The graduate program in Music Studies at the University of Pennsylvania serves students who intend to conduct cutting-edge research, produce high-quality scholarship, and develop teaching and professional skills in order to pursue academic positions in music studies; it also serves those who want to consider career opportunities beyond academia in both music and non-music domains. Faculty apply methodological tools from ethnomusicology, sound studies, musicology, and music theory to a wide range of research projects. The goal of the graduate program is not to entrench these disciplinary distinctions, but rather to seek out productive and innovative means of placing them in dialogue with each other. This orientation toward holding all of the sub-disciplines in view is reflected in the graduate curriculum as well as in the multiple colloquium series that animate departmental life. The curriculum is designed with flexibility in mind"designed specifically to offer students the freedom to craft a path of study that best addresses the research needs and methodological concerns of their particular dissertation projects. It combines the wide range of courses offered by the world-class faculty in the music department with the possibility of enrolling in seminars in other Penn departments and taking classes at consortium schools such as Princeton, Yale, and Columbia. Our colloquium series provides another means of engaging in both disciplinary and interdisciplinary conversations. In addition, workshops, public performances, and working papers presented by graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty offer a wide range of perspectives on musical practice and scholarship, focusing variously on public lives in music, current research, craft and compositional issues. The faculty is particularly interested in teaching and research in the following areas: Archives, Textualities, and Materialities; Audio Politics and Sound Studies; Conflict, Healing, and Displacement; Gender, Sexuality, and the Body; Global Medieval/Renaissance; the Global South; History, Memory, and Intangible Heritage; Life Forms and Forms of Life; Opera and Performance Studies; Race, Ethnicity, and Empire; and Religion, Ritual, and Secularism. The Department of Music at the University of Pennsylvania also offers a Ph.D. program in composition.
PhD in Music: Music Studies at University of Pennsylvania
International students can study the Music: Music Studies at University of Pennsylvania at its main campus in Philadelphia, United States of America. This PhD degree is available as a Full Time program delivered on campus in English. The program has a duration of 4 years and is offered at the university's main campus. Students can apply for the next intake starting on May 22, 2027.
About PhD in Music: Music Studies
Disciplines
Requirements and Admission Criteria for PhD in Music: Music Studies at University of Pennsylvania
Entry Requirements
Our admission decisions are made prior to the announcement of results for many national examinations (such as the A Levels or French Baccalaureate), but applicants are expected to be enrolled in programs that prepare them for these examinations. If you are enrolled in a program that will not release external examination results prior to our application deadlines, you must request that your school send us predictions of external examination results along with your grades.
Where national examinations are required for admission to a pre-university program (such as the IGCSE or the SPM), you should have received high marks on these examinations and should present certified copies of the results with your Penn application.
Students in our diverse global community have a wide range of passions, perspectives, and talents. Beyond academics, we would like to learn about your non-scholarly interests, extracurricular activities, and community service (though we recognize that patterns for non-academic involvement vary from country to country).
English Requirements
- IELTSMin 7
- TOEFLMin 100
Tuition and Fee Information for PhD in Music: Music Studies at University of Pennsylvania
How to Apply for PhD in Music: Music Studies at University of Pennsylvania
Offline Recommendation
Penn strongly prefers that recommenders submit letters of recommendation online through the admissions system. If, however, your recommender is unable to submit an online recommendation, please follow these instructions:
1) Select the “Recommendation Form PDF Download” and download the form.
2) Complete the first section. Be sure to include the address of the appropriate admissions office — refer to the "Contact Graduate Admissions" list below.
3) Print out the form and provide it to your recommender.
Please note:
- If you are applying to a program in Nursing, print out and provide your recommender with these special instructions for completing your letter of recommendation.
- If you are applying to a program in the School of Social Policy & Practice, print out and provide your recommender with these special instructions for completing your letter of recommendation.
4) Your recommender should send the form directly to the admissions office you designate, along with the letter of recommendation.
United States of America, Philadelphia