264 PhD programmes in Music

The Music programme at the University of Surrey brings together a broad range of interconnected subject areas, focused in our internationally acclaimed research centres, housed in state-of-the-art facilities.

For over 60 years, the Music PhD programme from University of Southampton has been a home for disciplinary innovation in composition, performance and all areas of music studies.  

The Music programme from SOAS University of London will help you pursue research on a wide range of subjects, mainly but not exclusively focused on the music of Asia and Africa.

Further develop and refine your vocal or instrumental Performance skills to a professional level with the PhD in Performance at Victoria University of Wellington.

Within this Music course from the University of West London you will have a supervisory team made up of a Director of Studies with expertise in your chosen field, a further supervisor and, where appropriate, an additional adviser. 

This Music and Sound degree from University of Gloucestershire offers you the opportunity to engage in an extended piece of academic research, either through creative practice in the production of an original body of work, or through the production of a written thesis. 

The Doctor of Philosophy in Music from University of Canterbury follows on from completion of an Honours or Masters degree and is in an approved field of supervised research.

Develop your critical creative practice within an inclusive research environment, mentored by leading experts, with access to our world class labs.

The Department of Music, Media and Performance at the University of Chester offers research students the opportunity to work alongside well-practiced and experienced researchers. 

This Musical Theatre course from University of West London the aims to attract those interested in exploring the connections between music, theatre and movement through scholarly research and creative projects. 

This Music programme from Maynooth University offers a doctoral-level programme in Music for students who wish to engage in high-quality research in selected areas of the discipline. 

This Music and Music Technology programme at the University of Huddersfield is globally recognised and encompasses composition, musicology, performance and production. 

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

As a research programme, the course does not have a modular outline. Each student receives close supervision on an individual and original project, which has the potential to make a new and substantial contribution to the field. The Music programme is offered at Bangor University.

The Music PhD programme from University of York may be proposed in any area closely related to the research interests of current members of staff (see staff profiles). 

On the Audio Engineering programme at the University of Surrey the primary goal is simply this: to make sound better. Our research combines elements of acoustics, digital signal processing, psychoacoustics, psychology, sound synthesis, software engineering, statistical analysis and user-interface design, with an understanding of the aesthetics of sound and music

The School of Music doctorate offered at Cardiff University is a creative and comprehensive centre of excellent musical research, composition and performance. 

Music research at Brunel University of London focuses on composition and musicology, and with the practice-based work in music, it is recognised as ‘of world-leading significance’ and demonstrating an ‘impressive stylistic breadth’.

This Music PhD programme from Newcastle University enables you to pursue advanced research in the areas of classical, popular, world, contemporary, early, folk and traditional music through a range of approaches. These include practice-based research, and musicological and theoretical inquiry.

The University of Canterbury's Doctor of Musical Arts course is aimed at those wishing to undertake advanced research in music composition or performance.