Under the guidance of a supervisor, students will research and complete a substantial body of original compositions and each semester work towards the completion of a dissertation associated with the candidate‘s composition portfolio and the research behind its creation.

Under the guidance of a supervisor, students will research and complete a substantial body of original compositions and each semester work towards the completion of a dissertation associated with the candidate's composition portfolio and the research behind its creation.

Under the guidance of a supervisor, students will research and complete a substantial body of original compositions and each semester work towards the completion of a dissertation associated with the candidate's composition portfolio and the research behind its creation.

Under the guidance of a supervisor, students will research and complete a substantial body of original compositions and each semester work towards the completion of a dissertation associated with the candidate's composition portfolio and the research behind its creation.

The aims of this unit of study are to develop an understanding of music education research processes, and to identify research methods suitable for individual students' research topics. In this unit of study, students examine a range of music education research paradigms which can broadly be categorised as qualitative or quantitative, and are introduced to related research procedures. Readings and seminar activities are designed to facilitate students' critical analysis of research in terms of the relevant research methods. Students will also develop strategies for locating and reviewing literature pertaining to their fields of research interest. At the culmination of this course, students will submit a preliminary literature review and preliminary proposal as the initial phase in the preparation of their research.

This unit of study consolidates and extends skills acquired in Research Methods 1. The first objective is to acquaint students with a variety of data analysis procedures employed in music education research. Evolving skills will be extended through practical tasks in which students examine and apply a range of data analysis procedures. A further objective is the completion of a research proposal. Through ongoing reading and critical evaluation of related research literature, students will prepare a research proposal for implementation in the final year of the program. Ethical issues in music education research are an adjunct area of study, and students will submit all documentation required for ethics approval for their proposed research.

As an analytical method, ethnography concentrates on the experience of life as it is lived. Following the development of the fieldwork-based discipline of ethnomusicology, ethnographic approaches to music have come to examine: historical and archival data, objects and artefacts in collections, cyber networks, digital communications, and medical and therapeutic understandings of sound, among other aspects of everyday life. This unit of study engages ethnographic methodologies to examine the myriad ways music informs and enriches people's lives and contributes to defining how humans flourish in their natural, social and cultural environments.

Students work with the teacher/supervisor on development of their performance skills and repertoire as appropriate to their instrument and performance research goals. The work for the semester will be planned at the beginning of the semester taking into account longer term goals for the research program in the degree. Research and performance objectives and a semester outline will be devised and approved in consultation between the student, the teacher/supervisor(s) and the Chair of Unit.

Students work with the teacher/supervisor on further development of their performance skills and repertoire as appropriate to their instrument and performance research goals. The work for the semester will be planned at the beginning of the semester taking into account longer term goals for the research program in the degree. Research and performance objectives and a semester outline will be devised and approved in consultation between the student, the teacher/supervisor(s) and the Chair of Unit.

Students will prepare for the M Mus Recital during this semester working with the performance teacher/supervisor(s) and in consultation with the Chair of Unit. A staff accompanist will be available to work with the candidate in 8 hours of rehearsal and at the Recital where this is appropriate to the needs of the performance and approved in advance. The Recital will present the student's research through performance and will be integrated as appropriate with the candidate's Performance Thesis. The Critical Notes will document the aims of the Recital and its place in the candidate's research program, as well as discussing the music performed. It is possible to present the Recital and Critical Notes at any stage during the semester before the normal exam period if this is preferred and approved in advance.

Students complete and submit their thesis under the guidance of a supervisor. The topic will be relevant to the student's performance interests and will be developed with the advice of the supervisor. The thesis is expected to be completed in the 3rd semester of a full-time enrolment and submitted by week 15 of the 3rd semester in advance of the final semester and the M Mus recital.