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Graduate Programs in Music

About the Program

Brandeis University's graduate programs in Music concentrate in two areas: Composition & Theory and Musicology. Additionally, in conjunction with the program in women's and gender studies, the department offers a Joint M.A. in Music and Women's & Gender Studies to PhD students in music.

Composition and Theory
The department offers three degree programs in composition and theory: M.A. (normally one year), M.F.A. (normally two years), and Ph.D. (normally two or more years following the completion of M.F.A. requirements). The programs are designed to help students develop a command of the craft of composition. That objective is supported by studies in theory and analysis and in electro-acoustic music.

Musicology
The department offers three degree programs in musicology: M.A. (normally one year), M.F.A. (normally two years), and Ph.D. (normally two or more years following the completion of M.F.A. requirements). The programs offer an integrated approach to the understanding of the nature, structural basis, and historical development of music. Students may elect to emphasize or concentrate in music history or in theory and analysis. In the music history program, a variety of techniques and methodologies, including style development, source studies, and historiography, are applied to different repertories and historical problems. The theory and analysis program features work in the history of theory as well as analytic work in the context of theory construction involving the evaluation of pretonal, tonal, and contemporary analytic models.

Degree Options

• Ph.D. in Music: Composition and Theory 
• M.F.A. in Music: Composition and Theory (full- and part-time)
• M.A. in Music: Composition and Theory (full- and part-time)
• Ph.D. in Music: Musicology
• M.F.A. in Music: Musicology (full- and part-time)
• M.A. in Music: Musicology (full- and part-time)
• Ph.D. in Music with a joint M.A. in Music and Women’s and Gender Studies (full-time; students apply to the master's program while enrolled in the Ph.D. program)

Courses and Completion Requirements

For the most updated course listing, course descriptions, and degree requirements, please click here.

Faculty

We encourage you to explore one of the department’s greatest assets through our faculty pages. Learn more about the people who will help guide you along your graduate school path here.

Additional Resources

Consortium: Our membership in the Boston consortium allows you to take courses at Tufts University, Boston University, and Boston College, thus enhancing your Brandeis experience and the spirit of collaboration which Brandeis embodies.
Student Services: At Brandeis, you will become part of a community that is strengthened by life both within and outside of the classroom and laboratory walls. Please go here to see the array of University resources, events, and programming for graduate students. 

Admission Information

Admission Semesters:

Ph.D.: Fall only
M.F.A. & M.A.: Fall & Spring

Application Deadlines:

Ph.D.: January 15 
M.F.A. & M.A.: For fall admission (starts in late August): rolling until the class is full; For spring admission (starts in January): November 15.

Admission Requirements:

Applicants to Composition and Theory must submit:

• An application to the graduate school, which can be electronically submitted here;
• An application fee (please click here for instructions);
• Official transcripts from all universities and colleges attended; applicants must provide a final transcript indicating successful completion of an undergraduate degree program before registration;
• Two letters of recommendation, which the admissions committee prefers to be submitted online (please click here for more information). At least one should be from a faculty member.
• A curriculum vitae (CV) or resumé;
• A statement of purpose in essay form, indicating your reasons for undertaking graduate study. In addition, please describe your qualifications for the academic program and your objectives in undertaking this program. Applicants to the doctoral program should outline their research interests and how they would complement those of the faculty. Applicants to the master's program should discuss their plans for their academic and professional career and how the degree would help them attain their goals.
• Written Work: Please submit a selection of original scores. Recordings are also welcome, if available. If submitting CDs, please identify the CD by writing directly on it. Do not affix a label to the CD.
• Music Composition Exam: The Department of Music employs an informal testing procedure designed to assist the admission committee in reviewing applications to the graduate programs in Composition and Theory.
  
  • Please find two short exercises in tonal music. You are asked to spend up to, but under no circumstances more than, four hours (including copying time) in the preparation of your answers. Please note that your application will be considered incomplete without this exercise.
  • Upon completion of the test, you are asked to sign the appended statement affirming that you have received no outside assistance in preparing your answers. You should mail your exam directly to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences along with any other application materials or e-mail in .PDF format only to gradschool@brandeis.edu.  It is highly advised that you keep a copy of your exam for your own personal records; electronic submission of this exam is preferred.
• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) recommended, but not required. Our ETS institution code is 3092.

International students:  For additional requirements for international applicants (non-U.S. citizens or non-permanent residents), minimum TOEFL and IELTS scores, and important information regarding visas, please click here.

For a more comprehensive description of application requirements, please click here.

Applicants to Musciology must submit:

• An application to the graduate school, which can be electronically submitted here;
• An application fee (please click here for instructions);
• Official transcripts from all universities and colleges attended; applicants must provide a final transcript indicating successful completion of an undergraduate degree program before registration;
• Two letters of recommendation, which the admissions committee prefers to be submitted online (please click here for more information). At least one should be from a faculty member.
• A curriculum vitae (CV) or resumé;
• A statement of purpose in essay form, indicating your reasons for undertaking graduate study. In addition, please describe your qualifications for the academic program and your objectives in undertaking this program. Applicants to the doctoral program should outline their research interests and how they would complement those of the faculty. Applicants to the master's program should discuss their plans for their academic and professional career and how the degree would help them attain their goals.
• Written Work: Please submit a critical writing sample not to exceed 35 pages; the 35-page maximum may consist of a single critical essay or two shorter essays of approximately equal length.
• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) recommended, but not required. Our ETS institution code is 3092.

International students:  For additional requirements for international applicants (non-U.S. citizens or non-permanent residents), minimum TOEFL and IELTS scores, and important information regarding visas, please click here.

For a more comprehensive description of application requirements, please click here.

Financial Aid

Generous financial aid is available; for more information please click here.