Musicology & Ethnomusicology

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The musicology program at Lamont offers students specializing in either musicology or ethnomusicology the opportunity to explore historical, social and analytical perspectives on global music. Students take courses on a broad range of topics and, with the support of faculty mentorship, write a thesis that contributes to the field on a topic of their choosing. Students in the program also serve as graduate teaching assistants for our undergraduate survey courses. Along with providing a scholarship and stipend, graduate teaching assistant positions allow degree candidates to immediately gain teaching experience.

The musicology department is chaired by Dr. Sarah Morelli, who specializes in Hindustani music and kathak dance, both classical performance traditions of South Asia. She leads the DU North Indian Classical Ensemble, and has studied with some of India's most noted performing artists. Her book, A Guru’s Journey: Pandit Chitresh Das and Indian Classical Dance in Diaspora (2019), examines processes of culture-change in the "California gharana" (school) of kathak dance. She also performs kathak nationally and internationally as a solo artist and member of the Leela Dance Collective.

Dr. Morelli recently sat down for an interview about the department's offerings:

0:00 - Dr. Morelli's background
4:08 - An overview of the Master of Arts in Musicology
4:41 - What is a typical week for a musicology student?
5:50 - What are the duties of graduate teaching assistants?
8:02 - What are some things that graduates go on to do?
9:18 - What are the ensembles available in the musicology department?
11:29 - What other faculty members teach musicology at Lamont?
15:58 - Final thoughts

Application and Portfolio Requirements

Graduate (MA)

Completion of an appropriate undergraduate degree or the equivalent.
Applicants must complete the graduate application, including transcript(s), three letters of recommendation, and a personal statement of academic and professional goals and objectives. Include your future goals and purpose for applying to the Musicology program.
Applicants must also submit an essay or research paper on a topic in musicology, ethnomusicology or music history. This paper should demonstrate critical and independent thinking in conjunction with the appropriate use of primary and secondary sources.
A personal statement of at least 300 words is required. This statement should include information concerning the applicant's life, education, experiences, interests and reason for applying to DU's MA program in Musicology.
Musicology Graduate Teaching Assistants lead discussion sections on a regular basis. Thus, please submit a 5-10 minute video of your teaching. In the ideal video, you will teach some musical/musicological concept to a group of two (2) or more people (three [3] or more preferred) in an interactive manner (i.e., not solely in a lecture format).

Non-Musicology Applicants Interested in a Musicology GTA

If you are applying to a master's program outside of musicology, and you would like to be considered for a graduate teaching assistantship (GTA) in musicology, you must complete items #3 and #5 in the Graduate (MA) section, as well as the following:

A personal statement of academic and professional goals and objectives. Include your future goals and purpose for applying to the graduate teaching assistantship in musicology.
A letter of recommendation specifically addressing your academic performance.

Please contact Professor Sarah Morelli, Chair of the Department of Musicology & Ethnomusicology, at Sarah.Morelli@du.edu with questions and for more information.