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Music

Graduate students in music have the unique opportunity to study broadly across five exciting sub-disciplines—composition, conducting, ethnomusicology, musicology, and theory—while receiving a focused training in one of them.

  • Degree Offerings
  • Faculty
  • Application Requirements
  • Contact the Department

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Office of Graduate Admissions
Bendetson Hall
Medford, MA 02155
(617) 627-3395
gradadmissions@tufts.edu

MA in Music

The Tufts University Department of Music has a growing and innovative graduate program and offers a Master of Arts degree in the field. Graduate students in the Music Department have the unique opportunity to study broadly across five exciting sub-disciplines:

  • Composition
  • Conducting
  • Ethnomusicology
  • Musicology
  • Theory

Advanced course work and thesis research support is strong in Western classical music, African-American music, and World Music (Africa, East and Southeast Asia, and Latin America).

Visit the Department of Music

MA in Music Learning Objectives
  • Learn to write and speak critically about music and/or for composers demonstrate with music critical knowledge of its cultural and historical contexts.
  • Cultivate advance research and technical skills pertinent to the student's chosen area of music study and gain exposure to other contrasting research methods.
  • Through presentations of original research and/or performance of original artistic work, demonstrate through communicative commitment a thorough awareness linking academic knowledge production and community/civic engagement.
  • Prepare for career pathways in music and develop an individualized set of objectives in consultation with a faculty advisor.

 

Faculty

David Locke
Professor and Chair
Ph.D. , Wesleyan University
Music, Dance, and Cultures of Ghana (West Africa)
John McDonald
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
D.M.A. , Yale School of Music
Composition and Performance
Joseph Auner
Austin Fletcher Professor of Music and Dean of University College
Ph.D. , University of Chicago
Schoenberg, Sound Studies, Music and Technology, Music since 1900
Alessandra Campana
Associate Professor
Ph.D. , Cornell University
Opera, Performance, Audiovisual Media
Rich Jankowsky
Associate Professor
Ph.D. , University of Chicago
North Africa and the Middle East; Trance and Ritual
Frank Lehman
Associate Professor
Ph.D. , Harvard University
Music Theory, Film Music, 19th-Century Music, Neo-Riemannian Theory
Stephan Pennington
Associate Professor
Ph.D. , University of California at Los Angeles
Transgender Vocality and the Black Banjo Revival
Rabbi Jeffrey Summit
Research Professor
Ph.D. , Tufts University
Music, Identity, and Religious Experience

Application Deadline


Fall: January 15

Application Requirements


> Application fee
> Resume/CV
> Personal statement
> GRE no longer required
> Official TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test, if applicable
> Transcripts
> Three Letters of Recommendation
> Writing sample
> Applicants intending to concentrate on composition should submit at least one score
> Applicants intending to concentrate on conducting should submit a 10-15 minute video of a rehearsal. A 10-15 minute video of a performance excerpt is also encouraged. A select number of Conducting applicants will be invited to Tufts for an in-person interview, and will conduct a live rehearsal with a Tufts Music department ensemble.  

For more information, visit the Department of Music.

For questions about this program, including scholarships and assistantships, please contact the graduate program director, Professor John McDonald.

Department of Music
Granoff Music Center
Tufts University
20 Talbot Avenue
Medford, MA 02155

Phone: 617-627-3564