The Susan McClary Research Fellowship in Musicology

Fellowship Description
Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU) is pleased to announce a call for applications for the inaugural Susan McClary Research Fellowship in Musicology. The Fellowship, generously funded by Professor Sally Macarthur, is named in honour of esteemed musicologist Susan McClary. Professor McClary’s work has profoundly shaped the way music is understood within contemporary cultural studies. She has demonstrated that music is not only an aesthetic art form but also a powerful social and cultural practice, carrying meaning about identity, history, and society. The Fellowship aims to build on the spirt of McClary’s groundbreaking work.

For the purposes of this Fellowship, musicology is defined as the academic and scholarly study of music, encompassing its history, theory, cultural contexts and social meaning. It asks not only how music is made and understood, but how it reflects, shapes and is shaped by the people, places and communities around it. Please see below for a longer statement on the discipline of musicology. Through this Fellowship, the recipient will be supported to undertake meaningful research that contributes to the field of musicology, enriches the intellectual and creative life of the Conservatorium, and strengthens national and international scholarship in this important field.

The Susan McClary Research Fellowship in Musicology will support one recipient for a period of up to one academic year, creating a dedicated opportunity for focused scholarly research within Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. The annual value of the stipend is $40,000 plus $10,000 for research-related expenses.

QCGU is one of Australia's leading centres for music education, performance and research. With a vibrant community of researchers, educators and creative practitioners, QCGU is committed to advancing excellence in artistic and scholarly endeavour.

The successful recipient will be known as the Susan McClary Fellow in Musicology for the duration of the award and will be expected to:

• Undertake a clearly defined research project in musicology
• Contribute to the scholarly life of QCGU through research engagement activities
• Produce research outcomes consistent with the objectives of the Fellowship
• Participate in reasonable reporting requirements associated with the award
• Acknowledge the Susan McClary Research Fellowship in resulting publications and outputs

This Fellowship is awarded for a period of up to one academic year.

Eligibility and selection

Applicants must:

• Hold a doctoral qualification relevant to musicology (please refer to the Statement on Musicology below)
• Demonstrate a strong research track record appropriate to career stage
• Submit a high-quality research proposal aligned with the objectives of the Fellowship
• Demonstrate the potential to make a significant contribution to musicological scholarship
• Show the capacity to successfully complete the proposed project within the Fellowship period

Applications will be assessed on:

• Academic qualifications and achievements
• Research track record and scholarly impact
• Quality, originality and feasibility of the proposed research
• Alignment with the purpose of the Susan McClary Research Fellowship
• Likely contribution to musicology and to the research culture of QCGU

Please note that recipients of the Elizabeth Wood Research Fellowship in Musicology are not eligible for the Susan McClary Fellowship, and vice versa.

Fellowship Funding

The Fellowship includes:

• An annual stipend of $40,000
• Up to $10,000 for approved research-related expenses

The Fellowship is a competitive research award and is not an offer of employment with Griffith University. The stipend does not constitute salary, and the recipient will not be appointed to a salaried academic position.

The recipient will be provided with access to an email address and the Conservatorium’s library facilities. The recipient will also have access to shared desk space in the Conservatorium’s Research Hub.

Statement on the discipline of Musicology

Musicology is the critical study of music as a human and more-than-human phenomenon. It is a constantly changing, evolving discipline, but tends to be distinguished from research by composer and performer practitioners through the methods it uses to conduct its work. Whereas composers and performers produce knowledge through performing and composing music, musicologists generate knowledge through methods drawn not only from music practice—such as the ethnomusicologist working as a practitioner in the music of another culture—but also from the humanities, social sciences, and increasingly the sciences, with the aim of producing knowledge about music rather than knowledge through its performance or composition.

Musicology is an interdisciplinary inquiry into music as a site where sound, body, technology, power, identity, and affect intersect and, more recently, where agency is understood as distributed across human and non-human phenomena. It draws on close analysis of sonic and notational texts, pays ethnographic attention to musical communities, undertakes archival and historiographical work, and utilises theoretical frameworks from critical theory and philosophy—including non-representational paradigms such as new materialism and agential realism—as well as disability studies, postcolonial thought, and media studies. The field has moved decisively away from positivist or formalist orientations towards an understanding of music not as a self-contained aesthetic object but as a relational practice, always embedded in bodies, technologies, institutions, and histories of inequality. Through recent developments it has moved beyond simply describing music's structures or charting its histories to interrogating the very conditions under which musical knowledge is produced, drawing richly from the most destabilising currents in contemporary thought.

With this orientation as its foundation—and springing from the pioneering work of Susan McClary, who understands music as itself a form of cultural interpretation—Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University seeks to attract musicologists for this Fellowship whose work embodies this spirit of critical and disciplinary transformation. Applicants should identify, first and foremost, as musicologists or ethnomusicologists, and their work should demonstrate familiarity with the disciplinary transformations outlined above, while showing clearly how their proposed project will advance the field through innovative, interdisciplinary methods.

How to Apply

Please do not select the “APPLY” button. Applications must be submitted to QCGU@griffith.edu.au including the following documentation:

• Cover letter outlining your interest in the Fellowship and suitability against the eligibility and selection criteria (max 1000 words)
• Research proposal outlining the proposed project and anticipated outcomes and significance (max 1000 words)
• Current curriculum vitae, including a list of publications and relevant scholarly outputs
• Contact details for at least two academic referees

Applications close: Thursday, 29 October 2026 at 11:59pm AEST.

At Griffith, we are committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all. Griffith University values diversity, inclusion and flexibility and encourages applications from people of all backgrounds.

Enquiries

For further information regarding the Fellowship, please contact Chris Stover: c.stover@griffith.edu.au

For administrative enquiries regarding the application process, please contact: Liz Tyson-Doneley, Administration Officer, QCGU: QCGU@griffith.edu.au