I’m a transfer student with over 40 General Education credits at my local community college. I’m looking to become a professor of music theory / composition at a 4 year college, so I’ll be getting a PhD at some point.
What should I be looking for in the colleges I’m applying to currently for my BA, and should I be looking to work between my MA and PhD to pay off loans or will colleges help with that once I am working there?
Colleges will not help you pay off your undergraduate student loans, and you should NEVER go for a PhD without full financial support, especially for a field like Music theory which has few jobs, even fewer tenure track jobs, and even those generally do not pay very well.
No reputable PhD program will accept a graduate student without providing at least five years of full tuition and a research or teaching assistantship. If they do not have the funding they will not accept any new students.
In general, the best advice that I can give anybody who wants to be a music theory professor is “don’t”.
Like most of the humanities, music theory is both obsessed with prestige as well as having very few open positions. What this means is that the vast majority of tenure track academic positions in most humanities are filled by graduates of the most prestigious colleges, because there are simply so few that any college can have their pick from the graduates of almost any PhD program out there.
Unfortunately, unless you finish your undergraduate degree at a “prestigious” college, your chances at being accepted to a “prestigious” PhD program are very low. If you transfer to a well known college to finish your degree, your chances will increase, however, they still will not be high.
What is worse is that the at least 2/3 of all jobs in music theory are not tenure-track and not even full time positions, but adjunct positions, meaning that the instructors are hired on a semester basis, by course.
The journey to ending up with a PhD is long a difficult, but it is even more difficult to get a tenure track position in music theory. Your chances at ending up as a professor at a college are slim at best.
This past year there were about 27 tenure track positions advertised in Music Theory. That is fewer than the number of PhD students who graduate from the top PhD programs every year.
If you want to end up with a PhD in music theory, go for it. However, you should not plan on ending up a professor in Music theory.
I would certainly try to avoid debt if you can if you plan to major in music theory.
The tradeoff between “quality of program” and “amount of debt” is tough for me to judge. For us (mostly with different majors) the higher quality programs did not generally cost more and might in some cases cost less. We might have been lucky in this regard.
What is your home state? What schools are you considering? What can you afford without taking on debt?
I fully agree with the warnings, but to answer this part of your question – I suggest you consider carefully researching and attending a college with professors who got their PhDs in music theory/composition within the last 10 years from one of the universities with the largest/most prestigious PhD programs, preferably from a program accepting PhD students that has faculty under the age of 60.
Your goal should be to develop a mentor/mentee relationship with a relatively young professor: (1) who’s PhD advisor is still accepting new graduate students; and, (2) who went through the PhD program with others who are now faculty accepting advisees into PhD programs at universities. Networking . . .
Also since I cannot just be helpful, consider limiting your dating pool to students majoring in engineering or business. I will go ahead and apologize about that right away.
Have you read the Double Degree Dilemma essay closer to the top of this music forum? Since you already have 40 credits, chances are the BA is the best degree for you. Are you considering a state school? Do you qualify for financial aid or merit at a private school?
Have you had classes or a teacher for composition? Have you had performances? Any summer programs? These are all things to consider if you are going to combine music theory and composition.
Try to avoid loans.
For master’s, if finances are an issue, as they should be with this goal, focus on schools that provide funding for both master’s and doctoral degrees, usually with the master’s part of the doctoral program.
Do you envision an MA or MM, PhD or DMA?
Selective doctoral programs accept students from all kinds of schools and backgrounds. The crucial part of the application is the 3-4 pieces you submit. Resume of performances and connections made at summer programs help too.
Declining enrollments, particularly in the arts and humanities but also due to demographics, were already making stable jobs difficult to get in music, and COVID has made things exponentially worse, and things may take awhile to come back.
People who cannot imagine doing anything else do continue on this path. But proceed with eyes open. You can teach as an adjunct or instructor, look at jobs in secondary schools, or have a day job. Be realistic, but don’t be discouraged if this is what you really want to do.
The suggestion to date people with good incomes was made in jest, and I have heard that joke in various forms for years in the academic music community.
I just have to say I’m impressed you like music theory! Yikes, it’s tough. I studied it as a kid but forgot just about everything. I recently started taking piano lessons again and am slogging my way through the theory textbook my teacher uses in her freshman classes at our local university. Let’s just say I feel pretty dumb and I’m an engineer!
This is inaccurate. We’re talking about a PhD in Music Theory, not a DMA in piano, or even a PhD in Composition. A graduate degree in Music Theory requires the ability to research music, not play an instrument or compose a piece of music. So providing the best possible piano performance that they ever have heard will still not demonstrate that a person has the ability to produce a substantial piece of academic research.
For example, the requirements for admission to Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music’s PhD program include (on top of CV, GRE scores, LoRs, transcripts, etc):
They do not require a piece of music.
If @sackblake has some serious achievements in music down the road, that would put them in a more competitive place, though they would still need to demonstrate ability to do research in music theory. Transferring to a four year college with a good reputation in music theory, so that their undergraduate degree is from that college, would also help.
@sackblake could also attend a less “prestigious” PhD program, but that would cut the slim chances of a faculty position in the future even further.
PS. “prestigious” means “prestigious in the music world”. So Indiana University, while an excellent school, is not typically thought of as a “top 20” or even “top 50” university. However, their Jacob’s School of Music is one of the very best music schools in the country and the world.
Maybe the landscape has changed greatly; every theory class I ever took (a bunch) was taught by a professor who was also a composer balancing their teaching responsibilities with writing commissioned concert works. Or, in one case, who also taught piano to some of the performance majors.
@MWolf of course you are right about music theory. The title of the thread indicates goals with music theory but the content of the first post by the OP mentions composition. Most composers I know end up teaching a lot of theory.
Apologies for getting off track for a person who might want to pursue music theory without composing. I made assumptions based on that first post and ignored the title, but the thread title may indeed point toward the OP’s desired focus.
Glad to be corrected and clarified 
I think @MWolf’s post may be helpful in showing the OP that these two areas of study should be seen as separate in terms of choice of a doctoral program. That decision is still pretty far off.
The PhD in composition involves a lot of writing, obviously, but the application involves submitting pieces and a personal statement, not research, in the places I know of. So pay attention to MWolf’s info.
Yes, my piano teacher is responsible for music theory classes and piano instruction at our local university.
The professors at my D’s school that teach theory also teach in other areas: composition, musicology, piano. Some have high faultin’ undergrad degrees and some don’t. They are all full-time and tenured. Look at some colleges and universities and see for yourself what degrees the professors have and when and where they got them. That might give you an idea of whether or not they worked before going on to the next degree. I actually think there are several directions you can go in music and know many people who done all of it and lead exciting and fulfilling careers.
@MWolf’s correction is nevertheless true. At the PhD level, music theory is often separate from composition (or piano) and the requirements MWolf detailed are what you would pay attention to. I am not sure about DMA requirements for music theory.
@sackblake it is still early in your schooling, and we don’t know much about you. If you instead move more toward composition, then submitting pieces will be important.
The job market for faculty in humanities is terrible and has been getting worse in recent years. COVID has decimated music, at least for now. Adjunct positions don’t pay well and even those are hard to get. Many faculty do what is essentially piece work, paid per class per semester.
Many doctoral students work between undergrad and grad, or between grad and doctoral. There are doctoral students in their 30’s or older in some cases.
Follow your dreams for undergrad. Music majors have access to different jobs and med, law, business, nursing and other grad schools. Once you graduate, reassess and stay flexible!
I don’t exactly come from a wealthy family, so all of my schooling is going to be paid for via loans and grants. I’m currently living in Los Angeles with one of my parents. Ideally I’d be staying within the area but I’m very open to the idea of moving if it means better job opportunities down the road.
@MWolf You’ve taught me so much! You’ve also scared me quite a bit, so I just wanted to emphasize that I’m far from a need for prestige or anything of the sort. Music theory is NOT my only interest.
Simply put, I just want to work with young artists and help them grow. So, I would prefer to teach. Anything below the college level disinterests me because college students have more passion for learning. They’re paying to be taught. But, it’s strictly about teaching for me. Research and academic papers, while valuable, are not my priorities. If there is a different avenue that would allow me to do something in a similar capacity with a more reliable wage, I’m very open to that. Audio engineering or studio work, for example, allows me to work with other artists and help to improve their work.
Music is the subject I’ve always been the most passionate about, but I’m also not dead set on music theory or composition. The history aspect of music also greatly interests me, and if there is something more lucrative out there for me I would be willing to settle on an alternative subject. I’m quite open to alternatives if it means better job prospects and/or a more livable wage. I have a love for fashion, photography, and film. I’ve also always been a firm believer in the value of philosophy, if a subject outside of the arts would have more career opportunities.
I noticed that all of the schools you and your article mentioned have been within the US. I want to stress that I am very open to the idea of studying/working abroad, simply because tuition seems to be cheaper overseas (ex: Finland, the Netherlands, Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Australia, etc.) so any school on the globe is fine by me as long as I can learn in English.
@KaiserS Yes, yes, I’ve heard that I may not end up as a “breadwinner” given my interests. The mentor/mentee relationship you’ve described is what I had more or less assumed, but your information regarding college criteria was incredibly helpful.
@sackblake Based on your interests, there are, indeed, many ways in which you could help. In fact, I think that perhaps music theory likely is far from the best way for you to work with young artists and help them grow. If you are a strong performer or composer, you could get into music teaching via one of the routes that @compmom describes. Your idea of going the route of studio tech is also a really good possibility.
Indeed, once you step away from a purely academic route via music theory, the opportunities expand pretty widely.
However, while I am familiar with academia, my knowledge of non-academic work in the music industry, and even of performance-based academic work (rather than research-based work) is not as wide or deep, so I will leave the advice to other who are more knowledgeable.
I’ll just comment that your ability to think of alternative ways to achieve your goals, and to actually listen to advice (and do so critically) are some of the best skills that one can have. So I think that you will do well.
Good luck!!
Have you looked at the Music Composition major within the College of Creative Studies at UCSB? https://ccs.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/2019-10/curriculum-guidelines-corr-2019-20_1.pdf The CCS application (in addition to the regular UC application) requires a Letter of Intent, a portfolio (“work in evidence of talent”), and at least two letters of recommendation.
URochester might be another school to look at. In addition to the BA in Music http://www.sas.rochester.edu/mur/undergraduate/requirements.html (and the conservatory programs at Eastman), there’s a Music Cognition track in the department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences http://www.sas.rochester.edu/bcs/undergraduate/tracks.html#mc and and Audio and Music Engineering program. http://www.hajim.rochester.edu/ame/
@sackblake, again, we still really don’t know enough about you to make recommendations on schools, or career path. In fact, I don’t think we know whether you are currently composing music, and what kind.
Was your interest in music theory sparked by a particular class you took?
For BM programs, you really need to have 3-4 pieces, at least some of them performed live, to apply. For a BA, you don’t need a portfolio or, usually, an audition.
Have you been doing composition or studio/music production work at the community college where you are? Or outside of school?
It sounds to me like a BA is the degree for you, and for that reason, I would mostly avoid the schools mentioned that also have BM programs.
You have not mentioned performance as an interest, but mainly seem focused on the academic/liberal arts aspects of music: history, theory, composition. For that, again, a BA is probably the best route.
A PhD in composition or theory is not a performance degree. A PhD in composition, like theory, involves a lot of research and writing, and the development of one’s art involves research as well. It does qualify you for teaching at the college level, and part of the training involves teaching as a TA. But as we have all said, once again, there is little job security right now for university teaching and many schools are cutting humanities jobs.
If you really want to do music, you could consider music education for a degree. We don’t know if you play instruments. I think that many high schoolers are passionate about music or whatever their interests are, and it is a key time for a teacher to have an influence.
That said, you don’t have to even major in music to do take theory, composition or music history classes. You can also continue music as an extracurricular with lessons and performances.
Sometimes it helps to try to think about undergrad education without a focus on career (scary as that is). It is still true that you could major in music and land in many other career paths, or grad/professional schools. The reverse is also true, you could major in, say, philosophy, and still do music in grad school.
I would try to do what you love for the remaining college years, and what you are good at. That sounds a little idealistic in this day and age of high costs and loans, but it can work out.
Alternatively, if you want more certainty, choose a specific career path and follow it, and do music on the side
You asked about Europe and the UK. I could tell you conservatories abroad but that doesn’t seem like the best option for you. I would also consider Canada.
It’s wonderful that you have so many interests. I hope you can continue to explore no matter what you settle on for a major. If you are in CA you have some great options for finishing your BA. I hope music is always in your life regardless of what path you choose.
I will PM you.