Faculty of Music

The M. Phil. in Music Studies is a 12-month programme which combines structured teaching with a high proportion of individually supervised study. It is a freestanding programme, but is particularly suitable as a basis for doctoral studies, whether you continue at Cambridge or go elsewhere. There are common elements in the programme, but you specialise in one of seven areas:

• Musicology
• Theory, analysis and criticism
• Ethnomusicology
• Jazz, popular and media music
• Performance studies
• Music and science
• Composition.

All of these are areas within which our staff conduct research, and you can get a sense of our work in them from our Research pages. At the same time, the M. Phil. programme is flexible, allowing a high degree of customisation for your own individual interests, and it is designed to give you

• critical awareness of issues and trends, informed by current research, across a broad spectrum of music studies. Most students take a course entitled ‘Musicology and its debates’: centred round an extensive set of readings, this will make you aware of current thinking in a wide range of areas from musical historiography, sociology, and reception theory to ethnomusicology, media, and performance studies.
• the opportunity to acquire or develop research skills and expertise relevant to a specified area of music studies: whichever of the seven areas you choose, you will work either in a small group or individually with a subject expert to acquire the particular knowledge and skills necessary to carry out more advanced work in that area. In certain cases this may include work carried out in another Faculty.
• experience in carrying out focussed research under close supervision: you will submit a dissertation on a subject of your choice, normally of about 15,000 words, or a portfolio of compositions. If you are have chosen Performance studies, then you will have the option of including recital work towards your final assessment.

Composers may choose to offer an extended portfolio of compositions in place of ‘Musicology and its debates’. The extended submission option is also available, on an exceptional basis, to other students. Click here for details of this and other aspects of course structure.
As a graduate student you will also participate in skills training courses, colloquia, and other events within the Faculty of Music, and will have access to the outstanding facilities of one of the world’s top research universities. Browse this website to see what is on offer.

We realise that for many potential applicants, funding is a major issue. Click here for information on costs and funding options, with links to the University’s graduate funding pages. Please note that, if you take the M.Phil. in Performance studies and chose the recital option, you will need to take vocal or instrumental lessons with an approved teacher, for which we recommend you budget a further £1,200.

Applications must be made online; details of how to apply are available here. Please include one or two samples of your recent work, and if you are applying in an area other than composition, an outline in approximately 250 words of your proposed dissertation topic (you will not, however, be tied to this). If you are applying in composition or wish to take the recital option, please also include audio recordings. (Audio recordings cannot be uploaded through the online application system but should be sent to the Graduate Office at the Faculty of Music and, if possible, emailed to dcmusic@mus.cam.ac.uk). If you live in UK, you will probably be invited to an interview; if you live elsewhere we can usually conduct the interview by phone. Applications must be submitted by 20 January 2012.

Further details of graduate life at Cambridge may be found on the University’s Graduate Admissions website (the music pages are here).