The regulations in this section cover the additional regulations for PGR degrees that involve musical composition.
1.62. The following PGR degrees can be studied with musical composition:
1.62.1. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in musical composition or in a combination of musicology and composition.
1.62.2. Master of Music (MMus).
1.62.3. Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in musical composition.
1.63. The additional regulations for a PhD that includes musical composition are specified here.
1.64. A music PhD can be in musicology (covering music theory and analysis), in musical composition, or in a combination of both. A PhD solely in musicology is covered by the standard additional regulations for the PhD by dissertation.
1.65. A student can register directly on to a PhD in musical composition. A student registered on a relevant research master’s degree can transfer to the PhD subject to satisfactory progress.
1.66. A student must fulfil the relevant doctoral award criteria to obtain a PhD degree.
1.67. For examination, the student must submit a portfolio of compositions and a commentary on the portfolio.
1.68. The portfolio of compositions must fulfil the following requirements:
1.68.1. There must normally be between five and seven compositions totalling around 75 to 120 minutes of music.
1.68.2. The compositions must be for a variety of forces, of which at least one must be substantial in both medium and design.
1.68.3. All or most of the pieces must have been performed and recordings should be included with the submitted scores.
1.68.4. Electronic and mixed media work of equivalent merit and extent are equally permissible.
1.69. The commentary must fulfil the following requirements:
1.69.1. It must provide an analytical/contextual commentary on the portfolio of compositions.
1.69.2. It must provide an intellectually rigorous account of the student’s creative landmarks and the nature of their contribution to contemporary composition.
1.69.3. It must explain issues of importance to the student (such as constructional, cross-cultural, technological, and sociological) and demonstrate their awareness of the broader context in which the work is situated.
1.69.4. It must be around 15,000 words excluding references, appendices and lists of contents.
1.69.5. It must be appropriately referenced and contain a bibliography that includes a list of repertoire studied (scores and other media).
1.70. A student can register directly on to a PhD that combines musicology and composition. A student registered on a relevant research master’s degree can transfer to the PhD subject to satisfactory progress.
1.71. For a combined PhD, the student must integrate the musicological and compositional elements into a single, coherent project.
1.72. For examination, the student must submit three components:
1.72.1. A dissertation.
1.72.2. A portfolio of compositions.
1.72.3. An analytical/ contextual commentary on the compositions.
1.73. The Department of Music, with approval provided by the Faculty PGR Director, will determine the length of each component depending on the student’s project.
1.74. The length of the components should be proportionate to those required for a purely musicological or a purely compositional PhD. Those standard lengths are as follows:
1.74.1. A purely musicological PhD dissertation has a maximum word count of 80,000 excluding references, appendices and lists of contents.
1.74.2. A purely compositional PhD requires five to seven compositions totalling 75 to 120 minutes of music and a commentary of around 15,000 words.
1.75. Two examples are provided to indicate how lengths of each component should be calculated:
1.75.1. A PhD project combining musicology and composition in equal parts would require a dissertation of no more than 40,000 words, a portfolio totalling 40 to 60 minutes of music, and a commentary of around 7,500 words.
1.75.2. A PhD project consisting of two-thirds musicology and one-third composition would require a dissertation of no more than 55,000 words, a portfolio totalling 25 to 40 minutes of music, and a commentary of around 5,000 words.
1.76. For a combined PhD, the student can integrate the commentary within the dissertation, but the student must ensure that they refer clearly to the portfolio of compositions. Where the dissertation and commentary are integrated, the overall word limit will be the combined total of those two components.
1.77. The additional regulations for an MMus are specified here.
1.78. A student must fulfil the relevant award criteria to obtain an MMus degree.
1.79. For examination, the student must submit a portfolio of compositions and a commentary on the portfolio.
1.80. The portfolio of compositions must fulfil the following requirements:
1.80.1. There must normally be four or five compositions totalling around 50 to 70 minutes of music.
1.80.2. The compositions must be for a variety of forces.
1.80.3. A proportion of the portfolio must have been performed and recordings should be included with the submitted scores.
1.80.4. Electronic and mixed media work of equivalent merit and extent are equally permissible.
1.81. The commentary must fulfil the following requirements:
1.81.1. It must provide an analytical/contextual commentary on the portfolio of compositions.
1.81.2. It must provide an intellectually rigorous account of the student’s creative landmarks and the nature of their contribution to contemporary composition.
1.81.3. It must explain issues of importance to the student (such as constructional, cross-cultural, technological, and sociological) and demonstrate their awareness of the broader context in which the work is situated.
1.81.4. It must be around 8,000 to 10,000 words excluding references, appendices and lists of contents.
1.81.5. It must be appropriately referenced and contain a bibliography that includes a list of repertoire studied (scores and other media).
1.82. The additional regulations for an MPhil in musical composition are specified here.
1.83. A student must fulfil the relevant award criteria to obtain an MPhil degree.
1.84. For examination, the student must submit a portfolio of compositions and a commentary on the portfolio.
1.85. The portfolio of compositions must fulfil the following requirements:
1.85.1. There must normally be two or three compositions totalling around 25 to 35 minutes of music.
1.85.2. The compositions must be for a variety of forces.
1.85.3. A proportion of the portfolio must have been performed and recordings should be included with the submitted scores.
1.85.4. Electronic and mixed media work of equivalent merit and extent are equally permissible.
1.86. The commentary must fulfil the following requirements:
1.86.1. It must provide an analytical/contextual commentary on the portfolio of compositions.
1.86.2. It must provide an intellectually rigorous account of the student’s creative landmarks and the nature of their contribution to contemporary composition.
1.86.3. It must explain issues of importance to the student (such as constructional, cross-cultural, technological, and sociological) and demonstrate their awareness of the broader context in which the work is situated.
1.86.4. It must be around 4,000 to 5,000 words excluding references, appendices and lists of contents.
1.86.5. It must be appropriately referenced and contain a bibliography that includes a list of repertoire studied (scores and other media).
