PhD Scholarship: Sensing the Machine – Generative AI and the Transformation of Musical Ensemble Practice (University of Manchester) Deadline: 30.03.2026
Sensing the Machine: Generative AI and the Transformation of Musical Ensemble Practice
(CreativeAI Studentship)
University of Manchester
Deadline: 30 March 2026
Apply online for PhD Anthropology, Media and Performance
About the Project
This PhD project invites a researcher to explore how generative AI is reshaping creativity, collaboration, and trust within musical performance, production, and/or composition. As AI systems become increasingly integrated into creative workflows -- from real-time improvisation tools to AI-assisted compositional platforms -- musicians are beginning to treat algorithms not only as instruments, but as co-performers, collaborators, and sometimes even unpredictable creative agents. This project asks what creativity means in these emergent human–machine ensembles, and how musicians negotiate embodied, sensorial, and affective modes of knowing when co-creating with AI.
Situated at the intersection of Anthropology and Music, the project will involve ethnographic and practice-based research with musicians, ensembles, and composers who incorporate AI into their creative processes. Through observations, interviews, and potentially participatory musical experimentation, the researcher will examine how trust, responsiveness, and attunement are built -- or strained -- when creative partners include intelligent systems. What happens to tacit knowledge, timing, “feel,” and embodied synchrony when one member of the ensemble is a machine? How do musicians recalibrate concepts of authorship, risk, improvisation, and virtuosity when collaborating with an AI that cannot sense, breathe, or listen in human ways?
Anthropologically, the project investigates how embodied expertise and sensory knowledge are reconfigured as musicians learn to interpret, anticipate, and sometimes challenge algorithmic behaviour. Musically, it asks how -AI systems alter the aesthetics, ethics, and phenomenology of creative practice. Philosophically, it raises questions about agency, intentionality, and the limits of shared creativity.
The researcher will analyse how trust is cultivated, where it breaks down, and what new forms of relationality emerge when artists and algorithms co-produce sonic worlds. This PhD would suit a student interested in digital anthropology, ethnomusicology, creativity studies, and the cultural implications of AI in the arts, offering a unique opportunity to trace how musical knowledge and collaborative practice are being transformed in real time.
Academic Criteria:
Bachelor's (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and
Master's degree in a relevant subject – with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent)
Desirable Criteria:
Demonstrable academic record in either Anthropology, or in a related subject, with relevant academic skills in social theory;
Demonstrable expertise in music performance / composition / production, relevant to the candidate’s proposed project
English Language:
All applicants must provide evidence of English language proficiency:
IELTS test minimum score – 7.0 overall, 7.0 in writing.
TOEFL (internet based) test minimum score – 100 overall, 25 in all sections.
Pearson Test of English (PTE) UKVI/SELT or PTE Academic minimum score – 76 overall, 76 in writing.
To demonstrate that you have taken an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in a majority English speaking nation within the last 5 years.
The application deadline will be Midnight (GMT) on 30/03/26. Apply online for PhD Anthropology, Media and Performance at the University of Manchester.
Under Section 6 Research Details select ‘Yes’ to Are you applying for an advertised project. Insert the project title as stated at the top of the advert. It is recommended when entering the name of the supervisor to simply enter this and not use the supervisor search function. The main supervisor is Dr Jennifer Cearns.
Indicate in Section 9 Funding Sources your intention to apply for the CreativeAI Studentship.
Please ensure all required supporting documents are included at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered. Your application must include the following:
Bachelor's academic transcript and certificate.
Master's academic transcript and certificate. If your Master's degree is pending, please provide an interim transcript.
If you have completed more than one Bachelor's or Master's degree, provide evidence for each. If your transcripts are in a language other than English, you must provide an official English translation. If your weighted average mark or GPA is not included on these documents, include an official document from your university verifying this information.
An academic CV
Supporting statement of a maximum of 700 words indicating why you would like to undertake this studentship and how your focus, experience, and skills link to the research outlined above
A 1,500 PhD research proposal; please state the word count on page 1 of the document. Further guidance on what to include in a proposal can be found at: https://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/applying/writing-your-proposal/
You must nominate two academic referees (including one from your most recent institution).
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, contact the primary supervisor, Dr Jennifer Cearns (jennifer.cearns@manchester.ac.uk). For general questions about eligibility, application processes, or materials to be included in the application, contact HUMS.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk
Interviews are expected to take place in the week commencing 11th May 2026.
Equality, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and are at the heart of all of our activities. We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.
We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.
Funding Notes
CreativeAI studentship to commence in September 2026 covering tuition fees, research support and stipend (2025/2026 rate £20,780).