Prospective Applicants

Interested students are highly encouraged to make music and science a significant part of their undergraduate degrees at the Faculty of Music. Currently, there are three main music and science options that you can select during your degree:

The Part IB (second-year) course Introduction to Music and Science. This course provides a broad introduction to the field of music and science, ranging from the acoustics of pitch perception to the evolutionary basis of musical emotions. The course also provides a grounding in empirical research methods, with a view to supporting students to conduct research projects in the future.
The Part II (third-year) course Exploring Music Psychology: From Theory to Practice. This course takes a deeper dive into music psychology, providing a chance to explore particular research topics in greater detail, and to design one’s own research projects.
The Part II (third-year) dissertation. This is an open coursework option that allows students to design and conduct a full research project in the domain of music and science.

These courses are primarily attended by undergraduate students from the Faculty of Music; however, it is also possible for Part II Biological and Biomedical Sciences students to take the Part II music psychology course as a Minor Subject.

It is also possible for other students at the Faculty of Music to audit music and science classes informally and without examination. Students interested in this possibility should contact the CMS director Peter Harrison as soon as convenient.

Please see this link for more general information about applying for undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Music.

Note: As it currently stands, the CMS may not be able to take MPhil students in the 2026-27 academic year, due to leave plans. Please check with Peter (pmch2@cam.ac.uk) before preparing an application.

The Faculty of Music offers a 1-year MPhil in Music targeted at individuals with an undergraduate degree who wish to develop more experience in music research. This MPhil provides a varied collection of courses designed to develop and hone research skills, as well as an opportunity to conduct a significant research project resulting in a substantial written dissertation. Within this MPhil in music one can then take the Music and Science track, which means focusing the optional courses on relevant scientific topics and conducting a research project into a particular area of music and science.

The first term involves some rather intense study of general topics and research skills in musicology. There is a lot of required reading for this part of the course, and only a small part is scientific in nature. MPhil candidates should ideally have some prior knowledge already of some musicological literature, be it through prior taught courses or self-study, and they should have some enthusiasm for learning more about this research area.

The second term involves taking two taught courses which are chosen from a wider selection. Music and Science students are likely to take the MPhil Music & Science course as well as another empirically oriented course. This could include the Computer Music course run by the Department of Computer Science and Technology, an MPhil course from Digital Humanities, one of the undergraduate courses in Music & Science run by the CMS, or specialist research skills courses taught by the Social Sciences Research Methods Programme (SSRMP).

The third term is dedicated wholly to the research project, though students will have typically made substantial progress already on this project in the previous two terms. MPhil Music and Science research projects are generally supervised by the CMS Director, Peter Harrison.

FAQ

Why should I do an MPhil?

The MPhil provides an excellent opportunity to develop research skills (e.g. designing surveys, conducting interviews, applying statistical methods) that are highly valued both in academia and in many parts of industry (e.g. market research, audio branding). It simultaneously allows you to immerse yourself for a year in a particular research topic of your choosing, which can itself be a highly enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Why Cambridge?

The Music MPhil at Cambridge places a relatively high weight on its research component compared to most other Master’s programmes in music psychology. There are relatively few taught courses, and these courses are mainly focused on critical thinking and research skills as opposed to foundational knowledge. The student is therefore free to spend the larger proportion of their time on their personal research project. This setup is particularly well-suited to students who already have experience in music and science and have already started to develop their own research interests.

A special property of the Cambridge MPhil is the freedom it provides to select optional courses from different departments. The University of Cambridge has many world-class teaching programmes in a great variety of fields, and it can be very valuable to incorporate some of these different programmes into one’s MPhil experience.

How do I apply?

Prospective Music and Science MPhil students should apply for the MPhil in Music, and state their intention to work with Peter Harrison at the Centre for Music and Science as part of their application. See How to Apply for details on the application process and required materials.

Each year’s program starts in October. The application deadline for October entry is typically in May of the same year, but if you want to apply for funding (highly recommended), then the relevant application deadlines are in the preceding December/January.

You may be asked to attend an online interview as part of the application process. These interviews typically take place within a month of the January funding application deadline, or within a month of your application if you submit it after this deadline.

How much does it cost?

The latest fees can be found on the Postgraduate Finance page. For reference, for 2024-25 the tuition fees were £13,554 for home students and £31,860 for international students, while the estimated living costs were £13,969.

Music and Science students are asked to set aside an additional £600 for possible costs involved in participant recruitment, and/or other expenses associated with running scientific experiments.

How do I get funding?

MPhil funding is available, though highly competitive. Most applications are made through a central University scheme; see Funding Postgraduate Study for details. In order to be eligible for funding one must typically apply fairly far in advance, not much less than a year before your proposed start date.

There are some other funding opportunities available outside of the central University scheme. One example relevant to US citizens is the Churchill Scholarship.

What should I write for my research proposal?

Assuming your supervisor is going to be Peter Harrison, you should start by looking through his current research interests. Think about what topics within these areas you might be well-suited to studying, both in terms of your abilities and your passions.

For the MPhil application, the research proposal should be approximately 250 words in length, not including the bibliography. You should cover: Background, Aims, Methodology, Significance, and Bibliography.

It’s important to note that the research proposal is not a final commitment. We would expect to workshop these plans during the early parts of the MPhil.

Should I get in touch before applying?

If you have general administrative questions about the application or the degree programme, please contact our graduate administrator at graduate@mus.cam.ac.uk.

If you have specific questions about studying at the CMS, please email Peter at pmch2@cam.ac.uk. If you would like to meet Peter in advance of applying, he is happy to do so via a one-on-one video call (1 x 15-minute call per applicant). Peter is also happy to give feedback on a draft research proposal (one round of feedback per application).

We welcome applications for PhD studentships at the Centre for Music and Science. A PhD will typically provide three or four years of focused study on a particular research topic, culminating in the submission and examination of a substantial research thesis. It provides a very special opportunity to immerse oneself in a particular research field, to design and conduct a series of empirical studies, and submit one or more research articles for publication.

PhD students at the CMS are generally supervised by the CMS Director, Peter Harrison. As part of the application process students are asked to write a short research proposal; students are encouraged to think carefully about how the proposed project relates to the research topics, methodologies, and philosophies outlined on Peter’s webpage.

FAQ

Why should I do a PhD?

A Music & Science PhD provides an excellent opportunity to develop research skills (e.g. designing surveys, conducting interviews, applying statistical methods) that are highly valued both in academia and in many parts of industry (e.g. market research, audio branding). It simultaneously allows you to immerse yourself for several years in a particular research topic of your choosing, which can itself be a highly enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Why Cambridge?

The choice of where to do your PhD should be determined in large part by your choice of supervisor. It’s important to feel some meaningful synergy with their research expertise and interests; it’s also important to see whether they cultivate the kind of work and social environment that you’d like to be a part of. For the former question, it’s worth spending some time perusing Peter’s webpage.

The funding question is also important. In Cambridge, PhD funding is relatively strong, with the PhD application process integrating with a variety of funding schemes from the University and from various UK research councils.

Cambridge is a beautiful historic town, with many green spaces and impressive buildings. At the same time, it is very well-connected to London by train.

What are the qualification requirements?

You should have received, or be expecting to receive, a good grade in a relevant Master’s degree such as Music, Music Psychology, Psychology, Neuroscience, or Computer Science.

In addition, we will want at least one of your work samples to be a write-up of an empirical research project, ideally on a music-related topic. This would ordinarily be your Master’s dissertation.

How do I apply?

The standard route to pursuing a PhD at the CMS is to apply for a PhD in Music. If your proposed work has a strong artificial intelligence component, you can also apply for a PhD in Human Inspired Artificial Intelligence. There are no rules against applying to multiple PhD programs at the University of Cambridge.

In either case, you should list Peter Harrison as your desired supervisor.

For details on the application process and required materials, see:

You may be asked to attend an online interview as part of the application process. Most interviews focus on discussing the planned research project and evaluating the skills that you will need to conduct your research.

How much does it cost?

The latest fees can be found on the Postgraduate Finance page. For reference, for 2024-25 the tuition fees for the Music PhD were £9,858 for home students and £29,826 for international students, while the estimated living costs were £18,625.

How do I get funding?

PhD funding is available but competitive. Most applications are made through a central University scheme; see Funding Postgraduate Study for details. In order to be eligible for funding one must typically apply fairly far in advance, not much less than a year before your proposed start date.

What should I write for my research proposal?

For the PhD application, the research proposal should be approximately 750 words in length, not including the bibliography. You should cover: Background, Aims, Methodology, Significance, Skills, Timescale, Logistics, and Bibliography.

Please bear in mind that the CMS does not currently have facilities for neuroimaging (e.g. EEG, fMRI), and most experiments should focus instead on behavioural experiments. It may however be possible to use heart-rate monitors and eye-tracking equipment.

The research proposal is not a final commitment. We would expect to workshop these plans substantially during the early parts of the PhD.

Should I get in touch before applying?

If you have general administrative questions, please contact our graduate administrator at graduate@mus.cam.ac.uk (for the Music PhD) or phd@chia.cam.ac.uk (for the Human-Inspired Artificial Intelligence PhD).

Unfortunately we are currently unable to host internships at the CMS.

We welcome enquiries from prospective postdoctoral researchers interested in working at the Centre for Music and Science. Opportunities depend on available funding and current research priorities.

For more information about postdoctoral research opportunities at the CMS, please contact the CMS Director, Peter Harrison, at pmch2@cam.ac.uk.

You may also wish to check the University of Cambridge job vacancies page for any current openings.

We welcome academic visitors to the CMS through the Faculty’s Academic Visitors scheme. Visits would typically last for an academic term or longer, with the visitor proposing an academic research project that they plan to conduct during their stay. Visitors are welcome to attend the CMS seminars and other meetings, as well as using facilities such as office space, libraries, and computers.

Academic visits are normally self-funded, but there are also various funding schemes that can support such visits. Examples include:

Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professorships
British Academy Global Professorships (for mid-career and senior researchers)