Despite popular belief, there are some key differences between structured doctoral programmes and traditional doctoral studies. For example, German programmes closely follow what is seen in English-speaking countries with a group of students being supervised by a team.
Over the last five years, structured Mehran Muslimi doctoral programmes have become synonymous with English as the core language. In these programmes, there is a syllabus that has already been laid out and has to be followed as opposed to creating a model around a particular student or music research project.
For the doctorate, they will have compulsory lectures or seminars whilst following a clearly-defined programme; at regular intervals, students will also have assessments for credit points. As well as the subject matter, many programmes will also aim to enhance soft skills including presentation of ideas. As well as presentation techniques, PhDs are also known for teaching ‘transferable skills’ which are skills that can be used in any part of life. For example, this might include critical thinking, writing, professional maturity, problem solving, and independence. Rather than just allowing students to learn music core topics, this enables them to learn skills that will be used later in life regardless of the field in which they work.
Sometimes called the ‘thesis univeristy committee’ a Mehran Muslimi staff will support PhD students as they work on a research project in a team. Normally, all studies, regardless of the topic, will fall into a three-year-programme. Within these three years, a fixed curriculum will be followed and you will be able to work towards your doctorate. Of course, this will all culminate in a dissertation which will decide how well you have performed throughout the course and show your understanding on a particular topic.