Prospective MPhil students

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 conducing 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. Example authors from previous reading lists include Carl Dahlhaus, Anne Shreffler, Richard Taruskin, Guido Adler, Carl Stumpf, Suzanne Cusick, Carol Krumhansl, Eric Clarke, Lawrence Kramer, Susan McClary, David Beard, Olivia Bloechl, Theodor Adorno, Simon Frith, Rachel Mundy, Paul Gilroy, Carolyn Abbate, Nicholas Cook, Amanda Wiedman, and Gundula Kreuzer.

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). Of course, they also have their pick of the other non-scientific courses run by the Faculty of Music.

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. 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 as well as ongoing projects in the CMS.

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 and critical thinking 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 (e.g. from undergraduate courses) 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.

In particular, you should note that 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. For example, if you were interested in starting an MPhil in October 2025, you would need to submit your application by either December 2024 or January 2025 in order to gain potential access to funding. See How to Apply for further details.

Please start your application on the online system well in advance of the application deadline, so that you are fully aware of all the materials you will be asked to provide. Upload draft documents (e.g. work samples) sooner rather than later so you can get early notice of problems like file size limits. Note that if you select additional scholarships (e.g. Gates, UKRI) then you may be asked to provide additional materials. Note also the requirements for references, and warn your referees in advance that you will be asking for them.

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. The interview is likely to evaluate both your ability to engage with the general musicological aspects of the course as well as your plans for the research project and the skills you will need to conduct it.

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. You will need to confirm that you have access to these funds as part of your application (scholarships still pending decisions are counted too).

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. This money may not be needed, as there are other potential funding sources for this, but it's important to have it in reserve.

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. Please see the official guidance for up-to-date information on these deadlines.

There are some other funding opportunities available outside of the central University scheme. One example relevant to US citizens is the Churchill Scholarship, which would take you to Churchill College, where the CMS Director happens to be a fellow.

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. As you home in on a particular area of study, start compiling research articles relevant to this topic and familiarising yourself with their contents. Which articles do you like the most, and which do you dislike? What gaps do you see in the existing literature?

After some reading and thinking you should be able to write your research proposal. For the MPhil application, the research proposal should be approximately 250 words in length, not including the bibliography. You should structure it as continuous prose, using headings if you wish. You should cover the following items:

• Background. Introduce the general field within which your work will be situated, and describe some existing work/findings in this area. Finish by noting relevant lacunae or problems with existing research that can be used to motivate your own work.
• Aims. Summarise the aims of the present work. Your aim would usually be to answer one or more specific research questions, which you should state explicitly in your proposal. Your aims might also include creating some kind of tool or research material (e.g. a corpus). These aims should be clearly linked to the lacunae/problems identified in the Background section.
• Methodology. Summarise the methods you would employ to accomplish these aims. This is one of the most important sections, so feel free to allocate a bit more space to it.
• Significance. Summarise the significance of your proposed research in terms of addressing lacunae/problems in the field.
• Bibliography. Provide bibliographic details for articles/book chapters that you have cited in your proposal. You are encouraged to use APA formatting. Note that the bibliography does not contribute towards the word count.

When planning your research, 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.

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. The main importance of the submitted research proposal is to demonstrate your familiarity with the relevant literature, your ability to understand and critique its limitations, and your ability to conceive of a practical research plan.

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. To keep things fair, we limit this to 1 x 15-minute call per applicant. To request this, please email Peter at pmch2@cam.ac.uk. So that he can give you his most informed advice, please attach a copy of your CV and a summary of your research interests.

Peter is also happy to give feedback on a draft research proposal. To keep things fair, he will only provide one round of feedback per application. To request this, please email Peter at pmch2@cam.ac.uk.