17 PhD Programs in Performing Arts in Europe for 2024

Applicants for PhD via MPhil should have either a first-class or upper second-class honors degree from a UK Higher Education Institution or an overseas qualification rated as equivalent. We are also enthusiastic to hear from applicants who are advanced arts practitioners from across the theatre and creative industries despite not having the above formal degrees.

A research thesis in this specific field should offer an overview of forms of artistic expression, in particular cinema, theatre, music, dance and visual art. Each student will explore how the performing arts reflect the social, political and religious aspects of many cultures and civilizations. In this programme the candidate, through his thesis, should provide a theoretical exposition of the content and processes inherent in the creative and artistic experience of performance.

Staff and students of the Department of Music pursue research on a wide range of subjects, mainly but not exclusively focused on the music of Asia and Africa. Whatever its regional origin, music is studied as a cultural phenomenon, and also from analytical and historical perspectives. Instrumental and vocal, sacred and secular, art and popular, traditional and modern musical forms are all of equal interest. Research methods employed include fieldwork, interview, archive research, recording and filming, performance, transcription and analysis, and composition.

The individually designed attestation system of the doctoral program provides graduates with an insight into the current state of research and methodology of the subject, especially in the selected area of specialization and closely related disciplines. During the course, graduates also explored philosophical issues connected to their doctoral subjects and topics and passed a foreign language exam. The doctoral dissertation is a scientifically valuable contribution to the investigation of the topic and its findings are usually published as a monograph or study in a scientific journal.

Doctoral studies provide the competence for a wide variety of artistic careers, for teaching, research, and development tasks, as well as for various sectors of societal activity. Our doctoral alumni work, for example, in the following positions: research project leader, academy research fellow, researcher, artist, provincial artist, musician, conductor, opera coach/collaborative pianist, singer, composer, professor, university lecturer, lecturer, teacher, rector and expert.

The Ph.D. study program Music theory and education is set to prepare future scientific staff who will be able to work independently on their creative and scientific work in the area of music education and music theory. The study program is to systematically deepen the knowledge in the area of interest, provides results of music education/pedagogy and music and science research, including the current trends in music education which should develop specific musical competence to begin independent scientific work in the field. The study program provides a scientific framework for the area of research in music pedagogy in compliance with music theory. Program without specialization.

The Department of Theatre and Performance's research embraces a range of global theory and practice in theatre and performance including play-texts, physical practices and critical/cultural theory on which students can draw in their research.

The Doctoral Music Program in Music at Aveiro University aims to prepare researchers and artists for the exercise of professional music life and the development of research work.

PhD by research via Distance Learning is awarded after successfully completing a theoretical research specialization. This research is presented in the form of a doctoral thesis. The PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is the only doctoral degree that can be achieved through distance learning. The main requirement for a PhD online through distance learning is to present and discuss a thesis of at least 100 pages for review and evaluation by an academic committee at Selinus University. A research thesis in this specific field should offer an overview of forms of artistic expression, in particular cinema, theatre, music, dance and visual art. Each student will explore how the performing arts reflect the social, political and religious aspects of many cultures and civilizations. In this programme, the candidate, through his thesis, should provide a theoretical exposition of the content and processes inherent in the creative and artistic experience of performance. It also gives students an appreciation of various artistic disciplines, forms of expression and creative visual languages.

This scheme is suitable for graduates in music, especially in the fields of historical musicology, music aesthetics, theory and analysis.

The Centre for Film and Screen Studies invites applications for disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in Film and Screen Studies with particular reference to Africa, Asia and the Near and Middle East. The Centre’s geographical focus on film/screen industries and movements beyond the dominant Western ‘global’ Hollywood and European economies of production, distribution and exhibition, makes the Centre unique in its approach. We are also keen to promote research on the transnational, transcultural and multi-media nature of the image in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The graduate of the four-year doctoral program in Theatre Studies is a specialist trained for research in theater history and theory. Her/his specialized professional skills make the graduate qualified for work as a researcher, theatrologist, specialized editor in various (especially professional and academic) media and research institutions, and also as an expert working for state and municipal administration, non-governmental organizations, civic organizations, publishing houses, museums. Moreover, the graduate has been trained for teaching positions in academic institutions.

Deepen your expertise and become an artist-researcher at the Theatre Academy.

Our graduates are experts who are capable of high-level creative and critical work and who operate in demanding art, research, development, and educational positions independently and in collaboration with others. Doctors of Music also act as social influencers for an ethically sustainable future.

Goldsmiths’ Department of Music has a lively and varied research base, large postgraduate community, active performing tradition, and offers proximity to London’s resources.