The NYU Graduate Program in Music is designed for the professionally minded student who plans a career combining college-level teaching with continuing research and/or composition. We feature three degree tracks: Ethnomusicology, Historical Musicology, and Composition and Theory, but student research and interests are not expected to conform to narrow interpretations of these tracks. Indeed, our students work on a wide variety of topics including jazz, popular music, film music, world musical traditions, western art music, and musical theater. Recent graduates hold academic appointments in some of the most prestigious universities in the United States and Canada, and are making distinguished contributions to scholarship and musical composition on both the national and international levels.
The Graduate Program in Music is deliberately small, admitting six to eight students each year. The curriculum is research oriented; most courses are concerned with extending the boundaries of current knowledge.
Admissions
Students are admitted to the department's graduate program on the basis of a superior academic record (as evidenced by transcripts and letters of recommendation) and demonstration of scholarly and/or creative promise (as evidenced by samples of scholarly writing or composition).
Applicants must hold (or be in the process of receiving) the B.A., B.M., or an equivalent degree, and their undergraduate careers should include a strong background in the liberal arts and a special emphasis on music.
For applicants in Composition/Music Theory: Two or three music samples that demonstrate recent work are required. For notated music samples, a recording should also be included. Submitted samples may include electroacoustic or multimedia works, in which case there is typically no score. A short writing sample of 5-15 double-spaced pages, on any musical topic, is also required.
For applicants in Ethnomusicology or Historical Musicology: One or two written papers that demonstrate analytical and writing abilities are required. These will play a major role in the admission decision.
Applicants must also submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores.*
For more information, please refer to our FAQs.
*GRE: The GRE general test requirement is suspended for fall 2022 due to COVID-19. Please do not send us GRE test scores. If you do, the scores will not be reviewed or considered by the department's Admissions Committee. In subsequent terms, the general test is required.
Please refer to the GSAS Bulletin for more detailed information pertaining to GSAS Registration and Degree Requirements.
