IMPORTANT NOTES:  

The GRE ("Graduate Record Exam") general test is required of ALL applicants to any of our graduate programs, as per Columbia GSAS rules.  (We do not require the Music Subject Area test.) 

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required of all applicants who have received an undergraduate degree from an institution in a country whose official language is not English.

  For details please see:

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsas/pages/pstudents/admissions/apply/index.html

 For complete information about the GRE or TOEFL, write to the Educational Testing Service, PP Box 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000; Tel.: (609) 771-7670; Web site: http://www.gre.org 

Introduction

The graduate program in the scholarly disciplines of musicology (leading toward the M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees) is one of two offered by the Department of Music, within the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The other program is in composition (M.A./D.M.A.). Although much of the information contained in this handbook is addressed specifically to students working toward a PhD in musicology, some of it is also useful for students working toward a DMA in musical composition.

The Music Department defines "musicology" broadly to include (but not necessarily to be limited to) ethnomusicology, historical musicology, music theory, music cognition, and music philosophy, of which the first three are designated "areas." Students may concentrate in one of these fields alone or two of them in combination, or do interdisciplinary work relating them to studies outside music.

The graduate program in musicology is strongly committed to providing students with a broadly based knowledge of music, its history, its theory, and its social and cultural contexts. The faculty seeks to foster a wide acquaintance with scholarly literature and to develop the technical skills, critical judgment, and writing and expressive abilities necessary for the pursuit of independent research.

The graduate program normatively occupies five to six years (or four to five years for those students with advanced standing). The first year and a half is spent working toward the M.A., the next two years or so toward the M.Phil., and the last two to two and a half writing a dissertation for the Ph.D.

Some Useful Handbooks and Web Addresses

GSAS Bulletin, otherwise known as the Columbia University Bulletin, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: Humanities and Social Sciences: General Announcements. This is the official publication that you should consult regularly as your primary source of information. It is available online and from 107 Low Memorial Library. The GSAS Bulletin gives information on many matters that concern you: the academic calendar and deadlines, admissions and financial aid, registration and expenses, awards, loans and employment, general and departmental requirements. Additionally, it lists those courses given from time to time by each department for a two-year period. For each course it gives the course number and title, and points (units) of credits, and where possible the name of the instructor and a brief description of content. For meeting days and times, you should consult the Directory of Classes issued at the beginning of each semester.

FACETS: Facts about Columbia Essential to Students (available from the Office of Campus Life: distributed free to all students). A detailed guide to the offices and facilities at Columbia and the services offered by these facilities.

GSAS Financial Aid. General tuition, financial aid, fellowship information, student employment possibilities and other information relevant to graduate students. Important phone numbers for offices that deal with aspects of tuition, financial aid, transcripts and health services are located on the back of this booklet.

You should also refer to Student Services On-Line for account balances, refunds, address changes, grades, holds, and transcript orders.

Schedule of Classes. Complete scheduling information for all courses offered during the semester. All Class schedules are available through the Columbia University web page.

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Center provides support to Teaching Fellows. It offers a number of useful workshops throughout the year as well as a number of other useful resources; be sure to check out its graduate school survival tips as well as its grant proposal writing tips.