The Dr. John Birch Music Scholarship is intended to assist one chosen organist in continuing to grow and perform while enrolled in Sussex. Dr. John Birch (1929-2012), a beloved former music lecturer and organist at the University of Sussex, is being honored with this prize.
Whether or not they are music majors, all current undergraduate and graduate students at Sussex are eligible for the Dr. John Birch Music Scholarship.
About the University
The University of Sussex is a public research university that is situated in Falmer, East Sussex, England. Although it stretches into the Lewes District on its eastern edge, it is primarily contained within the bounds of Brighton and Hove. Approximately 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) separate the huge campus’ location from the heart of Brighton and the South Downs National Park. The university was a founding member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities and was the first of the plate glass university generation to get a royal charter in August 1961.
Around one-third of the faculty members are foreign-born, while more than one-third of the school’s students are engaged in postgraduate programs. Over 1,000 professors from more than 140 different nations make up Sussex’s varied community of approximately 20,000 students, of whom about one-third are foreign students. The institution’s annual revenue for 2019–20 was £319.6 million, while its annual expenditures were £282 million.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2021 placed the University of Sussex at 160th globally and 20th in the UK. In 2021, The Sunday Times ranked the university 19th nationwide. According to the Complete University Guide, the university was placed 15th in the UK in 2017. According to the 2017 QS World University Rankings, the university came in at number 187 worldwide. The 2018 CWTS Leiden Ranking placed the university at number 205.
According to the UI GreenMetric index, Sussex was the 66th most sustainable city in the world in 2016.
In terms of graduate prospects, The Complete University Guide 2018 rated Sussex first in the South East and sixth overall in the UK (graduates getting into employment or further study immediately after graduation). American Studies is offered in 20 universities in the UK, and The Times and Sunday Times University Guide (2018) ranks the top university in the country as well as third in the Complete University Guide (2018) and fourth in the Guardian University Guide (2018).
It was the top-ranked subject in the entire world for development studies in 2021.
ranked 29th overall, 11th in Europe, and 7th nationally in the social sciences according to the 2018 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. In terms of law and business and economics, it came in at number 49 and number 48, respectively. According to the Times Higher Education subject rankings for the UK, it placed fourth for sociology, seventh for geography, fourth for politics and international relations, tenth for psychology, and second for communication and media studies in the same year.
The university was also ranked among the top 100 universities worldwide for social sciences in the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2016 as well as among the top 150 universities for social sciences in the ARWU 2016 rankings. According to U.S. News & World Report, the university was ranked 90th in the world for psychological sciences.
Worth of Dr. John Birch Music Scholarship
- Cash prize of £800.
- The chosen recipient will also have access to the School of Media, Arts, and Humanities’ music practice rooms (MAH).
- Regardless of the outcome of their application, every candidate who advances to the audition stage will be given the chance to join a list of musicians who are available to play at campus events or who are enthusiastic about working with other musicians.
Eligibility for Dr. John Birch Music Scholarship
If you want to be considered for the Dr. John Birch Music Scholarship, you must:
- Play the organ at Grade 8 or higher level.
- having applied to or be enrolled at the University of Sussex (open to applicants for 2023 entry)
How to Apply
Apply now at the University of Sussex by visiting www.sussex.ac.uk.
Submission Deadline
1st of October 2023
