Postgraduate Research

The MTIRC offers a taught MA, an MA or MSc by Research and PhDs degrees. It currently has a community of circa 25-30 postgraduate students from around the world, as well as numerous alumni contributing to the field. The broad range of expertise in the MTIRC — and its cross-faculty links via the Institute of Creative Technologies — has attracted a diverse range of students studying topics ranging from electroacoustic and multimedia composition to binaural spatialisation, team turntablism and secondary curricula for sound-based music.

MA in Music, Technology and Innovation

The MA in Music, Technology and Innovation is a taught masters. Whether your interests are in electroacoustic or digital composition, sound installations or audio-visual work, our course focuses on using technology to create original and innovative music.  You will be able to tailor your study to focus on your individual creative practice area and choose from a diverse range of modules to develop your skills in fields such as hardware hacking, live coding and electronic instrument building. 

Designed to meet the needs of contemporary musicians who want to maximise their skills in the sonic arts, the course blends theory and practice to deepen your contextual knowledge, creativity and research skills. The hands-on nature of the programme means that it is also well suited to teachers or arts professionals who want to upskill or broaden their musical horizons. 

The MA in Music, Technology and Innovation is designed to offer you a blend of structured taught elements with opportunities to focus on areas of individual interest. There is a core of compulsory modules in terms 1 and 2 that provide a groundwork of contextual understanding, supported by optional modules focusing on creative work with music technologies and/or study in areas of special interest.  The course culminates with an individually designed research project completed in term 3, taking the form of either a creative portfolio or a dissertation on an approved topic.

Additional Information

See the contact page to make inquires.

See the main MA Music, Technology and Innovation course page for more details and application procedures.  

MA/MSc by Research

The degree of MA/MSc is available either by Thesis or by Creative, Scholarly or Practical Work (see below). It is awarded to recognise the successful completion of a supervised programme of individual research which demonstrates an understanding of research methods appropriate to the field of study and critical investigation and evaluation of the topic of research. For full-time students the course takes approximately one year and for part-time students about two years.

However you decide to focus the core of your study, the programme is designed to maximise your intellectual and artistic potential through detailed study of the technological, aesthetic and social implications of the creation of music with technology.

Additional Information

See the contact page to make inquires about the MTI MA/MSc by Research.

See the Graduate School for application procedures. 

Doctor of Philosophy

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is available either by Thesis or by Creative, Scholarly or Practical Work (see below). Applications for PhD by Published Work will also be considered.

The degree of PhD is awarded to recognize the successful completion, under such conditions as are prescribed by Regulations, of a supervised programme of individual research, development or design, the results of which have been satisfactorily embodied in a thesis, and which:

  1. demonstrate an understanding of research methods appropriate to the field of study; and
  2. demonstrate critical investigation and evaluation of the topic of research; and
  3. constitute an independent and original contribution to knowledge; and
  4. demonstrate the candidate's ability to undertake further research without supervision. The text of the thesis should not normally exceed 80,000 words (excluding ancillary data)

Additional Information

See the contact page to make inquires about the MTI PhD.

See the Graduate School for application procedures. 

Creative, Scholarly and Practical Work

The MA/MSc by Research and PhD degrees are available either by thesis or by creative, scholarly, or practical work.

A student may undertake a programme of research in which the student's own creative, scholarly or practical work forms, as a point of origin or reference, a significant part of the intellectual enquiry. Such work may be in any field but must have been undertaken as part of the registered research programme.

In such cases, the presentation or submission of creative, scholarly or practical work must be supported by documentation in the form of a dissertation or thesis which sets the work in its relevant theoretical, historical, critical or design context.

The dissertation or thesis must itself conform to the usual scholarly requirements and be of appropriate length. The ratio between creative, practical and scholarly work is negotiable. In cases where there is a good balance between theory and practice, a portfolio may be submitted with a dissertation of ca. one half length of a scholarly one.

The final submission must be accompanied by some permanent record (for instance, computer disk, video, photographic record, musical score, choreographic notation, diagrammatic representation) of the creative, scholarly and practical work where practicable, bound with the dissertation or thesis.

International Applicants

The Centre already vibrantly international community, and we welcome applications from around the world. Many international students join us in Leicester for their studies, but in some cases, where appropriate, an international student may be able to pursue the postgraduate degree while resident in a different country. 

The Graduate School provides information on language requirements and links to resources supporting international students.  

normandeau symposium 2006

Visiting Professor Robert Normandeau (University of Montreal) leading a postgraduate symposium (2006)

You may also be interested in viewing:

Our current postgraduate researchers

Our alumni