The scientific objective is to produce high-quality research with international influence on past and present music performance and creative practices and to study the act of performing. The originality of this project lies in the fact that this research is carried out and supervised by researchers and musicians and, additionally, mainly by researcher-musicians. The approach to music practices is therefore not only external, but internal, which also guarantees that the research will be fleshed out in interaction with music practice itself. The ICM Ph. D was designed to create this virtuous logic of nourishing research through practice, and practice through research.

The ICM Ph. D course is aimed at performers, composers, and ensemble conductors who are already professionals or in initial training, who hold a master's degree and who wish to do further study on a specific question related to their practice, as part of a research and creation process. These performers, composers and ensemble conductors must demonstrate a high level of practical musical ability and proven aptitudes for scientific research (critical reflection) on this practice or one of its aspects.
Scientific research can be carried out in the following areas:

• theory and history of performance, improvisation, and music creation,
• the history of music,
• musical analysis,
• musical aesthetics,
• music education and didactics,
• artistic research and theory,
• the physiology and psychology of the act of performing, etc.

This may involve all historical periods and musical styles and genres.
It is also possible to combine one or more other scientific discipline(s) in the research to be carried out, for example, history, philosophy, literary and philological studies, psychology, sociology, IT, acoustics, etc.

Disciplines involved

The ICM Ph. D course is open to all instrumental disciplines: singing, jazz, contemporary music, traditional music, early music, instrumental or vocal chamber music, conductorship of instrumental or vocal ensembles, and composition (including electro-acoustic techniques, computer-assisted composition, and improvisation). This range of disciplines may change, based on the training offered by the HEAR and the HfM.

During the three years of the Ph. D course, the student must attend:

• methodological, ethical and professional integration seminars (grouped under the term "cross-disciplinary training"), at Unistra (and / or at HfM if the CDFA option has been chosen) for up to 54 hours throughout the duration of the Ph. D course.
• scientific seminars organised by Unistra and HEAR (and HfM if the CDFA option has been chosen) for up to 90 hours throughout the duration of the Ph. D studies (these seminars may take the form of a research colloquium - with the active participation of Ph. D students -, coupled with block seminars) in line with the Ph. D student's individual scientific objective.
• masterclasses organized by the HEAR (and the HfM if the CDFA option has been chosen): 6 masterclasses during the Ph. D course.

In addition to this:

• regular meetings with the thesis supervisor,
• practical lessons with the artistic supervisor for up to 90 hours throughout the Ph. D course, to be validated on the basis of a concert programme performed in public once a year by the Ph. D student before a competent jury,
• a personal professional project, which can take the form of an internship in an artistic structure (4 to 6 weeks) or an artistic project (concert tour programme), approved once during the Ph. D course, proposed by the student and approved on a joint basis by the artistic supervisor and the thesis supervisor.

For a student enrolled for a thesis in France, ICM Ph. D studies typically last three years. Music practice lessons are only provided during this period. However, in accordance with the provisions of article 15 of the decree of 25/05/2016, exemptions may be granted for a longer preparation period.
The ICM Ph. D course involves:

• the drafting and writing of a high-level scientific work on an original question of interpretation and / or music creation, in the form of a “thesis” with an approximate volume of half that of a traditional musicology thesis;
• a work of practical artistic experimentation in the fields of music performance or creation, in the form of a very high-level "end of study artistic performance" (or "recital").

The two aspects cross-fertilize each other, with practical work providing part of the material for theoretical reflection and theoretical research providing a framework for study and a methodology for practical work, so that the repertoire presented during the recital is linked in some way (historical, stylistic, or aesthetic) to the thesis itself.
This involves dual supervision of doctoral work:

• a traditional form of scientific supervision, provided by a “thesis supervisor”, who will be a teacher-researcher authorized to supervise research at the University of Strasbourg (a professor or HDR lecturer) and a member of ED 520 Humanities and ACCRA,
• teaching supervision of music practice (instrumental, vocal, choir leadership, orchestra conducting, creation), provided by an “artistic supervisor” (or an “artistic supervisor” representing the HfM), with the objective of total autonomy for the Ph. D student at the end of his or her Ph. D course.

The Ph. D degree is awarded when the both the practical and scientific aspects have reached doctorate level.