Doctorate in Musicology (PhD)
Admission to the PhD degree program in musicology has been paused for the 2025-26 academic year.
Our PhD degree program in musicology is designed to give you the time, resources and support to develop your skills as a researcher, writer, and teacher. Our rigorous curriculum includes an array of methodological approaches, stressing original research and critical engagement with a diversity of musical repertoires and theoretical literature.
Preparation for teaching careers is an integral part of our PhD program in musicology. You'll serve as a teaching assistant during your second, third, fourth and fifth years of training. As such, you'll be responsible for course preparation, lecturing, administering and grading exams and meeting individually with undergraduates.
Funding
All doctoral students are awarded 5 years of full tuition, generous fellowship funding and health coverage. Additional funding is available from both the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the department for travel to conferences and for research-related travel. Students may apply for additional dissertation funding.
Year-to-Year Progress in PhD
In the following typical schedule, students may become eligible for the MA at the conclusion of the second or third year of graduate work, and should fulfill all PhD requirements except for completion of the dissertation by the beginning of the fifth year.
Expand All
- Settle in and focus on your coursework, making sure to register for Introduction to Musicology in your first semester.
- Attend department colloquia and Musicology Lab (Lab is highly recommended but not required this year).
- Keep an ear out for interesting conferences (AMS-Announce is a great way to find out about these; you can sign up online). Attend regional and national conferences as possible.
- If applicable, take your language exam(s) or do language study so that you can take your exam(s) next year.
- By December 15, submit your list of three topics for the General Examination to the DGS.
- By April 15, submit your bibliographies for the General Examination to the DGS.
- By May 1, submit your IDP and declare your research advisor.
- Prepare for your General Examination over the summer.
- Think ahead about:
- Adapting any of your term papers for a conference presentation.
- Potential topics for your dissertation and Qualifying Examination.
- Potential mentors from outside the Brandeis Music Department to serve on your exam and dissertation committee.
- Finish your required coursework, making sure to register for Musicology Lab during both the fall and the spring semesters.
- Attend department colloquia and Musicology Lab.
- Keep an ear out for interesting conferences and attend when possible. Consider submitting abstracts to graduate student and regional conferences.
- In early September, take your General Examination.
- Take any required language exam(s) if you haven’t already.
- Begin TA assignments.
- Contact a professor from outside the Brandeis music department about serving as an exam and dissertation committee member.
- By May 1, submit and declare your committee on your IDP.
- By May 15, submit your list of topics for the Qualifying Examination to the DGS.
- Begin writing your prospectus and preparing for your Qualifying Examination over the summer.
- Think ahead about:
- Applying for research and travel funding in the fall, especially if you want to go abroad. In many cases, you’ll need to apply for funding the year before you’d like to receive it, so you’ll probably have to apply for funding in your third year to do research during your fourth year.
- By September 1, submit the bibliographies for your Qualifying Examination to the DGS.
- Complete TA assignments during both semesters.
- Attend department colloquia and Musicology Lab (when possible).
- Keep an ear out for interesting conferences and attend when possible.
- Submit abstracts to AMS and to other conferences as appropriate.
- In the fall, apply for research/travel funding (see links above). NB: If you are planning to do research abroad or elsewhere in the US, think about doing so in the summer after your third year or early in your fourth year to give you enough time to write your dissertation after you return. If you get a Fulbright, DAAD, or other year-long research fellowship, obviously you’ll have a little more time to work with!
- In December, take your Qualifying Examination and complete your exam/prospectus defense.
- During the spring, draft at least one dissertation chapter. Revise and polish it over the summer.
- By May 1, submit your IDP.
- Think ahead about:
- Applying for dissertation fellowships next fall.
- Revising a term paper or dissertation chapter and submitting it to a journal.
- Conduct archival research or fieldwork as necessary.
- Continue drafting and revising dissertation chapters. By the end of this year, you should have at least two polished chapters and one more complete chapter draft.
- Complete TA assignments.
- Attend department colloquia and Musicology Lab (when possible).
- Keep an ear out for interesting conferences and attend when possible.
- Submit abstracts to AMS and to other conferences as appropriate.
- Consider sending a polished term paper or dissertation chapter to a journal; ask your advisor for thoughts about which one.
- Apply for Brandeis funding (UPI, Dissertation Year Fellowship, etc.) and for external dissertation fellowships.
- By May 1, submit your IDP.
- Think ahead about:
- Applying for dissertation fellowships, postdocs, and jobs next fall.
- Attend department colloquia and Musicology Lab (when possible).
- Keep an ear out for interesting conferences and attend when possible.
- Submit abstracts to AMS and to other conferences as appropriate.
- If you have not already done so, send a polished term paper or dissertation chapter to a journal; ask your advisor for thoughts about which one.
- Apply for external dissertation funding as well as jobs and postdocs. Once again, AMS-Announce and the wikis (primarily the infamous Musicology Jobs wiki and the Humanities and Social Sciences Postdocs wiki) can be invaluable sources of information on what’s out there. Be warned, however, that the wikis can also be toxic, especially as rejection season starts to roll in.
- By May 1, submit your IDP unless you have already completed your dissertation defense.
- Finish and file your dissertation. Remember that dissertation defenses are not held during the summer except in the most extreme circumstances, so if you want to have your degree conferred in August, you will need to defend by the end of the spring semester. You’ll then have a couple of months to incorporate feedback from your defense before you submit your dissertation by the deadline.
Joint MA in passing in Music & Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
For doctoral students only, we offer an interdisciplinary program with Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, leading to a joint MA in passing in music and women's, gender, and sexuality studies. Topics include feminist theory, gender studies, cultural history, and the investigation of work by and about women.
