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We provide unique opportunities to work closely with leading interdisciplinary scholars
The Master's degree in Musicology (historical musicology or ethnomusicology concentration) provides the opportunity for students--whose undergraduate degrees may range from performance, to music education or theory, or to disciplines further afield--to concentrate upon the study of music and related topics in specific historical and cultural contexts, developing the ability to think, write, and speak critically about music's meaning in diverse settings. The Master's degree provides a high range of flexibility in terms of electives and complementary skill sets. It is an essential preparation for doctoral coursework, but provides excellent skills for those interested in library science, public advocacy, arts administration, music journalism, and related fields.
The Musicology graduate program at Texas Tech provides the unique opportunity to work with cutting-edge scholars both within and beyond the fields of the performing arts, incorporating collaboration and cross-disciplinary research, and preparing the candidate for a range of professional, scholarly, and creative endeavors. We welcome and celebrate the role of the scholar/performer, and a large percentage of Musicology division faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students participate actively in both SOM ensembles and also those ensembles (Celtic, Collegium, and Balkan) that are sponsored by the Vernacular Music Center (click here to visit the VMC's website, which provides a comprehensive picture of activities and opportunities). In addition, the Center for Latin American Music, Arts, and Cultural Studies likewise provides many resources and opportunities. As a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and the academic home of many veteran and first-generation students, Musicology and the VMC are committed in representation, shared governance, and mutual support across all modes and ranks of participants.
Our Master's degree in Musicology provides a wide range of electives, intended to provide the candidate maximum flexibility in conceiving their research and acquiring the necessary skill-set. Candidates may opt to specialize in either ethnomusicology or historical musicology concentrations, or any synthesis of the two. The MM Musicology degree is an effective foundation for PhD study, and also for a range of professional opportunities in arts administration, public scholarship, library and museum studies, and related fields.
Likewise, at Texas Tech SOM, music academics (theory, education, composition, and history) work closely and creatively with both ensembles and individual studio performance teachers. There are many opportunities for Musicology specialists to participate in these collaborations: as players, conductors, transcribers, arrangers, and authors. Conversely, ensemble and studio performance faculty freely and productively interact with Musicology staff.
At TTU SOM, we offer the resources of a top-rank conservatory within a major Carnegie Tier-1 research university, and a College of Visual and Performing Arts. As a result, there is opportunity for scholar/performers to collaborate with like-minded creators within the SOM, with the College, and across the campus: SOM/VMC/Musicology students regularly participate in Theatre, Dance, Art, History, Classics, and English offerings (among related fields), and equally frequently are invited to collaborate with productions and educational opportunities in those other disciplines.
We provide unique opportunities to work closely with leading interdisciplinary scholars
We welcome and celebrate the role of the scholar/performer and the ways performance and scholarship can inform one another
Music academics and music performance work closely and creatively across areas
We offer the resources of a top-rank conservatory within a major Carnegie Tier-1 research university
The Musicology Master's and Fine Arts PhD degrees provide a wide range of experience, integrated research skill sets, effective and empathetic mentoring, and opportunities for imaginative and ground-breaking intellectual inquiry. Holders of these degrees graduate to top doctoral programs; to posts in a range of higher education situations from K-12 through 4-year colleges to research institutions; to work in librarianship and archival specializations; to journalism, public broadcasting, and arts administration; among many others (see Sample List of Graduates).
The Musicology division partners closely with the TTU Vernacular Music Center (founded 2000), a center for research, teaching, and advocacy in the world's vernacular musics; that is, musics that are learned, taught, and passed-on by ear and in the memory. The Musicology/VMC cohort includes experts in performance and cultural aspects in Latinx musics of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean; many North American vernaculars; Mediterranean and Balkan musics; Medieval/Renaissance/Baroque idioms; musics of North Europe; of West and North Africa; North American contemporary pop, rock, and jazz styles; and much more. In many cases, genre and period experts on the staff also lead ensembles engaged with these same repertoires, thus exemplifying our valuation of the scholar/performer. The Vernacular Music Center has its own rehearsal and study space, and a small but very carefully-curated collection of instruments from around the world, available for use by students involved in ensembles.
The VMC also partners closely with community and campus organizations, with particularly
close ties to: the Humanities Center, the School of Theatre & Dance, and the Louise
Hays Underwood Center for the Arts.
The Vernacular Music Center has its own rehearsal and study space, and a small but very carefully-curated collection of instruments from around the world, available for use by students involved in ensembles.
The VMC makes extensive use of contemporary social media for outreach, engagement, education, and recruitment, including:
(est. 2000)
Application:
Master's and PhD applicants complete an online dossier including transcripts, a writing sample, and a cover letter. Upon review of the dossier, successful candidates will be invited for an interview with the full Musicology faculty (in person or virtually), for conversation about the candidate's research interests and career goals, and ways in which TTU Musicology can most successfully assist in those goals.
Candidates with additional questions should feel free to e-mail Division Chair Angela Mariani; technical questions about the application process can also be directed to Lead Advisor Clark Preston.
In order to apply for admission into the Graduate School and the School of Music, follow these instructions.
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Music Minor Form
Christopher J. Smith
Division Chair
We provide expert instruction and mentorship in all eras of Western Art Music, Public Musicology, a range of global vernacular music topics, performance practice, ethnographic method and fieldwork, archival studies, popular musics, music history pedagogy, and a wide ranges of rotating special topics course, including:
Composer-centered courses (examples): Monteverdi, Mozart, Ellington, Ives, Zappa
Musics of the African Diaspora: musics of the Black Atlantic from the 15th to the 21st Century
Music, Folklore, and Tradition in Irish Cultural History (includes a Study Abroad component)
Introduction to Community Arts: theory, practice, case studies, service learning in community arts-making and -entrepreneurship
Dance Practices for Musicians: health, wellness, and embodied musicianship
Arts Practice Research: making, analyzing, and reporting critically on the creative process (crosslisted MUHL/VPA)
We offer a wide variety of special topics courses which range from seminars on Frank Zappa to courses on the History of Mariachi and Women and Music. Special topics rotate every semester and students may repeat upper level special topics courses for credit.
In addition, Musicology faculty members lead study abroad opportunities to Ireland, Spain, and a range of international locations.
We recognize that it can be difficult to fit courses into students' already busy schedules. We offer a number of flexible choices for many of our required courses, and include online, hybrid, and in-person options. Availability and modalities change each semester.
Students pursuing the Master of Music in Musicology degree could apply for the PhD in Fine Arts (Music/Musicology concentration) here at Texas Tech University.
Recipients of the TTU Musicology program's graduate degrees work in a range of settings within and beyond higher education, including K-12, 4-year, and research institution programs. The Master's degree is an essential preparation for doctoral coursework, but provides skills for those interested in library science, public advocacy, arts administration, music journalism, and related fields. PhD in Fine Arts recipients work in the fields of music scholarship, pedagogy, and arts administration, among other concentrations.