Appendix 1 : Research Degrees in Music (2005/06)

  1. The Regulations provide for candidates to submit original compositions, or to offer recital work, in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degrees of MPhil or PhD. The following paragraphs amplify these requirements.

  2. Candidates submitting musical compositions will submit one or more substantial works normally taking the form of scores, recordings and/or other electronic formats; 'substantial' is to be understood as referring to such features as the nature and degree of elaboration of the music, its duration and the forces involved in its performance. In the case of instrumental and/or vocal composition, it is a normal requirement that audio recordings of not less than 25% of the total submission are provided; these will aid the examiners in their assessment of compositional quality but neither the performance nor the recording will be directly assessed, nor will the recording form part of the formal submission. The format and extent of the submission (including supporting recordings where applicable) must be agreed in advance by the supervisor and the Chair of the School graduate committee.

  3. Compositional submissions must include either a textual commentary of approximately 10,000 to 15,000 words explaining the nature of the research embodied in the compositions (for example in terms of compositional process, technique, structure, context, significance and relationship to contemporary compositional practice), or a substantial thesis (approximately 35,000 to 40,000 words) together with a correspondingly reduced compositional submission. In the latter case, the thesis will embody original research related to the compositional submission in such a way that the compositional and textual components form an integrated project.

  4. Recital work may be offered in conjunction with a substantial thesis (normally not less that 55,000 words); the nature and extent of each component must be agreed in advance by the supervisor and the Chair of the School graduate committee. The relationship of the thesis and the recital work must be such as to form an integrated research project, with the recital illustrating or exemplifying the original research embodied in the thesis.

  5. Candidates are reminded that they are also required to adhere to the guidelines concerning the submission of theses set out in the booklet Completion of Research Degree Candidature which is available through the School Office/Accredited College or via the Student Resources Network on the University website.



(Approved by AQSC on 27 April 2005 and by Senate on 22 June 2005)