Australian Colleagues Explore Collaboration Potential
July 14, 2014
This spring, the Department of Creative Arts Therapies welcomed research manager Lucy O’Brien, a visitor from the University of Melbourne who came to explore possibilities for collaboration between Drexel’s PhD program in Creative Arts Therapies and the University of Melbourne.
The University of Melbourne already has a well-established PhD program in Music Therapy as well as an exceptional music therapy research unit, the National Music Therapy Research Unit (NAMTRU). The objectives of the research unit, which was established in 1999, are to:
- Promote the research of all aspects of music therapy,
- Provide a research milieu in which postgraduate students can be supported and inspired to conduct research studies in music therapy,
- Provide a balance of scientific, theoretical, clinical, and musical dimensions in research studies,
- Actively seek research grants through government competitive schemes and other non-government schemes,
- Disseminate research outcomes through national and international publications and national and international conferences, seminars, and symposia,
- And to develop a strong national and international research identity in music therapy, through collaboration with national and international partners.
The University of Melbourne has already entered into collaborative agreements with other universities that offer PhD programs in music therapy and are research active, including Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance in Philadelphia. The University of Melbourne is now interested in expanding its program to include the other creative arts modalities (art and dance/movement) as well. The Creative Arts Therapies Department at the Drexel College of Nursing and Health Professions is very excited about the prospect of potentially collaborating with the Australian university as they enter this phase of expansion into additional modalities.