AEC Handbook – Guide to Third Cycle Studies in Higher MusicEducation

The Third Cycle Guide has been composed primarily for those who work in conservatoires.  For this purpose, we define conservatoires very broadly, including music universities, music academies and Musikhochschulen, with study programmes ranging from music performance and music education to music therapy and, in some cases, musicology.  It is not meant to be read as a single prescription; such an approach would be inappropriate, given the diversity of institutions for which it has been developed.  Instead, it is hoped that the Guide will enable course designers to create their own vision of a Third Cycle research qualification that is ideally suited to their own institutions.