Graduate Programs

The McIntire Department of Music offers graduate study leading to the Ph.D. in Music, with specializations in Critical and Comparative Studies or Composition and Computer Technologies.

Graduate Application Deadline: December 15th

Critical and Comparative Studies

This program encourages students to develop interdisciplinary perspectives on music and musical culture. Seminars and independent projects examine diverse musical traditions along with the research techniques of musicology, ethnomusicology, theory and analysis, and popular music studies. Working closely with faculty mentors, students approach their own research interests with a combination of the most appropriate methods from these and related fields such as performance studies, feminist and queer studies, aesthetics, religious studies, and critical theory. Students currently in the program are writing on a range of modern and historical, "popular" and "classical," American, European, and non-Western topics, and have been well represented in national and international conferences.

Composition and Computer Technologies

This program emphasizes the study and integration of acoustic and computer-based music composition, with ample opportunities in multimedia. Students work with individual faculty and participate in seminars that develop analytical, critical, theoretical and technological approaches. Computer-based and multimedia projects are supported by the Virginia Center for Computer Music (VCCM), which houses a wide variety of commercial and in-house software and hardware. Annual residencies by professional ensembles provide professional performance opportunities, and annual composer concerts provide forums for new work. Students also pursue research projects such as the development of software for interactive dance and internet-based art, and have been well represented in national and international conferences.

Professional Development

The faculty provides mentoring in all aspects of music scholarship and composition, including publication, teaching, performance, technology, grant writing, and conference presentation.