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Newly accredited music degree opens pathways for creative artists
16 April 2026 | STORY SARAH MARRIOTT. PHOTOS SUPPLIED. Read time 4 min.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) has secured accreditation for a new Doctor of Music (DMus) degree – a landmark achievement that places creative practice at the forefront of doctoral research in the country and across the continent.
Offered through the South African College of Music (SACM), the DMus is a pioneering qualification that formally recognises performance and composition as rigorous forms of research, creating a much-awaited doctoral pathway for professional musicians to develop their artistry at the highest academic level.
This milestone follows sustained leadership and vision from the college’s director, Professor Andrew Lilley. When smaller faculties at UCT were consolidated into the Faculty of Humanities around 25 years ago, it was envisaged over time that all doctoral study could fall under a unified PhD model.
“An unintended consequence was the loss of a dedicated space for practice-led music research,” Professor Lilley noted, “as a PhD requires a single, coherent submission, while performance and composition unfold across distinct creative outputs”. The DMus restores it in a way that aligns with international practice and properly recognises creative work as research at the highest level.
“As a performer and educator, I’ve long been aware of the gap between traditional academic pathways and the realities of professional artistic practice,” Lilley said. “The DMus represents a breakthrough. It creates a space where performers and composers can pursue doctoral study through what they do best – making music.”
Creative practice as a knowledge generation tool
Providing critical support to the process was the head of Keyboard Studies, Dr Esthea Kruger. Lilley acknowledged that her work was instrumental in bringing the degree to fruition. “I’m deeply grateful to Dr Kruger, whose commitment and expertise were central to making this vision a reality,” he said.
Dr Kruger reiterated that the journey to the DMus was a long one – set in motion before she was appointed at UCT. She also shared that “receiving news of its accreditation a few weeks ago was one of the happiest moments of my academic career”.
The DMus is unique in placing artistic work at the heart of the degree, Kruger shared, while offering a flexible structure that allows each candidate to shape the programme around their own strengths and focus areas. Artists are enabled to generate new knowledge directly through creative practice, aligning South African higher education with leading international approaches to artistic research.
Many of the country’s most accomplished performers and composers have faced limited options at doctoral level, often needing to pursue studies abroad or adapt to research models not ideally suited to their practice. The degree addresses this gap directly, offering an academically rigorous and professionally relevant pathway that is both locally grounded and globally competitive.
“We anticipate that it will attract some of South Africa’s most outstanding performers and composers,” Kruger said, “including those who may previously have shied away from doctoral study because of its traditional academic focus.”
“The DMus represents a breakthrough... performers and composers can [now] pursue doctoral study through what they do best – making music.”
The new qualification also strengthens postgraduate progression within the college, enabling performance and composition students to move seamlessly from master’s to doctoral study within an integrated framework. Kruger confirmed that preliminary interest in the degree has been considerable and said “I have no doubt that the DMus will make a significant contribution to the country’s musical and academic landscape".
With the introduction of the DMus, the university is affirming its commitment to innovation, excellence and the recognition of creative work as a vital form of knowledge production. “UCT is ensuring that artistic practice remains central to how knowledge is created, shared and advanced in the 21st century,” Lilley said.
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