As part of our How to Fully Fund Your Ph.D. series, we’ve compiled a list of music Ph.D. programs that provide full support to their students. A Ph.D. in music or related disciplines can lead to a wide range of rewarding careers. Among the various possibilities, you could work as a performance artist, a university professor, or a composer.

Read more on this post to see further details on fully funded phd programs in music, phd in human rights and peace studies, fully funded jdphd programs, phd law distance learning, and best jdphd programs.

Online Music Degree Programs

Degree programs in music performance aren’t generally offered online, but several schools offer online music education programs in related areas. Read about the different programs available, common coursework, related programs and the online study process.View Schools

What Types of Music Degree Programs Are Available Online?

By their very nature, degree programs in music performance, composition and conducting don’t translate very well to the online classroom. However, several schools offer online master’s degree programs in music education. These may lead to a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Music Education or a Master of Music in Music Education.

Degree Level	Master’s
Online Options	Not offered in music performance, composition or conducting; more often online programs are found in music education or a related field of study
Common Courses	Music history, composition, music analysis, music literature
Admission Requirements	Bachelor’s in a related program, GPA scores and teaching experience; exams may also be involved
Related Online Programs	Bachelor of Science in Music Business or Production, master’s in music therapy
Online Study Process	Involves lectures, videos, exams, discussions and group projects
Median Salary (2020)	$52,250 (for all music directors and composers)*
Job Outlook (2019-2029)	2% growth (for all music directors and composers)*

Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

What Will I Study in a Music Education Program?

A master’s program in music education includes courses in music history and philosophy, musical cultures, composition, music analysis and musical literature. You’ll also focus on educational topics, such as music education and the Internet, educational psychology, research techniques for music education and primary school music. Programs generally culminate with a capstone project or research paper and a cumulative exam. Most programs consist of 30-36 credit hours and take two years to complete.

To enroll in an online master’s degree program in music education, you typically need a bachelor’s degree in music or music education, a minimum undergraduate GPA and 1-2 years of prior teaching experience. Your program may require you to take proctored exams in music history and theory at a designated testing site to ensure you meet the minimum standards for enrollment. You may be required to complete remedial classes if you fail any of these exams.

Are Other Types of Online Music Programs Available?

A few schools offer other types of online music programs, although these programs are very rare. At the undergraduate level, you can pursue an online Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Music Business or Music Production. You can also pursue a unique master’s degree in music therapy entirely online.

fully funded phd programs in music

“Full funding” is a financial aid package for students that includes full tuition remission and an annual stipend or salary for the duration of the student’s doctoral studies. Full funding is not universal, so it’s essential that you research the financial aid offerings of all the potential Ph.D. programs in your academic field, including small and lesser-known schools.

You can also find several external fellowships in the ProFellow database for graduate and doctoral study, including opportunities for funding for dissertation research, fieldwork, language study and summer work experiences.

Brandeis University, Ph.D. in Musicology or Musical Composition and Theory (Waltham, MA): Funding includes a competitive fellowship, a full-tuition scholarship, and health insurance benefits. All doctoral candidates teach some semesters as part of their academic program.

Brown University, Ph.D. in Music (Providence, RI): All Ph.D. students receive full funding for 5 years, including costs for tuition and health insurance, plus stipends for fellowships and teaching assistantships.

City University of New York, DMA or Ph.D. in Music (New York, NY): All students admitted into the Graduate Center music programs will receive tuition remission. Most Ph.D. and several D.M.A. students will receive a 5-year Graduate Center Fellowship.

Cornell University, Ph.D. in Musicology (Ithaca, NY): Every student accepted into the Ph.D. program at Cornell receives five years of guaranteed funding, including financial support for four summers. Every student is given a fellowship for the first year; a second year of fellowship year may be taken in the fourth or fifth year, or may be deferred if outside funding is procured by the student. The remaining three years of funding are in the form of teaching assistantships. Student Health Insurance is provided under fellowship and teaching assistantships.

Duke University, Ph.D. in Composition, Ethnomusicology, or Musicology (Durham, NC): All admitted students to the graduate program in the Duke Department of Music receive a Fellowship, which includes full tuition and an income stipend for the five years of the program.

Georgia Institute of Technology, Ph.D. in Music Technology (Atlanta, GA): Our Ph.D. in Music Technology is a fully funded program, including a monthly stipend and tuition waiver. In this program, our students focus on novel research with a broad impact on music, collaborating with faculty on a variety of topics.

Harvard University, Ph.D. in Music (Boston, MA): Graduate students are awarded six years guaranteed funding (including living expenses) when accepted to a Ph.D. program.

Princeton University, Ph.D. in Musicology and Ph.D. in Composition (Princeton, NJ): All Music Department graduate students receive tuition scholarship and a 12-month stipend for the full five years of the program. Additional resources include a research budget (Bryan Fund), funding for summer language study, and subsidized private voice or instrumental studio instruction. After the five-year program, students are eligible to be nominated by the graduate school for sixth-year funding and may supplement their income with teaching as available.

Stanford University, DMA in Composition, Ph.D. in Computer Based Music Theory and Acoustics (CBMTA), or Ph.D. in Musicology (Stanford, CA): In the first year, all students receive full tuition and a fellowship stipend. During years 2-5, students receive tuition and a salaried assistantship. Two summers are also provided for and include tuition and a salary as a research assistant.