M.Phil. in Music Studies: course structure
Please note that this is a new programme, starting in 2011. Some details are therefore provisional and subject to change.
Whichever area you specialise in, the M.Phil. in Music Studies has a common structure:
1 Plenary courses
1.1 Music skills: a series of sessions covering general music study skills such as bibliography, discography, remote database access and search, relevant software applications, etc). This element is not separately assessed but feeds into all the others.
1.2 Musicology and its debates: this series of seminars, based on set readings, introduces contemporary thinking across a wide range of musical topics. This element counts for 20% of the programme and is assessed through ten short abstracts (approximately 250 words each) of literature covered in the seminar (5%) and one 3,500-word essay (15%).
2 Teaching within specific areas
2.1 Specialist teaching within each area takes the form of lectures, seminars, and/or supervisions. This teaching will cover key subdisciplinary areas and methodologies, but precise content as well as format will depend on the number of students taking the course and their particular interests. With the agreement of the Degree Committee, this teaching may be replaced by courses offered by other faculties: this applies in particular to students working on medieval or renaissance music, who may take courses in such areas as Palaeography, Codicology, Printing, or Advanced Latin. This element counts for 30% of the programme and is assessed through two 3,500-word essays or their equivalent (e.g. compositions, transcriptions, fieldwork notes).
3 Individual project
3.1 Counting for 50% of the programme and due on the last weekday in August, this supervised element of the course consists of a 15,000-word dissertation, except in the following cases: (i) in Performance studies, this element may alternatively consist of a recital lasting approximately 50 to 60 minutes plus a related essay of 7,500 words. The recital and essay will be assessed as an integrated submission, and students choosing the recital option are required to take 20 hours of instrumental or vocal lessons with a teacher approved by the Faculty. (ii) in Composition, this element will consist of a portfolio of compositions lasting approximately 30 to 45 minutes plus a related essay of 5,000 words, again assessed as an integrated submission. Students may typically expect 8 hours of supervision for dissertations and for composition portfolios plus explanatory essays, and 4 hours for explanatory essays accompanying recitals.
Extended project
Composers may choose to offer an extended portfolio of compositions in place of ‘Musicology and its debates’. The extended submission option is also available to other students, but on an exceptional basis and based on performance in the first part of the programme. With the agreement of the Degree Committee, such students may submit, in place of the Musicology and its debates essay and the individual project described above, one extended individual project drawn from the following list:
- (i) a 25,000-word dissertation;
- (ii) a recital lasting 50 to 60 minutes plus a related essay of 12,500 words;
- (iii) a portfolio of compositions lasting approximately 45-60 minutes plus a related essay of 7,500 words.