MA Music (Musicology) at Arizona State University

Programme overview

In the Master of Arts program in music with a concentration in musicology, faculty provide and participate in multisensory learning experiences concerning musical genres, styles and forms, performance and listening practices, instruments, spaces, philosophies, musical infrastructures and geographic locations. Faculty comprises leading scholars specializing in Western and non-Western music, particularly traditions in the Americas and music of the Middle East, Central Asia, Latin America and Indonesia.

What you will study

30 credit hours, a thesis, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam and a foreign language exam Required Core (14 credit hours) MHL 532 Music Bibliography (3) MHL 691 Seminars (6) music theory (5) Electives (8 credit hours) music electives (5-8) open electives (0-3) Other Requirement (2 credit hours) performance ensembles (2) Culminating Experience (6 credit hours) MHL 599 Thesis (6) Additional Curriculum Information Completion of diagnostic exams in musicology and music theory is required of all new graduate music students prior to enrollment in courses for these programs through the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre.

Career pathways

The School of Music, Dance and Theatre graduate programs inspire and empower students to become creative leaders who transform society through music. Career examples: community arts advocate, musicologist, performing musician, public or community school teacher, university professor.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a U.S. bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree from an institution in another country that is officially recognized by that country. Applicants must have achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 credit hours or 90 quarter hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

Domestic applicants: USD 13,327 a year (2026-27). Arizona resident tuition. Tuition only for the graduate on-campus (Tempe/Downtown Phoenix/Polytechnic/West Valley) rate band in the ASU tuition estimator, 2026-27: Fall 2026 plus Spring 2027 term tuition summed (full-time flat rate; part-time credit loads Source

International applicants: USD 24,780 a year (2026-27). International tuition. Tuition only for the graduate on-campus (Tempe/Downtown Phoenix/Polytechnic/West Valley) rate band in the ASU tuition estimator, 2026-27: Fall 2026 plus Spring 2027 term tuition summed (full-time flat rate; part-time credit loads ar Source

Entry terms: Fall, Spring and Summer; the terms available for each programme are listed in Degree Search.

Graduate application deadlines are set by each programme office and listed in Degree Search; the application opens almost a year before the start term. The nonrefundable application fee is $75 for U.S. citizens, permanent residents, DACA and international online students outside the U.S., and $120 for international students on a nonimmigrant visa studying in the U.S. Apply with ASU's graduate application (Law applicants use the law college's site); GRE/GMAT requirements vary by programme.

Apply through the official page: https://admission.asu.edu/apply/graduate/admission

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