Music Therapy MPhil, PhD

CIMTR leads music therapy research for adults, older people, young people and children with a range of issues. We specialise in finding out what works clinically in music therapy and how it works, including which theoretical frameworks such as neurology, psychology, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis best inform the work. Our researchers are involved in public policy, and we regularly provide talks for parliament, keynotes around the world at international conferences.

Our supervisory team supports full and part-time doctoral students, including self-funded projects, and projects funded from the University (such as Vice Chancellor's Scholarships) or funded by external organisations. Full-time PhD projects are completed in 3-4 years, while part-time projects are usually completed within 5-6 years. Projects may be independent research or embedded within larger externally funded research studies.

Supervisory teams have expertise in your chosen field or area of research and will support you through all stages of study design, ethics application, data collection, analysis, and write-up. You'll meet at least monthly with their supervisors if full-time, or bi-monthly if part-time, although the frequency of meetings may vary based on individual needs and study complexity along your doctoral journey. All meetings, actions, and research progress are recorded on the ARU Doctoral School’s online platform.

You'll be supported by their supervisors and the Doctoral School to complete mandatory, as well as optional training courses. Your supervisors will support you to complete required milestones throughout the programme.

CIMTR is based in the state-of-the-art Jerome Booth Music Therapy Centre, including a research laboratory where practical music therapy and music and brain research can be undertaken in purpose-built spaces. Here, you'll benefit from engaging with the wider CIMTR team, which serves as a part of their learning community. You'll also have access to the extensive facilities offered by Cambridge School of Creative Industries, including a recital hall, a suite of computer music studios and music practice rooms, a fully-equipped drama studio, and two large drama rehearsal spaces.

The institute coordinates PhD seminar days twice a year in Cambridge with the option of online attendance. This is an important opportunity for you to present your current stage of work, bring dilemmas and questions for discussion, and learn from other students and supervisors. Social engagement opportunities are integral to PhD days and create a collaborative learning community.

Workshops are also offered as part of the seminars on topics such as academic publishing; analysis; research frameworks, ethics applications, and more. You'll be encouraged to join a monthly meeting with the whole CIMTR team. This provides an opportunity to present work or to bring questions to the wider team for discussion.

We host a free monthly webinar series that invites internationally renowned researchers to share their research related to music therapy, arts therapies and music interventions. As a doctoral student, you can assist in organising and facilitating this series during one academic year. This offers experience in planning and coordinating events and provides the opportunity to meet a wide range of academics from around the world.

Find out more about our supervisors, areas of supervision, and current PhD researchers on our doctoral programme page.

Completion times
MPhil: full-time 1-3 years, part-time 2-4 years.

PhD via progression from MPhil, including that period: full-time 2.5-5 years, part-time 3.5-6 years.

PhD: full-time 2-4 years, part-time 3-6 years.

For further guidance on the duration of research degrees please refer to the Research Degrees Regulations.