Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnomusicology

The graduate program in ethnomusicology offers rigorous training in the intellectual history of the field, theory, fieldwork, ethnography, transcription/analysis, and area studies. Our ethnomusicology students not only benefit from collaboration with the faculty and students in musicology and composition, but they build an important interdisciplinary underpinning to their studies with required courses in performance studies, anthropology, critical theory, and cultural studies. We welcome any student interested in examining music in its social context. Our program is particularly strong in traditional and popular musics of the Americas, Indonesia, and Africa, with theoretical emphases on race, gender, performativity, religion, politics, and musical analysis. The small size of our graduate program allows close relationships between students and advisers.

The Department of Music at UC Davis offers four graduate programs. Three lead to the degree Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), in musicology, ethnomusicology, or composition and theory. Musicology focuses on stylistic and critical study in all historical periods, the acquisition of research skills, writing for publication, professional development, and application of critical theory. Ethnomusicology covers training in the theory, fieldwork, ethnography, transcription/analysis, and intellectual history of the subject. Composition and theory emphasizes analysis of tonal and post-tonal music, and original inventive composition by way of various approaches and methods. Students may elect to receive a Master of Arts degree en route to the Ph.D.

A bachelor's degree comparable to a degree from the University of California in both distribution of academic subject matter and scholarly achievement
Three letters of recommendation
GRE scores are not required
TOEFL or IELTS score (if applicable)
A CV and a substantial paper or papers
A minimum GPA of 3.0
An Office of Graduate Studies online application with fee by the stated admission deadline.
Transcripts (UC Davis requires academic records from each college-level institution you have attended. The minimum overall TOEFL score required for admission to graduate study at UC Davis is an 80 on the TOEFL internet-based test (iBT). The minimum overall band score required for admission to graduate study at UC Davis is 7.0 on a 9-point scale.