Liverpool,
United Kingdom
Type
Public
Degrees offered
Bachelor's Degree
MPhil Music in Liverpool United Kingdom | University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
|
Liverpool United Kingdom
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for more information
Qualification
Masters Degree (Research)
Languages
English
Delivery Mode
On-Campus
Tuition (2025)
GBP
21,850
(c. USD29,261.74)
Attendance
Full-time
Full-time Duration
24 months
The Department leads in contemporary research and advanced studies across diverse musical genres and analytical viewpoints. Spanning 19th-century classical compositions to modern video game scores, our faculty and students produce groundbreaking, globally acknowledged work. We host both the pioneering Institute of Popular Music (IPM), the world's first dedicated popular music research center, and ICCaT, an interdisciplinary hub examining the convergence of musical composition, technology, and perception. Ranked in the top
quarter for exceptional research impact (4*) in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework
1988
our Institute of Popular Music (IPM), established in 1988, remains the original academic institution focused solely on popular music studies.
20
faculty members specialize across 10 distinct areas.
Contact information
Dr Haekyung Um
Email: h.k.umliverpool.ac.uk
Tel: 44 (0)151 794 3084
Related information
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Liverpool's Doctoral Training programs
PhD expenses and financial support
Guidance for research proposal writing
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Program highlights
As part of a UNESCO Music City rich with cultural organizations and events, our PhD candidates can both research and engage with local creative industries.
Our dynamic department, situated in a globally recognized music capital, supports diverse research projects through multiple analytical frameworks including musicology, composition studies, and ethnomusicology. We especially encourage proposals aligning with our specialists' expertise in:
Music business ecosystems
Analytical approaches (focusing on aesthetics, psychoanalytic theory, and emotional responses in popular music)
Soundtracks and media (film, television, gaming, and music videos)
Critical theory applications (including gender, race, and diaspora studies)
Cultural preservation
Global music traditions
Technology-enhanced composition
Digital transformation in music
Ethnographic music research
Jazz scholarship
Cognitive music studies
PhD candidates actively contribute to our intellectual community through departmental seminars and teaching roles (with provided training). Regular professional development sessions cover research, teaching, and career advancement. Students may also attend cross-disciplinary seminars featuring international scholars.
Destination of Study
Subjects of Study
Language Requirements
English
IELTS 7.0
Qualification Requirements
Research degrees (MPhil, PhD) may be taken either full-time (one year for MPhil, three years for PhD) or part-time (two and six years, respectively). The normal entrance requirement is an undergraduate degree of at least 2:1 (upper second) standard. We would normally consider a taught Masters level qualification to be an important precursor to research. All applicants for a research degree should send an outline of their proposed topic and a sample of their written academic work with their application. In general, we would expect applications for September entry to be received by 15 May, and wherever possible, we encourage students to begin studies in September.
Applicants with an undergraduate degree in Music or other relevant subjects (including joint-honours degrees with another subject) are encouraged to apply. The normal expectation is at least a 2:1. All applicants will normally be interviewed and we shall look at candidates not simply in the light of conventional profiles, but with regard to individual qualities. Hence, students with first degrees obtained from music conservatories (both from EU and Overseas institutions) and mature students with non-traditional backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
IELTS Academic requirement - SELT and non-SELT Overall 7.0 no band below 6.5
TOEFL iBT requirement Minimum 100 overall with L 21 R 21 W 21 and S 23
Applicants with an undergraduate degree in Music or other relevant subjects (including joint-honours degrees with another subject) are encouraged to apply. The normal expectation is at least a 2:1. All applicants will normally be interviewed and we shall look at candidates not simply in the light of conventional profiles, but with regard to individual qualities. Hence, students with first degrees obtained from music conservatories (both from EU and Overseas institutions) and mature students with non-traditional backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
IELTS Academic requirement - SELT and non-SELT Overall 7.0 no band below 6.5
TOEFL iBT requirement Minimum 100 overall with L 21 R 21 W 21 and S 23
Tuition
GBP
21,850