Musicology

Graduate Student Resources

Program Information

UCLA’s Department of Musicology is one of the most successful graduate programs in American musicology. Recent alumni of the department teach at the University of Michigan, UT Austin, UC Irvine, Michigan State, Dalhousie University, Bates College, and other schools across the nation and the world. Our intellectual community is strikingly diverse, with U.S. graduate students from all regions of the country, international students from Canada, Mexico, Holland, Bermuda, Guatemala and Korea, and visiting scholars from as far away as China and the Ukraine.

As a training-ground for the next generation of adventurous, inventive music scholars, our Ph.D. program develops students’ creative and critical voices in a wide variety of chosen subfields; provides them with rich opportunities for establishing intellectual and professional networks; and gives them pedagogical training and experience second to none. Our graduate seminars explore topics and theories from musical Nationalism to the history of improvisation, musical camp to Dufay, opéra-comique to hands-on explorations of “public musicology.” Current graduate research interests include (but are by no means limited to!) David Bowie, Soviet music theory pedagogy, early modern anglophone devotional poetry and song, proto-punk musical experimentalism, music as cultural diplomacy during the Pan American era, 17th- and 18th-century operatic adaptations of Shakespeare’s works, music in marginal cinemas (horror, slasher, etc.).

Musicology MA/PhD, Graduate Program Guide
Musicology MA/PhD, Graduate Program Guide
Musicology MA/PhD, Graduate Program Guide
Filing your thesis or dissertation
Filing your thesis or dissertation
Filing your thesis or dissertation
Division of Graduate Education
Division of Graduate Education
Division of Graduate Education

As you progress through your programs, pause to explore the resources we’ve gathered to assist you in navigating your studies. This page contains petitions, forms, and exam details for our graduate students in The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

We aim to support you in achieving your academic aspirations and succeeding in your educational journey. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office with any questions you may have. Let’s work together to create a roadmap for your success and celebrate your achievements along the way!

Office of Student Affairs
1642 Schoenberg Music Building
UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
445 Charles E Young Drive E
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1616
Phone: 310-206-5802

Musicology Graduate Petitions and Forms

Graduate Departmental Course Petition 

Graduate Departmental Course Petition 

This petition is used to substitute courses taken within the department or an outside department and have them count towards a degree required course. Students are only able to substitute courses taken at UCLA only. Students requesting transfer of credit from an outside institution must use Graduate Division’s Graduate Degree Petition.

Musicology 596 Enrollment Petition 

This petition serves as a course proposal for enrollment into the 596 courses directed to individual studies. Prior to completing this petition, the student must contact the instructor they plan to complete their assignment with to confirm they will be available to work with the student in the requested quarter. This petition must be approved by relevant faculty and filed with the SAO prior to enrollment.

Musicology Doctoral Committee & Dissertation Topic Request 

This form is used to request the department approval of the student’s doctoral committee and dissertation topic. This will be submit in conjunction with the Nomination of Doctoral Committee Form.

Nomination Doctoral Committee Form, Graduate Division 

This form is used to nominate your doctoral committee with the Division of Graduate Education. Once all signatures are completed, the SAO will submit the form to the Division of Graduate Education. Allow two weeks for processing after the nomination has been submitted by the SAO to the Graduate Division. The committee must be appointed prior to holding the University Oral Qualifying Examination.

Language Petition

*Not a DocuSign form* Once you have completed your language requirement, please complete this form, sign, and submit to Bria Russ

PhD students are required to master a language, other than English, as part of their doctoral studies. The Language Petition will need to be submitted to Bria Russ once you have completed one of the following:

  1. Passed a departmental examination;
  2. Completed five quarters or four semesters of training in an approved secondary language (must have been completed within the last five years before admission with a grade of B or higher);
  3. Placed at level six on the Foreign Language Placement Examination;
  4. Petitioned to use fluency in a native language as a secondary language.

All coursework and the language requirement will need to be complete prior to beginning exams for both full and advanced track students. Exceptions can be made by the department to those that may have one or two courses in the same quarter as the exam.

Students entering with an MA will not be required to present an MA Research Paper but will need to complete the comprehensive exam, written and oral portion.