AHRC-funded PhD Studentships are available for two full-time doctoral research students at the Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge as part of the AHRC Research Centre for Musical Performance as Creative Practice (CMPCP).
The Centre features five large-scale research projects with associated workshops. A Performance Studies Network will enable collaborative research between scholars and performers from around the world, and Visiting Fellowships will be awarded along with these doctoral studentships. Both students will be supervised by Professors John Rink and Nicholas Cook.
Doctoral Student 1 will conduct research and write a thesis on Distributed Creativity in the Production of Classical Music Recordings. One of the aims of this project is to document the role of the producer in ‘art’ music recordings and to develop approaches to the analysis and critical evaluation of the producer as creative practitioner. An indicative description of the project can be found at www.cmpcp.ac.uk/doctoral1.html.
Doctoral Student 2 will conduct research and write a thesis on Distributed Creativity in Popular Music, which will be studied from a number of complementary perspectives. See www.cmpcp.ac.uk/doctoral2.html for an indicative description of this project.
Both research projects will have four main strands: 1) observational; 2) ethnographic; 3) oral-historical; and 4) analytical, ideally involving a range of released and unreleased recorded materials.
The two doctoral students will enrol at the University of Cambridge and begin their studies on 1 October 2010. They will be expected to complete their research by September 2013 and to submit their theses by no later than 30 September 2014.
The eligibility criteria for these studentships are comparable to those described in the AHRC’s Guide to Student Eligibility. In brief, applicants must normally have already completed a Master’s degree in Music or an associated subject; furthermore, only UK or European Union applicants and those meeting the special eligibility criteria set out in the AHRC’s Guide will be considered for these awards.
Studentships will be awarded on either a full (maintenance + fees) or fees-only basis, in accordance with the criteria stipulated in the AHRC’s Guide. Current maintenance and fee rates are published on the AHRC’s website.
Applications (consisting of a downloaded or online application form, a 1,000-word research proposal, writing samples, transcripts and references) are due by 31 March 2010 and must be submitted directly to the Faculty of Music at the University of Cambridge according to the procedures described at www.mus.cam.ac.uk/applicants/graduate/how-to-apply. See www.mus.cam.ac.uk/applicants/graduate/phd for details of graduate study in the Faculty of Music at Cambridge. Information about and advice on the application process can be obtained from Mrs Jenny Mallindine (Graduate Secretary). More general information is available at www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/gradstud/admissions.
If you would like further information about these studentships or about the AHRC Research Centre for Musical Performance as Creative Practice, please contact Professor John Rink (CMPCP Director) or Professor Nicholas Cook (Associate Director). CMPCP’s website is at www.cmpcp.ac.uk.
In addition to these two AHRC-funded studentships, a third award will be available at King’s College London for doctoral study in the area of music psychology and/or computer visualisation, in association with Professor Daniel Leech-Wilkinson’s project, ‘Shaping Music in Performance’. Different eligibility criteria and application procedures are relevant to this award, which is funded by King’s College London. For further information visit the project website at www.cmpcp.ac.uk/smip.html or contact Professor Leech-Wilkinson.