a recital, lecture-demonstration and video-recorded performances. The performance and written work need to cohere together and both meet the demands of originality and innovation. Students in this programme normally possess a very high level of practical musical skill prior to the start of their studies.
Music Technology
Students applying for a PhD in the area of music technology may consider submitting a portfolio of creative music technology research and accompanying thesis of 30,000-40,000 words contextualising the research within a critical artistic and/or technological perspective.
Research specialisms
Musical materials and resources
From artefacts, objects, scores, recordings and archives, music research heavily relies on systematic collections of materials and resources, including ways to analyse diverse resources. This theme encourages proposals that untap a particular resource whether for composition, performance or analysis.
Music in a digital world
Music is increasingly created and consumed in a digital context, whether due to movement restrictions or technological innovation. This theme invites proposals that focus on music in the digital age, looking into creative applications, digital communities, virtual reality, or electronic music composition.
Music and global challenges
A particular strength of the department is to view music and music uses in their broader societal contexts. This theme encourages applicants to consider current issues and the role of music, including decolonisation of academia, Black Lives Matter, equality, diversity and inclusivity, and climate change.
Additionally, the department offers a thematic PhD position that includes funding for a research project that relates to any aspect of organ. The Charles Allan Bryars scholarship is earmarked for doctoral research related to the organ. You can get in touch directly with the department to express an interest and submit an application with respect to this scholarship.
Supervisors
The Department of Music hosts a broad spectrum of researchers with expertise across composition, ethnomusicology, musicology, music technology, performance, psychology of music and the intersections between these fields.
Composition
| Supervisors | Research interests |
|---|---|
| Professor Dorothy Ker | Composition - for instruments, voices, orchestra, mixed media, interdisciplinary collaboration; space and time in music and across disciplinary boundaries; music and mathematics; music and text; music and metaphor. |
| Professor Adrian Moore | Electroacoustic music composition, performance, history and analysis; composition tools for composers. |
| Dr Amir Konjani | Performance art, Composition and Performance design, Contemporary classical music and acoustic music, Sound installation, living sculpture, kinetic art, and spatialisation, Conceptual art, Music for media and films |
| Dr Will Schrimshaw | Contemporary and exploratory approaches to electronic music, sound synthesis, studio production, installation, algorithmic, interactive and audiovisual composition. |
Ethnomusicology
| Supervisors | Research interests |
|---|---|
| Dr Fay Hield | Musical communities; folk singing style; composition within tradition, audience and participant development through applied research. |
| Dr Simon Keegan-Phipps | Traditional and folk arts in contemporary societies; traditional music in the modern world; topics in popular music. |
| Dr Andrew Killick | Ethnographic and analytical approaches to world and popular musics; notation and transcription; Asian musics and musical theatres. |
Musicology
| Supervisors | Research interests |
|---|---|
| Professor Nicola Dibben | Music experienced in new media, XR and AI; music in environmentalism and science communication; contemporary popular music, listening and subjectivity. |
| Professor Simon Keefe | Mozart; late 18th-Century style and aesthetics; Haydn, Beethoven; reception history and biography; 20th-Century French song; the concerto; Wagner. |
| Dr Andrew Killick | Theory and analysis of music beyond the Western classical tradition; new approaches to notation; world music history. |
| Professor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh | Musicology; Broadway and Hollywood musicals; opera studies; the classical music recording industry. |
| Professor Tim Shephard | Renaissance music; music and identity; music and visual culture; music patronage; music manuscripts and early music printing. |
Music Technology and Sonic Arts
| Supervisors | Research interests |
|---|---|
| Professor Adrian Moore | Electroacoustic music composition, performance, history and analysis; composition tools for composers. |
| Dr Will Schrimshaw | Interactive systems, installation, sound synthesis |
Psychology of Music, Music Education and Management
| Supervisors | Research interests |
|---|---|
| Professor Nicola Dibben | Cognition and emotion of music in XR, immersive technologies and new media settings. |
| Dr Fay Hield | Infrastructures of musical communities; audience and participant development. |
| Professor Stephanie Pitts | Musical participation; audience experience; extra-curricular school music; music in secondary education; music in higher education; school-university transition; lifelong engagement in music; collaborative research with arts organisations. |
| Professor Renee Timmers | Emotion and meaning in music; synaesthesia and cross-modal experiences of music; music and families; expression and musical communication; music for sleep and relaxation; hearing impairment and music; ensemble rehearsal and performance |
| Dr Jennifer MacRitchie | Research interests: Music and dementia; new musical interfaces; cognitive and motor skill acquisition in music learning; lifelong learning; gestures in performance; technology and music interaction |
Music Performance
| Supervisor | Research Interests |
|---|---|
| Dr Sarah Watts | Contemporary music performance. Extended Techniques. Composer - Performer Collaboration. Performance-based projects. |
Scholarships
- WRoCAH AHRC Open Competition
Student-led projects.
The deadline for 2024 entry is now live.
- Charles Bryars Organ Scholarship
The Charles Allan Bryars scholarship is earmarked for doctoral research related to the organ.
Eligibility criteria: to support the current study of postgraduate organists, who through their research are contributing to organ-related scholarship in the department and beyond.
£17,000 towards course fees.
- Gladys Hall
The Department offers continuation tuition fee scholarships for current PhD students via the Gladys Hall Scholarship scheme. These awards are allocated on a competitive basis.
Value: £TBC
Eligibility: Students who are self-funded can apply for this award, including full-time, part-time, UK or international continuing PhD students within the Department of Music. Anyone can receive a maximum of two awards across the duration of their studies. The awards are not available for students in their fourth year (seventh/eighth year for part-time students), or to students who are beyond this point having been granted an extension. If part-time, the award will be spread across two years or halved if taken up for only one year.
- Escafeld Chorale Associate Soloist
Frequency: one award is available, maximum tenure two years.
Duties: rehearsals and performances in solo roles with Escafeld Chorale.
Eligibility: All current Music students at the University of Sheffield.
Assessment: Audition.- Sir Henry Coward Organ Scholarship
Post: Senior Organ Scholar
Duties: rehearsals and choral services at Sheffield Cathedral; residency in Sheffield throughout the choir terms.
Value: £7000
Eligibility: All applicants holding an offer to study at the University of Sheffield.
Enquiries: james.mitchell@sheffield-cathedral.org.uk- China Scholarship Council
This scheme provides academically excellent Chinese students with the opportunity to study for a PhD at the University of Sheffield. The scholarships are supported jointly by the China Scholarship Council and the University of Sheffield.
Sheffield–China Scholarships Council PhD Scholarship Programme
- Other funding bodies
Many charities, foundations and trusts provide funding for postgraduate study, from small grants to full scholarships. Some are in specific subject areas while others have more general eligibility criteria. Please see our external funding page for a list of funding bodies and search sites which may help you to find other scholarships.
- PhD project funding
PhD projects are available throughout the year, many of which are funded. Currently available projects are advertised in the PhD projects directory.
- Postgraduate doctoral loans
Loans are available to doctoral students studying postgraduate research courses.
- International students
Please note that international students are eligible to apply for many of the PhD scholarships listed above. Check the eligibility criteria for each section to see if you can apply