Encompassing historical, theoretical, cognitive, and ethnographic approaches, the musicology program at Princeton encourages students to think about music broadly and gain experience in different corners of the discipline, while becoming experts in their chosen fields through researching and writing their dissertations and participating in the scholarly community on and off campus. Unlike many of our peer institutions, Princeton’s musicology program does not maintain strict boundaries between historical musicology, theory, cognition, and ethnomusicology. Rather, our flexible curriculum encourages students to think across the subdisciplines and design innovative research projects that take advantage of different approaches and methodologies.
Graduate students, who are fully funded for five years, become part of a vibrant scholarly and artistic community. In addition to working closely with our renowned musicology faculty as seminar leaders and advisers, musicology students can explore Princeton’s rich offerings in the humanities, have access to the superb Mendel Music Library, and participate in private instrument/voice lessons and the Music Department’s superb ensembles. With Sō Percussion in residence, the Princeton University Concerts series, Princeton Sound Kitchen series, and the many performances by our many own ensembles, musicology students can partake of a rich and eclectic concert life.
The graduate program in musicology offers rigorous and broad training in the intellectual history of the field. Students benefit from...
Learn MoreThis concentration is designed for students who wish to pursue advanced studies in historical musicology and ethnomusicology. Graduates of this...
Learn MoreAre you passionate about music and would you like to better understand it using interdisciplinary methods? Are you particularly interested...
Learn MoreThe graduate studies program in the Department distinguishes itself through rigorous scholarly training in the integrative study of music. Offering...
Learn MoreThe department also offers a Master of Music degree with a specialty in Musicology. Students in the program participate in...
Learn MoreThe Society for Music Theory's 49th Annual Meeting is coming to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this November 5-8, 2026....
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