MA Ethnomusicology

Through fieldwork — conducting interviews; attending, participating in, and observing performances; learning about local history, language, and customs; and doing musical analysis — ethnomusicologists study the ways in which individuals learn, create and understand music in different cultural communities, the means by which music is transmitted via both social and media networks, the significance of music revivals, and the impact of new contexts on the style and meaning of music.

Courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level are open to all students regardless of major. Whether in graduate seminars or in one of the many world music ensembles, the program emphasizes doing ethnomusicology. The curriculum challenges students to engage musical experience in all of its dimensions in preparation for careers in both academia and the public sector.

The Ethnomusicology Program is home to a distinguished faculty, whose professional experience and expertise range from extensive work in the public sector to specialization in the music of Latin America, Texas and the American Southwest, Africa, India, and includes internationally recognized master musicians from those traditions.