项目介绍

2022年4月25日

As a unit of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Music offers Ph.D. degrees in Music History, Music Theory, and Ethnomusicology, as well as a joint Ph.D. program with the Department of African-American Studies. The graduate program has traditionally prepared its students for careers as scholars and teachers in colleges and universities. Some graduates have successfully pursued professional work in music criticism, publishing, data science, music librarianship, and the recording industry.

Students interested in graduate degrees in performance, composition, or conducting should direct their inquiries to the Yale School of Music.

A minimum of five years is needed to complete the requirements for the Ph.D. degree. Funding is guaranteed for five years. Students making demonstrated progress on their dissertations after five years are eligible for a sixth year of funding.  Currently, the main requirements are:

• Fourteen seminars or courses, spread over the first two years of residency
• Reading proficiency examinations in two languages other than English
• Qualifying examination at the beginning of the third year
• Dissertation

For a more complete description of our program and requirements, please download the Graduate Student Handbook.

Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program qualify for the M.A. degree “en route” upon the successful completion of seven courses, at least six of which are seminars given in the Department, along with passing an examination in one foreign language. An M. Phil degree is obtained upon the passing of all of the departmental requirements short of the dissertation itself.

Six to eight students, divided between history, theory, and ethnomusicology, are normally admitted to the graduate program each year, and classes and seminars are of limited size, usually having fewer than twelve students enrolled. Proseminars in Musicology, Music Theory, and Ethnomusicology are required of all students. A record of other recent graduate courses may be found in Yale Course Search.