National Music Therapy Research Unit (NAMTRU)

Music Therapy post-graduate study at the University of Melbourne is promoted through NaMTRU, which was established in 1999 following the successful International Music-Medicine Conference in 1998.  The objectives of NaMTRU are:

1. To educate music therapy clinicians to carry out quantitative and qualitative research
2. To provide a research milieu specifically designed for clinically-based,  applied research in music therapy (recent and current research projects)
3. To provide a balance of scientific, theoretical, clinical and musical dimensions in research studies
4. To develop a research identity in music therapy, and in particular to promote applications for research grants (ARC and others such as NH&MRC).
5. To initiate music therapy research in major hospitals.

The Advisory Board

The Faculty of Music has appointed an Advisory Board comprising internationally renowned music therapy researchers, who will advise on selection of students and contribute to their supervision.

The Advisory Board comprises:

• Ass. Prof. Denise Grocke (University of Melbourne, Convenor)
• Dr Katrina McFerran (University of Melbourne)
• Prof. Dr. Tony Wigram (University of Aalborg, Denmark)
• Prof. Dr Barbara Wheeler (University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA)
• Dr Clare O’Callaghan (Research Fellow, Faculty of Music, University of Melbourne).

Normally, two members of the Advisory Board will act as consultants at the NaMTRU weekend seminar.

Collaboration

The University of Melbourne has entered into a collaborative agreement with the University of Aalborg (Denmark). The purposes of the collaboration fall under three distinct areas of research endeavour:

Areas of collaboration:

1.  Evaluation of Research Proposals, Supervision and Examination of Theses

• Evaluation of research proposals for post-graduate study: Members of each centre sit on the advisory board of the other centres in order to help evaluate (when appropriate) proposals for Master's and PhD level research in music therapy.
• Development of high standards through international benchmarking:  Agreement on criteria for the candidature and examination of Masters and PhD Theses. 
• Development of courses for supervisors, and an international network of supervisors with a variety of specialisations within the broad field of music therapy. Developing a high standard in the supervision of research of post-graduate research.

2.  Collaborative projects

• Clinical Collaboration:  Development of multi-centre research in specific clinical projects.  Primary interests by Centre are:

• Academic Collaboration: development of databases in music therapy, and the building up of literature research databases for access by researchers in both universities.
• Teaching tools: Collection of relevant lecture material, video material and evaluation tools onto Web based databases for the development of research methods.

3.  Research Teaching and supervision

• Periodic teacher exchange on research methodology, implementation, evaluation and writing skills.  (The inviting institution covers the travel, accommodation and honorarium involved.)
• Periodic external advice and consultation on research studies in progress.

Intensive Research Seminars

Intensive research seminars are held twice each year, normally in March and October.

There is an invited consultant from the Advisory Board who advises on the research projects of the postgraduate students enrolled in Masters and PhD music therapy studies.