29Oct
BusinessCourse summary
Royal Holloway's Music department has an international reputation for its research. We have an excellent record of PhD completion and a thriving postgraduate community. Currently we have around 65 PhD students researching topics across the full range of Musicological and Ethnomusicological Studies and Compositional Practice. Our work on music covers a broad chronology (from early medieval to contemporary) and geography (spanning the Americas - including the Caribbean, Asia and Europe). Much of our research crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries and integrates perspectives from the fields of ethnomusicology, musicology, theory and composition, understood in the broadest terms. Staff specialism range widely, stretching back from the present to the Middle Ages, and encompassing popular and commercial musics, world musics, and music of the Western tradition.
Entry requirements
Normally an Upper-Second Class Bachelor's degree, or a Master's degree, in a related subject.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| Channel Islands | £5006* | Year 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | £5006* | Year 1 |
| EU | £26400 | Year 1 |
| International | £26400 | Year 1 |
| England | £5006* | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £5006* | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £5006* | Year 1 |
| Wales | £5006* | Year 1 |
*This is a provisional fee and subject to change.
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £5,006
EU and International students tuition fee per year**: £26,400
* This figure is the fee for the academic year 2025/26 and is shown as a guide.Please note that for research courses, we adopt the minimum fee level recommended by the UK Research Councils for the Home tuition fee. Each year, the fee level is adjusted in line with inflation (currently, the measure used is the Treasury GDP deflator). Fees displayed here are therefore subject to change and are usually confirmed in the spring of the year of entry. For more information on the Research Council Indicative Fee please see the UKRI website.
** This figure is the fee for EU and international students enrolled on a full-time basis in the academic year 2026/27.
Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase fees for all students annually. For further information see fees and funding.
Sponsorship information
AHRB studentships and (for some research topics) ESRC awards; University of London/Royal Holloway studentships; overseas applicants may be eligible for: ORS awards, British Council fellowship programme; commonwealth scholarships, University of London/Royal Holloway studentships.
Provider information
Royal Holloway, University of London
Egham
TW20 0EX