Music Theory Area

 

Evolve your understanding of music.

The º£½ÇÉçÇø School of Music offers rigorous music theory programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Our faculty comprises leading scholars in the fields of twentieth-and twenty first-century music, music of the American experimental and avant-garde traditions, pop and metal music, theory pedagogy, music and mathematics, transformational theory, Soviet/Russian music, and linear analysis.

  • Our undergraduate curriculum – integrated across multiple degree programs within the School of Music – is designed to strengthen our students’ analytical skills and musicianship through intensive studies in tonal harmony and counterpoint, form and analysis, chromaticism, and post-tonal theory. 
  • Our graduate programs – offered at the master's and doctoral (PhD) levels – offer intensive studies in areas of music theory that prepare students for further specialized study and scholarly and academic careers, respectively. The graduate curriculum includes a varied pedagogical methodology, including flipped classroom learning, multimedia resources, and in-class performance to help our students integrate classroom knowledge and knowledge acquisition skills with performance craft.

A culture of close collaboration with the School's programs in musicology, composition, and digital media offer a variety of unique pathways for our students to pursue their scholarship and development goals. Graduate assistantships are also available on a highly competitive basis.