Suggested Plan of Study

The program for the Master of Arts in Musicology provides students with the opportunity to achieve scholarly competence and to develop the capacity to make significant contributions to knowledge in their field. The program has three elements:

1. Courses in the major field
2. Supportive studies that provide a broad general knowledge of the discipline of music
3. Additional studies related to the area of concentration. 

The program described below is not rigid. It is intended to indicate both the nature of the course work and the usual elements for fulfilling the requirements for the MA degree. The student's actual course work will be designed to provide a well-rounded total program, including depth in the major area and breadth in supportive and related studies. 

Each student selects a program of study in consultation with an advisor. It must include a reasonable concentration and breadth of study designed to foster research, scholarship, and knowledge of a specialty in relation to allied academic areas, must be approved by the advisor, and is subject to the rules of the Graduate Studies Committee. At least 50% of the courses must be designated graduate study only (courses at the 6000-8000 level). 

The MA in musicology is a terminal degree. Students intending to continue for the doctorate should enroll in the post-baccalaureate PHD program.

Major Area of Concentration — 14 credit hours total

A minimum of five courses in Musicology, no more than one of them at the 5000 level, chosen from: 

• Music 5646 – History of Music in the United States (2 credit hours)
• Music 5648 – Western Art Music I: Music from 1700 to 1870 (2 credit hours)
• Music 5649 – Western Art Music II: Music from 1870 to the Present (2 credit hours)
• Music 5650 – History of Choral Music (2 credit hours)
• Music 5651 – History of Opera (2 credit hours)
• Music 6645 – Music’s Meanings (2 or 3 credit hours)
• Music 6672 – Introduction to Ethnomusicology (2 credit hours)
• Music 7730 – Introduction to Musicology (3 credit hours)
• Music 7740 – Studies in Music before 1600 (3 credit hours)
• Music 7741 – Studies in Music from 1600 to 1800 (3 credit hours)
• Music 7742 – Studies in Music from 1800 to the Present (3 credit hours)
• Music 7784 – Bibliography for Musicologists (3 credit hours)
• Music 6786 – Music Research Methods and Bibliography (3 credit hours)
• Music 7785 – Cognitive Ethnomusicology (3 credit hours)
• Music 7787 – Chinese Music (3 credit hours)
• Music 7788 – Music of the Arabic and Indian Traditions (3 credit hours)
• Music 7789 – African Music: Ideas Forms and Trajectories (3 credit hours)
• Music 8847 – Development of Notation, 900-1600 (3 credit hours)
• Music 8850 – Historical Performance Practices (3 credit hours)
• Music 8885 – Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology (3 credit hours)
• Music 8886 – Theories and Methods of Ethnomusicology (2 credit hours)
• Music 8950 – Seminar in Musicology (multiple registrations permitted) (3 credit hours)

Thesis — 6 credit hours total

• Music 6999 – Research for Master’s Thesis 

Supportive Studies — 10 credit hours total

• Required: a minimum of two enrollments in ensembles of the student’s choice
• Recommended: Courses selected from music theory, music cognition, and any discipline outside of music relevant to the student’s development and interests

Language Requirements

Reading proficiency in French or German must be demonstrated by passing German 6101 and 6102 with a grade of B or better, or by passing the respective departmental reading examination. A different language may be substituted if required for the thesis. The language requirement may be satisfied by passing the respective departmental reading examination, by taking the prescribed sequence of courses in the respective language departments at this university, or through additional documentation submitted by the advisor in consultation with a relevant internal or external specialist. 

Minimum Total Semester Credits – 30 credits 

Questions? Email mus-grad@osu.edu.