That sounds great!

Actually the dept I'm in at the minute is quite lax with administration so that'd suit me down to the ground. Submitting paperwork in French would probably be a real struggle all the same. I have only GCSE French but I'm hoping that I'll pick it up fairly quickly like you say. There's only so much that watching French films and Cosmocats (that's Thundercats to you and me!) can do!

Funding is the big issue though. I know PhD's cost a lot less to do in France but I'm not sure where I stand with living expenses?

I'm finishing a masters at a uni in N. Ireland that I also did my undergrad at. I love the place but am interested in getting out and studying in Europe where I'd benefit from the linguistic/cultural education of acclimatising to a new environment as well as studying for a phD in composition (music).

Does anyone have any experience of doing this? A lot of the music I study originated in France, so I'd prefer to go there to study.

For anyone who has studied abroad, how did you fund your PhD? From what I can see you have to be studying in the UK to be eligible for AHRC funding. How much of a problem was the language barrier?

Thanks!