Applications must be done to the graduate school online.

Stony Brook's music programs have grown out of an unusual partnership between the academy and the conservatory. Our degree programs are designed to favor interaction among musical disciplines that have traditionally been kept separate. We believe that a sound education for any musician or musical scholar must involve three things: a solid theoretical grasp of musical structure, an understanding of the historical and cultural forces that shape music, and practical experience with music-making on a professional level. The performance programs at Stony Brook all have an academic component, and the programs in history/theory and composition are enriched by daily contact with students and faculty in the performance programs. Our graduate courses typically have a healthy mix of students from all areas: in a course in computer music you might find a clarinetist exploring computer-interactive performance working next to a musicologist using sound-processing equipment to transcribe an improvised solo.

Interdisciplinary studies are central to the educational philosophy of the department. A number of courses are team-taught by two or more faculty members, examining topics from several disciplinary viewpoints. Many courses examine music in a broader social context. The music of the 20th (and 21st!) century is a particular emphasis of both our performance and academic programs, but other musical eras and traditions are also amply represented. Students can choose seminars from a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from medieval music theory to ethnomusicology to popular music. We frequently offer courses or productions in collaboration with the departments of Philosophy, Comparative Studies, Theater Arts, and Art, the programs in Cultural Studies and Womens' Studies, or the Stony Brook Humanities Institute. The department encourages the development of professional competence in more than one area of musical study. Opportunity for advanced work in more than one area is innate to the design of the programs at the doctoral level. For students at that level who propose to do serious work both in performance and in some other area, the decision to pursue either the D.M.A. or the Ph.D. degree will depend upon the balance of emphases in the intended program of study.

Performing organizations for students in the M.M. and D.M.A. programs include Collegium Musicum, Chamber Music, Camerata Singers, Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, Contemporary Chamber Players, and Opera Workshop, an interdisciplinary course given together with the Theatre Arts Department. Of particular interest to composers in the M.A. and Ph.D. programs are the activities of the Contemporary Chamber Players (CCP). For more information, consult these links:
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/music.nsf/pages/ccp4
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/music.nsf/pages/ccp3
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/music.nsf/pages/season5

The Master Of Arts in Composition, Ethnomusicology, or History/Theory

Students in these programs take a series of core courses in their discipline, including work in theory, methodology, analysis, and history. The first year often involves one or two semesters of intensive ear-training in MUS 505-506. Historians take MUS 500, Introduction to Musical Research, and several other topics seminars. In addition to MUS 500, ethnomusicogists take core courses in the intellectual history of ethnomusicology and in research methodologies as well as topics and area seminars. In addition to regular composition lessons, composers often take MUS 501, an intensive review of counterpoint and tonal harmony; they also take MUS 515-516, the introduction to electronic music.

In the second year of the masters program, historians and ethnomusicologists write a short thesis growing out of seminar work, and composers develop a portfolio to be reviewed by the composition faculty. At the end of the second year, all masters students take comprehensive exams in musical analysis; history/theory and ethnomusicology students also take a comprehensive exam on basic repertoire and literature in their respective discipline. For more information, please refer to the following pages:
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/music.nsf/pages/gradhistory
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/music.nsf/pages/gradethno


The Master of Music

First-year MM students typically take one or two semesters of intensive ear-training in Mus 505-506. MM students must also take one history and one theory course for the degree; beyond that, the focus of the program is on performance. Participation in the orchestra is required of all orchestral musicians.

Doctoral students must have a masters degree, either from Stony Brook or another institution. Under special circumstances, masters' students at Stony Brook may begin work on their doctoral degree before they have completed all Masters requirements.

The PhD in Composition, Ethnomusicology, or History/Theory

In the first year of study, PhD students are assigned a faculty directing committee, with whom they create their own curriculum by drawing up a doctoral contract The contract lists courses to be taken and projected work (compositions or research papers). Ethnomusicology students have further required courses, although most of the curriculum is elective. The contract also requires foreign language competence and the presentation of a public colloquium. Students who did not complete their masters at Stony Brook must also take the comprehensive exams required of masters students.

Prior to advancing to candidacy (normally after two or three years in the program), history/theory and ethnomusicology candidates take an oral exam in their field of specialization, and present a prospectus for their thesis. For composers, the thesis is an extended composition. For more information, please refer to the following pages:
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/music.nsf/pages/gradhistory
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/music.nsf/pages/gradethno

The Doctor of Musical Arts

In the first year of study, DMA students create their own curriculum by drawing up a doctoral contract with a committee consisting of their major teacher and their academic advisor. The contract lists courses to be taken, projected topics for their doctoral essays and lecture-recital, and a sketch of the contents of the first four required recitals (there is a final doctoral recital in addition to these four recitals). The D.M.A. also has a foreign language requirement, and many students study a language in their first year.

In subsequent years, students complete the requirements of their contracts. They can advance to candidacy (typically after two years in the program) after they have given 3 recitals, a lecture-recital, passed the language requirement, and made a substantial beginning on their doctoral essays. The final stage of the degree is a final doctoral recital; the students are also examined on the contents of the recital by a special committee.

for more information, please contact: Judith Lochhead, Graduate Program Director Music_Grad@notes.cc.sunysb.edu