MA Music at University of California, Riverside

Programme overview

The Department of Music offers MA and PhD degrees in digital composition, ethnomusicology and musicology, emphasising collaboration between faculty and students and work connecting creative practice with scholarly research.

Faculty: College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences | Department: Music | Intake: Fall | Study mode: full-time | Location: Riverside, CA, United States

What you will study

Three areas: digital composition (electroacoustic, multimedia, acoustic composition, music production), ethnomusicology (Latin America, Indigenous traditions of the Americas, hip hop and diasporic forms) and musicology (Iberian, Latin American and Western repertoires, popular music and media studies).

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Graduate Division (university-wide): bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution or recognized international equivalent; minimum 3.0 undergraduate GPA (some programs set a higher standard); transcripts, statement of purpose and letters of recommendation; English proficiency (TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic 7 with no component below 6) unless the prior degree was taught in English; GRE/GMAT only where the program requires it (many no longer do). Source: graduate.ucr.edu/admission-requirements.

UC Riverside operates a quarter system. Summer begins mid-June, Fall late September, Winter early January and Spring late March/early April. Most graduate programmes admit and begin in the Fall quarter only.

New domestic applicants: Fall January 5 (fellowship consideration) / June 1 (admission only), Winter November 1, Spring February 1, Summer May 1. New international applicants: Fall January 5 (fellowship consideration) / June 1 (admission only), Winter September 1, Spring December 1, Summer March 1. A few programmes have deadlines after June 1 and some have earlier programme deadlines. The Winter 2027 and Spring 2027 applications are open for select programmes only; the Summer/Fall 2027 application opened September 1, 2026, with rolling review for most programmes.

Apply through the official page: https://grad.ucr.edu/apply/

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