Music (Composition) MPhil

**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2024). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.** <br/><br/>**MSt**<br/> The MSt can serve both as a self-contained course for students wishing to pursue more advanced studies in composition for one year or as an excellent preparation for doctoral research. Students on the MSt courses in musicology, performance and composition follow a common structure, supported by appropriate individual supervision or tuition in their chosen specialism.<br/><br/>**Course structure**<br/>The Master of Studies in Music (Composition) introduces a broad range of current methodologies and approaches in music scholarship. The main MSt teaching and coursework is completed in the first two terms; the third is reserved for completion of assessed work.<br/><br/>**MPhil**<br/>The MPhil is designed for students wishing to attain a thorough grounding in composition at an advanced level, either as a preparation for doctoral research or an autonomous qualification. In the first year you will follow the MSt in Music (Composition), proceeding in the second year to individual supervision leading to the completion of a portfolio of compositions and written work.<br/><br/>The Master of Philosophy in Music (Composition) introduces a broad range of current methodologies and approaches in music scholarship.<br/><br/>**First year**<br/>The first year of the course is identical to that of the MSt in Music (Composition). The main teaching and coursework is completed in the first two terms; the third is reserved for completion of assessed work.<br/><br/>**Core seminars**<br/>In the Michaelmas term there are typically six topics:<br/><br/><br/>- historical musicology<br/><br/><br/>- current trends in music theory<br/><br/><br/>- aesthetics<br/><br/><br/>- the social and cultural study of music<br/><br/><br/>- performance<br/><br/><br/>- composition.<br/><br/><br/>You may participate in as many of these seminars as you wish. Your first summative assessment will be a compositional exercise written in response to the composition core seminar.<br/><br/>Elective seminars<br/>Each year a number of faculty members convene a series of ‘elective’ seminars based on their research interests, to help you prepare for your assessment essays. You are invited to attend as many of these seminars as you wish. Reading lists are sent out before the start of the courses and you are asked to prepare fully and contribute to the seminars. Most of the electives take place in Hilary term.<br/><br/>Recent seminar series included the following titles:<br/><br/><br/>- Pitch, Amplitude, Timbre<br/><br/><br/>- Brazilian Music<br/><br/><br/>- Distributed Creativity in Composition and Performance<br/><br/><br/>- Thirteenth-Century Motets<br/><br/><br/>- Music and (Non) Religion<br/><br/><br/>- Music and Race<br/><br/><br/>- Gender and Sexuality in Popular Music Studies<br/><br/><br/>- Music and Islamic Culture<br/><br/><br/>- Beethoven between History and Myth.<br/><br/><br/>- Presentation seminars<br/><br/><br/>Presentation seminars are held in Trinity term. Musicologists, performers and composers each prepare a presentation on their own research and are asked to respond to another student’s presentation in another; further feedback on presentation skills is received from the seminar convenor.<br/><br/>**Second year**<br/>The second year is spent producing coursework, comprising a project and a portfolio (see the Assessment section below for further details). Students will have the opportunity to meet with their supervisor, but will not be expected to attend taught seminars.