Popular Music Practice PhD

Program Overview

The Popular Music Practice PhD program at the University of Sussex empowers students with the skills to create original music and conduct research on popular music practices. Through practice-led research, students produce a dissertation demonstrating their original research and a portfolio showcasing their musical creativity, accessing specialized facilities like the Jonathan Harvey Electronic Music Studio. The program's focus on interrogating popular music languages and styles fosters innovative and original approaches to the field.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

• Objectives: The Popular Music Practice PhD aims to help students produce a portfolio of original music in the form of creative work.
Through methods of composition and performance, students will critique and advance popular music practices.
• Description: The program involves the creation of a portfolio of original music, a 20,000-40,000-word dissertation demonstrating original research, and access to specialized facilities like the Jonathan Harvey Electronic Music Studio and rare music scores.

Assessment:

• Dissertation: The program culminates in a 20,000-40,000-word dissertation that demonstrates original research and highlights the ways in which the student's practice makes a substantial contribution to knowledge or understanding in their chosen field.
• Portfolio: Students will create a portfolio of original music that showcases their creative work and demonstrates their understanding of popular music practices.

Teaching:

• Facilities: Students have access to the Jonathan Harvey Electronic Music Studio, rare 20th-century music scores, and unique collections of jazz and music television documentaries.
• Faculty: The program is supervised by a team of experienced faculty members, including Dr. Danny Bright, Professor Michael Bull, Professor Alice Eldridge, Professor Evelyn Ficarra, Dr. Mimi Haddon, Professor David Hendy, Professor Ed Hughes, Dr. Malcolm James, Professor Kate Lacey, Professor Thor Magnusson, Mr. Joseph Watson, and Dr. Lee Westwood.

Other:

• Duration: The program can be completed in up to 4 years full-time or 6 years part-time.
• Start Dates: Students can choose to start in September, January, or April.
• Application Deadline: The application deadline is 1 month before the start date for UK students and 3 months before the start date for international students.
• Location: The program is offered at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK.
• Program Focus: The program focuses on researching and interrogating the languages and performance styles of popular music.

Home students: £4,786 per year for full-time students Channel Islands and Isle of Man students: £4,786 per year for full-time students International students: £21,500 per year for full-time students