COURSE CURRICULUM

The Master’s in Ethnomusicology at the University of North Texas provides students with advanced academic and research training focused on the study of music within cultural and social contexts. The program has a strong record of scholarly achievement, with students publishing research in peer-reviewed academic journals, presenting their work at international conferences, and receiving prestigious external funding and awards. Notable accomplishments include a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship and nationally competitive Theodore R. Presser Foundation Graduate Music Awards, reflecting the program’s emphasis on high-level research, fieldwork, and global engagement. Students in the program develop expertise in ethnographic research, musical analysis, cultural studies, and anthropological perspectives on music while exploring how music shapes and reflects human experience across different societies and traditions. Coursework combines theoretical foundations with practical field research methods and includes subjects such as anthropological thought and praxis, ethnomusicology field and research methods, anthropology of sound, music of Africa, and advanced seminars in ethnomusicology. Through these courses, students learn how to conduct fieldwork, analyze musical practices, study cultural traditions, and understand the social, historical, and political roles of music in communities worldwide. The program encourages interdisciplinary scholarship and prepares graduates for careers in academia, research, cultural preservation, arts administration, museums, and international cultural organizations, while also providing a strong foundation for doctoral study in ethnomusicology, anthropology, and related disciplines.