Master of Arts in Music, Emphasis Musicology (MA)

Overview

The M.A. and Ph.D. programs in musicology at the UBC School of Music offer students advanced training leading to professional careers in teaching and scholarly research. Graduate students enjoy a program that balances sound historical methods with critical interpretation, and forges interdisciplinary connections to music theory, ethnomusicology, and the humanities in general. The musicology faculty’s areas of expertise range from Medieval repertories through music of the 21st century, and represent a variety of scholarly approaches and critical methods.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

What makes the program unique?

Musicology at UBC is expansive. The four faculty members work on music from the Middle Ages to the present day. Their work also stretches across genres, among them, classical, Asian traditions, jazz, and popular music. They also engage a wide range of critical approaches, including sound studies, transnationalism, disability studies, religious cultures, gender studies, queer studies, and social justice. The Musicology Division inspires students to adopt a far-reaching, interdisciplinary vision in their work.

Quick Facts

Faculty Faculty of Arts

Academic Unit School of Music

Specialization Musicology

Mode of delivery In person at UBC Vancouver

Program Components Coursework + Options

Tuition (First Year) Domestic: 5,626.02 | International: 9,883.98

Research Information

Research Highlights

Prof. Alex Fisher

“Thesaurus litaniarium: The Symbolism and Practice of Musical Litanies in Counter-Reformation

Germany.” Early Music History 34 (2015): 45-95.

Music, Piety, and Propaganda: The Soundscapes of Counter-Reformation Bavaria. New York:

Oxford University Press, 2014.

Music and Religious Identity in Counter-Reformation Augsburg, 1580-1630. Aldershot: Ashgate

Press, 2004.

“Thesaurus litaniarium: The Symbolism and Practice of Musical Litanies in Counter-Reformation

Germany.” Early Music History 34 (2015): 45-95.

“Per mia particolare devotione: Orlando di Lasso’s Lagrime di San Pietro and Jesuit Spirituality in

Counter-Reformation Munich.” Journal of the Royal Musical Association 132 (2007): 167–220.

Prof. Hedy Law

Music, Pantomime, and Freedom in Enlightenment France. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press,

2020.

“Music, Bacchus, and Freedom.” In Oxford Handbook of Music and the Body, edited by Youn

Kim and Sander L. Gilman, 161–176. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.

“Harpocrates at Work: How the God of Silence Protected Eighteenth-Century French

Iconoclasts.” In Oxford Handbook of Music and Censorship, edited by Patricia Hall, 153–174. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.

“Composing Citoyennes through Sapho (1794).” The Opera Quarterly 32, no.1 (Winter 2016): 5–

28.

Prof. Claudio Vellutini

“Donizetti, Vienna, Cosmopolitanism," Journal of the American Musicological Society 73 (2020),

1-52

"Interpreting the Italian Voice in London (and Elsewhere), in London Voices, 1820-1840: Vocal

Performers, Practices, Histories, ed. by Roger Parker and Susan Rutherford: 51-69. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2019.

"Fanny Tacchinardi-Persiani, Carlo Balocchino, and Italian Opera Business in Vienna, Paris, and

London (1837-1845)," Cambridge Opera Journal 30 (2019): 259-304.

"Opera and Monuments: Verdi's Ernani in Vienna and the Construction of Dynastic

Memory," Cambridge Opera Journal 29 (2017): 215-39.

David Metzer

“Repeated Borrowing: The Case of ‘Es ist genug.’” Journal of the American Musicological Society

71 (2018): 703-48.

The Ballad in American Popular Music: From Elvis to Beyoncé. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 2017.

Musical Modernism at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 2009.

Quotation and Cultural Meaning in Twentieth-Century Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 2003.

Research Focus

Each of the four members of the Musicology Division has distinctive areas of expertise. Prof. Alex Fisher concentrates on aspects of religious culture and sound studies in music of the early modern period. He also leads the Early Music Ensemble. Prof. Hedy Law studies 18th-century French music, examining issues related to the Enlightenment, citizenship, and dance and bodily movement. Prof. Vellutini focuses on 19th-century Italian music, especially the transnationalism of Italian opera, opera singers and productions, and cosmopolitanism. Prof. David Metzer studies aspects of aesthetics, emotional expression, and social justice in classical and popular music of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Division has supervised theses dealing with topics across a broad range of periods, genres, and critical issues.

Program Components

Prescribed curricula are flexible, providing latitude to meet diverse individual needs. A thesis is required and the program is normally of two-year’s duration.

Facilities

From the state-of-the-art Chan Centre for Performing Arts, one of North America's premier musical venues, to the historic Old Auditorium, intimate Roy Barnett Recital Hall and university-wide facilities such as the Emerging Media Labs, musicology graduate students at UBC have access to world-class facilities.

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Fees	Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat	International
Application Fee	$118.50	$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year	3	3
Tuition per installment	$1,875.34	$3,294.66
Tuition per year (plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)	$5,626.02	$9,883.98
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible)		$3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)	$1,144.10 (approx.)
Costs of living	Estimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.

* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

Students admitted to the School of Music’s graduate programs are automatically considered for scholarships under the GSI (Graduate Support Initiative) program. These competitive awards typically range from $1,000 to 12,000 and are guaranteed for two to four years.

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union.

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans.

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

UBC has working agreements with MPower Financing - an organization providing international students with no-cosigner, no-collateral education loans to study in Canada - and Windmill Microlending - an organization providing loans to skilled immigrants.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 24 hours a week during academic sessions.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement.

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

ENROLMENT DATA

	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Applications	6	3	10	9	10
Offers	2	1	3	2	2
New Registrations	1	0	2	1	1
Total Enrolment	1	2	4	3	2

Disclaimer

Admissions data refer to all UBC Vancouver applications, offers, new registrants for each registration year, May to April, e.g. data for 2022 refers to programs starting in 2022 Summer and 2022 Winter session, i.e. May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. Data on total enrolment reflects enrolment in Winter Session Term 1 and are based on snapshots taken on November 1 of each registration year.

Program Website

Program Enquiries

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Supervisor Search

Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form.

Master of Arts in Music, Emphasis Musicology (MA)

Overview

What makes the program unique?

Quick Facts

Admission Information & Requirements

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

English Language Test

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Other Test Scores

Prior degree, course and other requirements

Prior Degree Requirements

Course Requirements

Document Requirements

2) Meet Deadlines

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts

Letters of reference

Statement of Interest

Supervision

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program

Citizenship Verification

4) Apply Online

Research Information

Research Highlights

Research Focus

Program Components

Facilities

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Financial Support

Program Funding Packages

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Foreign government scholarships

Working while studying

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Cost Estimator

Career Options

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

ENROLMENT DATA

Disclaimer

Research Supervisors

Supervision

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program

Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

Sample Thesis Submissions

Related Programs

Same specialization

Same Academic Unit

Further Information

Specialization

UBC Calendar

Program Website

Faculty

Academic Unit

Program Identifier

Classification

Program Enquiries

Social Media Channels

Supervisor Search

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