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About

The Department of Music is part of the School of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pittsburgh. The department serves the University's undergraduate student body, music majors and music minors, and graduate students, as well as the metropolitan area of Pittsburgh and the greater scholarly and musical communities—through classes and seminars, individual instrumental and vocal instruction, performing groups, concerts and colloquia, and research and composition.

The department has pioneered in the development of a curriculum that encourages the academic integration of historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and composition and theory. Students at all levels study music from these several vantage points, and are free to explore beyond the borders of a single discipline or subdiscipline. In the same way, we do not limit ourselves to the music of one particular nationality, geographical area, or tradition. Students may study Western classical music (historically, critically, theoretically, or culturally), traditional music of various ethnic and cultural groups, popular music, jazz, or the interactions among these types of music. These studies are led by a distinguished faculty of international reputation.

Degree programs are purposefully small, with about 40 graduate students and 50 music majors, who work closely with the 14 members of our academic faculty. In small classes and seminars, students have the opportunity to express their ideas and enter into challenging discussions with faculty and their fellow students, while in a diversity of ensembles they learn by performing together in both formal and informal settings.

The department offers the Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy in music. We do not offer degrees in music education or performance.

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