Critical Music Studies

The graduate program in Critical Music Studies (CMS) takes a broad approach to the humanistic study of music and sound.Faculty andstudents develop research projects that freely engage musicology, music theory, and ethnomusicology and their interdisciplines. The program of study is flexible, responsive to students’ interests and needs, and to the diversity of musical experiences and phenomena throughout history and around the world. Coursework, advising committees, and dissertation topics routinely cross disciplinary boundaries. 

CMS typically makes one to three funded offers of admission each year. These offers come with full funding renewable for up to five years, in the form of a tuition and fee scholarship, stipend, and subsidized health insurance. As of Oct. 1, 2023, the annual stipend is $26,000; for more information on rates and eligibility, see theGraduate School website). We regularly nominate students for competitive fellowships such as theStony Brook University Graduate Council Fellowship and theTurner Fellowship that substantially increase financial support.