Ph.D. in Historical Musicology

Diversity of approach and breadth of expertise distinguish graduate study in musicology (music history) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Our small and flexible program provides a supportive environment to pursue imaginative research grounded in close interaction and cooperation among graduate students and their faculty colleagues. Our interdisciplinary research commitment encourages students to develop original approaches that draw on recent work in history, anthropology, and cultural theory.

In the Ph.D. program, doctoral students immerse themselves within the disciplines' various critical methodologies, choose an area of research specialization, and pursue intensive studies in a related minor area. Recent seminars have addressed The Earliest Motets, The Tams-Whitmark Collection, Rousseau musician, the Concerti of J.S. Bach, Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, and Stravinsky’s Ballets. After two years of coursework, doctoral students write the preliminary examination, demonstrating detailed knowledge of a 200-year period of music history and scholarship surrounding the student’s specialization area.