Applicants may be admitted to the program if they have a minimum B+ average in a Bachelor of Music or other relevant degree program in the Humanities or Social Sciences with a specialization in music or closely related performance genre. Applicants whose professional music training took place outside the university system are also encouraged to apply, provided they have the academic equivalent of the qualifications described above.

The M.A. program will normally be completed within six consecutive semesters of full-time study of coursework. Students may apply to the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee to pursue the coursework and Major Research Paper option. In special circumstances, a student may apply to complete the degree through coursework and a thesis. Demonstration of competence in a language other than English may be required, if it is warranted by the student’s proposed research.

1. M.A. with coursework

   1. Students must normally complete a minimum of 30 credit hours. Further courses beyond the minimum number may be required, depending on the background of the student. The required courses are:

      1. Music 7001; Folklore 6030; Folklore 6100

      2. Twenty-one credit hours to be selected from the Music and Folklore courses listed below; one elective (3 credit hours) may be a relevant course offered in another discipline (with the approval of the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee).

2. M.A. with coursework and a major research paper (available by special application to the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee)

   1. Students must normally complete a minimum of 24 credit hours plus a major research paper (Music 7002). Further courses beyond the minimum number may be required, depending on the background of the student. The required courses are:

      1. Music 7001; Folklore 6030; Folklore 6100

      2. Fifteen credit hours to be selected from the Music and Folklore courses listed below; one elective (3 credit hours) may be a relevant course offered in another discipline (with the approval of the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee).

   2. Students will complete a major research paper (Music 7002) on a topic chosen by the student and approved by their supervisor. A successful major research paper will use contemporary theories and methods from ethnomusicology and folklore to understand a musical practice, music scene, or music culture.

   3. A major research paper proposal—consisting of a statement of topic, working title, plan of research (including proposed methodology), and preliminary bibliography—must be submitted to the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee by the end of the student’s first term. Proposals will be evaluated on their scholarly merit and the feasibility of completing the project within the degree program’s timeline.

   4. Supervision will be assigned at the discretion of the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee no later than the end of the first semester in the program.

3. M.A. with coursework and a thesis (available by special application to the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee)

   1. Students must normally complete a minimum of 21 credit hours plus a thesis. The required courses are:

      1. Music 7001; Folklore 6030; Folklore 6100

      2. Twelve credit hours to be selected from the Music and Folklore courses listed below; one elective (3 credit hours) may be a relevant course offered in another discipline (with the approval of the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee).

   2. Thesis submitted in accordance with General Regulations, Theses and Reports of the School of Graduate Studies. A thesis proposal, consisting of a statement of topic, working title, plan of research, and preliminary bibliography, with the name of the preferred Supervisor, shall be submitted by the student to the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee no later than the end of the second term of study.

Theories and Methods:

• Music 6002 Graduate Seminar
• Music 6900 Public and Applied Ethnomusicology
• Music 7001 Research Problems and Methods in Ethnomusicology
• Music 7003 The Politics of Ethnographic Video Methods in Ethnomusicology (credit may be received for only one of Music 6807, 7003, or 7803)
• Music 7800 Expressive Culture, Music, and the Politics of Performance
• Music 7803 Radio Documentary Production (credit may be received for only one of Music 6807, 7003, or 7803)
• Folklore 6030 Folklore Theories
• Folklore 6050 Issues in Folkloristics
• Folklore 6060 Foundations of Performance Studies
• Folklore 6070 Issues in Folklife
• Folklore 6240 Folklore and Nationalism
• Folklore 6370 Ritual, Festival, and Public Display
• Folklore 6380 Perspectives on Cultural Tourism
• Folklore 6740 Public Sector Folklore
• Folklore 6760 Archiving
• Folklore 6790 Museums: Perspectives and Practices
• Folklore 6800 Applied Folklore
• Folklore 7000 Advanced Folkloristics I
• Folklore 7100 Advanced Folkloristics II: Research and Ethnography

Genres and Culture Practices:

• Music 7005 Performance Option
• Music 7010 Musics of Asia and Oceania
• Music 7011 Musics of Africa and the Americas
• Music 7017 Folksong - inactive course.
• Music 7018 History of Jazz
• Folklore 6010 Survey of Folklore Genres and Processes
• Folklore 6100 Song and Music
• Folklore 6120 Ballad
• Folklore 6130 Folk Music Canons and Documentary Sound Recordings
• Folklore 6200 Folktale
• Folklore 6210 Legend
• Folklore 6220 Personal Narrative
• Folklore 6260 Ethnography of Communications
• Folklore 6300 Ethnography of Belief
• Folklore 6310 Health Systems
• Folklore 6350 Custom
• Folklore 6400 Material Culture
• Folklore 6410 Vernacular Architecture
• Folklore 6420 Art and the Artifact
• Folklore 6430 Food and Culture
• Folklore 6510 Occupational Folklife
• Folklore 6720 Folklore and Literature

Sites of Music Making and Social Identities:

• Music 7006 Urban Ethnomusicology
• Music 7007 Music in the Study of Gender, Race and Class
• Music 7009 Music and Place - inactive course.
• Music 7013 Music and Culture
• Music 7802 Music and Intercultural Processes
• Folklore 6730 Folklore, Gender, and Sexuality
• Folklore 6770 The Global and the Local
• Folklore 6780 Ethnicities

Interdisciplinary Perspectives:

• Music 7008 Media Studies
• Folklore 6710 Oral Tradition and Oral History
• Folklore 6750 Popular Culture: Theory and Debate

Independent Study:

• Music 7002 Research Paper
• Music 7026-29 Directed Reading in Ethnomusicology
• Folklore 6570-79 Reading Courses in Folklore

Special Topics:

• Music 6800-09 Special Topics in Music (excluding Music 6807) 
• Music 7800-09 Special Topics in Music (excluding Music 7800, 7802, and 7803) 
• Folklore 6511-29 Special Topics in Folklore