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 program, 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.

In Research Degrees (MPhil/PhD) in Music 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. Staff have regional interests in the music of East and Central Asia (Harris), India and Pakistan (Williams), the Islamic Middle East (Saeid Kordmafi) and Jewish world (Webster-Kogen), and South and East Africa (Impey).

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.