Graduate Programs: More Information

Application Requirements

Master of Arts in Music (Composition, Ethnomusicology, Musicology, or Music Theory)

One Annual Application Deadline: February 1 for September program start. Notification of admission decisions will be made by March 15 for applications that are received by the deadline.

GRE General Test scores required.

Applicants intending to focus on Ethnomusicology, Musicology, or Theory should submit a representative writing sample.

Applicants who would concentrate on Composition should submit at least one representative score (and a recording of that score) along with a work list.

All applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree in music, or the equivalent as determined by the admissions committee. Provisionally accepted students may be asked to complete remedial courses if their preparation is considered inadequate.

Program Requirements

The eight academic courses (minimum) required to complete the two-year Master of Arts in Music follow the general rule that five courses will be taken within a concentration (including Thesis, which is taken as a course in the first or second semester of the second year), and three outside the concentration. In other words, composers might be encouraged to sample courses such as African Music Systems, Research in Musicology, and Contemporary Concert Music in addition to four semesters of Composition Seminar and Thesis. In like fashion, ethnomusicologists, musicologists, and theorists will be encouraged to synergize with serious, related ideas outside their concentrations. Tufts University is unusually strong in the areas of music cognition, linguistics, sociology, and the anthropology of music; students are invited to sample from these many offerings along with their core courses.

A maximum of ten credits can be taken during the two-year program (including the eight required credits). There is an extra tuition charge to take more courses beyond those ten.

All concentrators are heartily encouraged to participate in one or more of the many performance ensembles that are a lynchpin of our Music Department, though ensemble courses do not bear credit toward the graduate degree and should be taken officially for no credit. There are also ample opportunities for intellectual and musical engagement on an informal basis at Tufts, including an auspicious Monday Colloquium Series and periodic Graduate Discussion Groups that address areas of interest across the sub-disciplines.

The Master of Arts in Music program requires reading proficiency in a foreign language. This requirement can be fulfilled by successfully completing certain approved courses or by taking a proficiency exam (approximately two hours in length). To schedule an exam time, contact Gina Murray (gina.murray@tufts.edu) in the Graduate School Office.

Tuition, Scholarships, Stipends

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) provides resources to departments to offer, on average, a half tuition scholarship to each accepted student. Students who receive half scholarships pay tuition for the first year and not the second.

Students can be accepted with full tuition scholarship or with none.

The GSAS also provides a fund to departments to offer stipends to graduate students for teaching assistantships. The Music Department typically offers annual stipend amounts ranging from $3000 to $6000 as compensation for graduate student teaching assignments. These funds are separate from tuition scholarships. Some students do not receive teaching assignments, especially in the first semester of the program. Assignments are made according to interest/concentration and ability, and according to departmental needs.

Research Support

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences offers competitive opportunities for travel funds (for conferences) and research funds (field projects, travel to research institutions, etc.). Please consult the Graduate Study website for details and application forms.

Important Links

Office of Graduate Studies
The Office of Graduate Studies serves the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). From the office’s website, visitors can find information about applying to graduate programs, expenses and financial aid, application requirements and deadlines, and much more. Links to some of the information on the site are provided below:

How to Apply

Application Requirements and Deadlines

Contact the Office of Graduate Studies

Request a Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Catalog

Graduate Student Handbook
Published annually, the Graduate Student Handbook contains important dates, policies and procedures, requirements, and graduation information concerning current Arts, Sciences, and Engineering graduate students.

Take A Class
You don't need to be a graduate student to take Tufts graduate courses. The Graduate Career Advancement Program (GCAP) was created for people who want access to superior graduate-level courses but don't need or want a graduate degree. GCAP students take the same classes as our graduate students and may enroll, for either credit or audit, in up to four undergraduate or graduate courses per semester.

Alma Matters magazine
Alma Matters is the magazine for Arts, Sciences, and Engineering graduate alumni and graduate students. Published twice a year, it highlights the work of Tufts alumni, students, and programs.

Alma Matters-Plus
Published quarterly, Alma Matters-Plus is the e-newsletter for Tufts Arts, Sciences, and Engineering graduate alumni, graduate students, faculty, and staff. Each issue highlights the work of Tufts alumni, students, and programs.

Director of Graduate Studies –
David Locke, Associate Professor of Music, 617-627-2419 or email David.Locke@tufts.edu.

For application inquires or to request further information, contact Lucille Jones at 617.627.3564 or email lucille.jones@tufts.edu.