Outline
Reid School of Music boasts a large and successful community of postgraduate research students. Our supervised research programmes suit candidates who have a particular project and approach already in mind.
We consider applications relating to any specialism which staff members have the expertise and capacity to supervise. Please browse our profile pages to learn about the research specialisms and outputs of Music staff.
MSc by Research
The MSc is ideal for students interested in undertaking a small, independent research project in Music. Research training takes place through two selected taught courses alongside a dissertation or portfolio of projects. The programme duration is one year full time study, or two years part time.
PhD
Research towards a PhD normally requires a minimum 36 months full-time work under the guidance of a panel of usually two or three supervisors. Candidates submit a dissertation of 80,000-100,000 words which they defend in a viva voce examination. Many Music PhD students benefit from multidisciplinary supervision teams involving staff from across the University. Depending on the project, supervision teams may also include private, public or third sector partners.
Your choice of topic
Please browse staff profiles to learn about the research specialisms and outputs of Music staff.
If you’re applying for a Music postgraduate research degree, it’s because you already have a topic and an approach in mind. All research degrees require students to work closely with a supervision team. We encourage you to approach staff directly to gauge their availability and suitability as a prospective supervisor.
Contact with prospective supervisors can inform decisions you will need to make about how to develop your proposal (essential for competitive funding applications), and with whom you would like to work. When making first contact, it is helpful to prepare a couple of sentences which describe the topic – research area, research questions – and the approach you would intend to use, e.g. archival study, fieldwork, practice-led.
If you are uncertain and wish to seek advice, please do get in touch – either with Prof Raymond MacDonald, Postgraduate Research Director, Music - PhD/MScR by Research, or Fiona Hunter (ECA PG Office).
Staff
Prof Stefan Bilbao, Acoustics and Audio Research Group; Research Project Director NESS
Acoustics and audio, Computational, Instrument research, Technology | View staff profile >
Dr James Cook, Lecturer in Early Music
Early Music, Fifteenth-Century English Music, Cultural Exchange, Music for Film and TV, Ludomusicology, Institutional Studies, Manuscript Studies, Notation and Edition | View staff profile >
Dr Annette Davison, Director of Research, Reid School of Music; Course Organiser for MMus Musicology
Aesthetics, Archival study, Contemporary, Cultural history, Music for screen (TV/Film/Game), Music industries, Opera/Theatre, Philosophy, Politics, Reception, Social history, Sociology, Theory and analysis, Twentieth century | View staff profile >
Dr Dr Anne Desler, Director of Performance, teaching on MMus Musicology
Aesthetics, Archival study, Classicism, Cultural history, Historical musicology, Historiography, Improvisation, Music industries, Opera/Theatre, Pedagogy, Performance, Philosophy, Popular music, Reception, Renaissance/Baroque, Sacred music, Social history | View staff profile >
Yati Durant, Programme Director, MSc in Composition for Screen
Composition, Contemporary, Electroacoustic, Empirical, Improvisation, Music for screen (TV/Film/Game), Performance, Philosophy, Sonic art, Technology, Twentieth century, Twenty-first century | View staff profile >
Dee Isaacs, Course Organiser, 'Introduction to Community Arts Practice'
Community, Composition, Ethnomusicology, Sonic art | View staff profile >
Dr Marian Jago, Lecturer in Popular Music
Twentieth Century, Performance, Pedagogy, Contemporary, Twenty-first century, Cultural History, Ethnomusicology, Ethnography, Popular Music, Jazz Studies, Improvisation, Social History | View staff profile >
Dr Elaine Kelly, Teaching on MMus Musicology
Aesthetics, C19th Romanticism, Cultural history, Historical musicology, Historiography, Opera/Theatre, Philosophy, Politics, Social history, Twentieth century | View staff profile >
Prof. Raymond MacDonald, Programme Director, Music - PhD/MScR by Research, Creative Music Practice - PhD and Musical Composition - PhD
Cognitive sciences, Community, Composition, Contemporary, Empirical, Ethnomusicology, Improvisation, Instrument research, Music and health, Music for screen (TV/Film/Game), Musical development, Performance, Psychology, Sonic art, Twenty-first century | View staff profile >
Dr Nikki Moran, Senior Lecturer
Cognitive sciences, Community, Empirical, Ethnomusicology, Improvisation, Pedagogy, Performance, Psychology, Reception | View staff profile >
Dr Tom Mudd, Lecturer in Creative Audio Programming and Computer Music Systems
Computer music, Algorithmic music, Sonic art, Improvisation and technology, Music and human-computer interaction | View staff profile >
Prof. Peter Nelson, Professor (Personal Chair of Music and Technology)
Cognitive sciences, Composition, Computational, Contemporary, Electroacoustic, Philosophy, Sonic art, Technology, Twentieth century, Twenty-first century | View staff profile >
Dr Michael Newton, Programme Director MSc Acoustics and Music Technology
Acoustics and audio, Computational, Instrument research, Technology | View staff profile >
Dr Katie Overy, Director, Institute for Music in Human and Social Development (IMHSD)
Cognitive sciences, Empirical, Music and health, Musical development, Neurosciences, Pedagogy, Psychology | View staff profile >
Dr Martin Parker, Programme Director MSc Sound Design/MScR Sound Design
Acoustics and audio, Composition, Computational, Contemporary, Electroacoustic, Improvisation, Instrument research, Music for screen (TV/Film/Game), Performance, Sonic art, Technology, Twenty-first century | View staff profile >
Dr Benedict Taylor, Course Organiser for MMus Musicology
Aesthetics, C19th Romanticism, Classicism, Cultural history, Historical musicology, Opera/Theatre, Philosophy, Reception, Theory and analysis, Twentieth century | View staff profile >
Dr Gareth Williams, Teaching on MMus Composition
Community, Composition, Contemporary, Music and health, Opera/Theatre, Twentieth century | View staff profile >
