Graduate Programs
Admission to the PhD programs has been paused for the 2024-25 academic year.
The Department of Music offers graduate programs in two areas: composition and theory, and musicology.
Professor Karen Desmond teaches a musicology seminar for graduate students.
Composition and Theory
There are three degree programs in composition and theory: MA (normally one year), MFA (normally two years), and PhD (normally two or more years following the completion of MFA 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. Student compositions are performed in the New Music Brandeis concerts and by ensembles-in-residence.
Musicology
Brandeis offers two graduate degrees in musicology: a two-year MA and a five-year PhD. Research and teaching in our department encompass a wide range of interdisciplinary topics, from medieval notation to American musical theatre, opera and performance studies, digital musicology, and many more.