About
Take your understanding of music to a new level through courses and performance opportunities at the Department of Music.
The Department of Music is part of the Dietrich 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 of Music promotes an integrated approach to the study of music grounded in composition/theory, ethnomusicology, jazz studies, and musicology. Our innovative and dynamic curriculum enables students to explore music in the broadest terms possible through artistic creative activity, performance, and scholarship. 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 degrees in music. We do not offer degrees in music education or performance.
