NUAcT PhD Studentship: The Invention of Pop Music: Mainstream Song, Class, and Culture, 1520–2020

Award Summary

100% of home tuition fees paid and an annual stipend (living expenses), which in 2022–3 was £17,668. Plus up to £10,000 (in total) to cover research expenses.

Overview

The International Centre for Music Studies at Newcastle University invites applications for a fully-funded doctoral studentship in the emerging field of song studies. The successful applicant will pursue an independent research topic within the overall framework of Dr Oskar Cox Jensen’s project on mainstream song. This project is interdisciplinary and transhistorical, and applications are welcomed from students of Music, History, English, Politics, or related fields in the Humanities and Social Sciences. An interest in British history is essential, but no specialism is required. An interest in song is a necessity!

Possible research topics might include:

• Song and material culture
• Song, class, and politics
• Musical analysis
• Transnational, global, or post-colonial perspectives on English song
• Song and other media (e.g. images, poetry, gaming)
• Song history from a northeast England perspective
• The work of particular songwriters, printers, arrangers, producers, or sellers
• Amateur and non-professional song culture
• Reception history
• Practice-as-Research as a methodology for the study of historical song
• The relationship between song and a cause, ideology, or phenomenon
• The long-term evolution of voice, instrumentation, physical space, consumption, etc

Please contact Dr Cox Jensen for a more detailed overview.

Number Of Awards

1

Start Date

1 September 2023

Award Duration

The funding covers a three-year PhD.

Application Closing Date

17 March 2023

Sponsor

Newcastle University Academic Track (NUAcT) scheme

Supervisors

Lead supervisor: Dr Oskar Cox Jensen, International Centre for Music Studies

Eligibility Criteria

The candidate will have a minimum 2:1 honours degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant discipline, and will either have completed a Master’s-level qualification or be enrolled on a programme that will complete before October 2023.

Home and international students are welcome to apply; however, we regret that the studentship only covers fees at the home rate.

If English is not your first language, you must have IELTS 7.0 overall (with a minimum of 6.5 in all sub-skills).

How To Apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal. 

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’. 

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study: 

• search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8825F
• select ‘PhD Music (full time)’ as the programme of study 

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Questions’ section: 

• a one-page ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) – upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form 
• the studentship code SACS030 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field 
• a Research Proposal of up to 2,000 words (excluding citations) – upload a document or write your proposal directly in to the application form 

 In addition, before you submit your application you will need to add or upload the following supporting documentation/ information: 

• a Curriculum Vitae (1–2 pages)
• degree transcripts and certificates and, if English is not your first language, a copy of your English language qualification if already completed
• the details of two referees

Contact Details

For information or informal enquiries, or to discuss a prospective research topic, please contact:

Dr Oskar Cox Jensen

Email: oskar.cox-jensen@ncl.ac.uk

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