ABSTRACT
In the research and research degree space, the balance between creativity and more traditional approaches is problematic. While creative outputs are given value in research measurement exercises, the emphasis on creativity in research degrees has yet to gain significant traction. Driven in part by outmoded higher education compliance and policy strictures and a one-size-fits-all approach, music researchers are beginning to break new ground in the training of a fresh breed of academics through the research degree pathway. Institutions such as conservatoires have struggled to make their programmes relevant in the twenty-first century, at both undergraduate and post-graduate level. The undergraduate challenges largely relate to modes of delivery and pertinence of content. In the post-graduate research space, the newness of creative practice research has brought tensions within institutions, as well as within the sector more broadly. This chapter explores these challenges, and describes ways in which this concern has been addressed in the conservatoire environment, with particular reference to practice-centred programmes of study in which creativity and tradition are often at odds with each other.
