England

Please tell us where you live so that we can provide you with the most relevant information as you use this website.
If you are at a BFPO address please choose the country or region in which you would ordinarily be resident.
Accessibility statement
Award
Award
Duration
Duration
Start dates
Start dates
Application
Application
PhD (MPhil also available)
PhD (MPhil also available)
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years
October
October
January
January
Music computing research at the OU is focused on empowering musicians, illuminating musical activities, and modelling music perception and cognition. Our work is informed by musicology, psychology, ethnography, embodied cognition, pervasive interaction, mathematics and advanced computing techniques. We devise and investigate new ways to:
Music Computing PhDs can be very varied. A strong interest in music is essential. Formal musical training is not essential, but applicants should at minimum have good musical skills. Generally, we expect applicants to be capable programmers, but we are also interested in candidates who may instead or in addition have other skills, such as HCI evaluation, educational evaluation, or ethnography. Applicants often have, or expect to gain, a Masters degree in a relevant discipline. Students with a bachelors degree (normally 1st or 2.1 class) or with strongly relevant experience will also be considered. If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English. If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.
Our interests are eclectic and we are keen to hear from motivated students interested in any aspect of music computing research.

We look for detailed and well-thought-out proposals, which set out specific research questions and outline the originality of your topic or approach. If you would like to discuss your ideas informally before submitting an application, please contact us.
See also:
Computing:
Music:
UK fee
UK fee
International fee
International fee
Full-time: £5,006 per year
Full-time: £5,006 per year
Full-time: £16,420 per year
Full-time: £16,420 per year
Part-time: £2,503 per year
Part-time: £2,503 per year
Part-time: £8,210 per year
Part-time: £8,210 per year
Some of our research students are funded via the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership; some via the Open University STEM EPSRC DTP Doctoral Training Partnership; others are self-funded.
For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.
To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see Current studentships.
An image to illustrate the Music computing research topic
Get in touch
If you have an enquiry specific to this research topic, please contact:
Apply now
Please review the application process if you want to apply for this research topic.
Level info