Research at the FHNW Academy of Music's Institute of Classical Music focuses on the many different processes of artistic action and the philological-historical foundations of music (creating music, performance research, mediation and sources). The close interrelationship between musical production, reflection and reception is at the heart of the special research potential which colleges of music have.

The FHNW Academy of Music also offers doctoral programmes in cooperation with the University of Basel and its partner universities abroad. Researchers at the Institute of Classical Music also work closely with fellow researchers at other FHNW Institutes, most notably the Human and Computer Communication research team.