Music Department General Information
The Music Department is located in the Fanny Mason Peabody Music Building, directly behind the Science Center. The building houses the Department (including classrooms, faculty and staff offices, the Taft graduate lounge and all the department's resources, such as the Early Instrument Room, Ethnomusicology Lab, and the Harvard University Studio for Electroacoustic Composition), practice rooms, the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, and Paine Concert Hall.
Our mailing address:
Music Department
Music Building
North Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
phone: 617-495-2791 fax: 617-496-8081 email: musicdpt@fas.harvard.edu
We are located directly behind the Science Center at the corner of Kirkland and Oxford Streets.
For a map and directions to the Music Building/Paine Hall, click here.
What degees does Harvard's Music Department offer?
You can earn an A.B. from Harvard College with a concentration (or joint concentration, or secondary field [minor] ) in Music. We also have a graduate program that offers the PhD in Musicology, Ethnomusicology,Theory, or Composition, and a new A.M. program in historical Performance Practice. Harvard and New England Conservatory offer a five-year joint program where students can earn a A.B. from Harvard and an M.M. from NEC. Click here for details.
Does Harvard offer a music performance degree?
No. Harvard is an academic department, not a conservatory, and does not have performance faculty or offer lessons. For performance degree options outside the regular Harvard programs, see question above.
Does Harvard offer a music education program?
No (see above).
Can I get a master's degree ?
The graduate program does not offer a "terminal" masters degree. Following successful completion of your course work and general examination, you may apply to the registrar's office to receive a masters degree en route to completion of your doctorate.
The A.M. program is available to a small number of experienced musicians who are preparing or engaged in careers as performers and performance teachers and for whom a PhD is not appropriate.
How big is the Department of Music?
The Music Department ordinarily has 21 permanent faculty, around 6 visiting faculty, and 60 undergraduate concentrators, 70 graduate students, and 12 staff.
What performance opportunities are there at Harvard?
There are many opportunities for performance at Harvard. There are numerous orchestras, choral groups, a capella groups, world music groups, bands and jazz ensembles. Most musical activities are considered extra-curricular. For information on music performance in the Music Department, click here. For information on music performance outside the department, click here. For information about Harvard's new A.B./M.M. joint degree program with New England Conservatory, click here.
What kinds of student groups are there?
There are dozens of student and department-related musical groups and organizations on campus ranging from Chinese chorus to jazz bands to the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. Each operates independently with their own schedule of auditions, rehearsals and concerts. The Music Department offers courses for credit in choral conducting, chamber music, orchestration and a performance/ analysis course (see courses). It also offers a number of performance opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students (see performance in the music department). For a listing of performing arts groups on campus (including music), browse the Office for the Arts' online booklet "Practice and Performance."
Does Harvard have a choral music program?
There are numerous choral music opportunities at Harvard. However, the music department offers no degree program in choral music. The Director of the Choral Program at Harvard is Jameson Marvin; for information about Professor Marvin and many of the choral groups on campus, click here. For information on the University Choir at Memorial Church, click here.
How do I apply?
All candidates must submit an application.
For undergraduates, write:
Harvard College Office of Admissions and Financial Aid
Byerly Hall
8 Garden Street
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
OR CLICK HERE
For graduate students, write:
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Office of Admissions and Financial Aid
8 Garden Street
Byerly Hall 2nd floor
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
OR CLICK HERE
Do I need to take GRE's?
For admission to our graduate program, yes. GRE scores are valid for five years.
Do I need to take the Music component of GRE's?
No. Harvard offers an academic rather than a performance-based music program in both its graduate and undergraduate course of study.
Do I need to audition?
No. There are no auditions, for either program. (Be aware that those applying to the joint Harvard/NEC five-year program will need to audition for admission to NEC)
Should I send a tape with my application?
For undergraduate applications, send a tape or CD if music is an integral part of who you are; the admissions staff may forward it to an appropriate music department faculty member to be evaluated. If you are applying to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, you need to support your application with samples of your work, be it scholarly (musicology/ethnomusicology/theory) or creative (composition/theory).
When is the deadline for application to Harvard?
The annual deadline is usually around December 30/January 2 for entrance the following September.
Does Harvard offers scholarships or financial aid?
Yes. For information about both of these, contact the Admissions Office of the appropriate school. For undergraduates, the Office of Admissions at Harvard College, and for graduate students, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. Financial aid is based on need. Both Admissions and Financial Aid offices are located at Byerly Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Once you're at Harvard there are opportunities for additional funding. The Department awards approximately $100,000 each year in prizes, fellowships, stipends and grants to graduate students for language study, dissertation completion, research assistance, and travel, among other pursuits. Undergraduates are also eligible for certain prizes.
Does Harvard accept international students?
Yes.
Can I concentrate in music and something else as well?
Yes. You can be a joint concentrator; music and psychology, or music and math, for example. If you joint concentrate you are required to write a senior thesis combining both areas of study. You can also study music as a secondary field, which requires five music courses. Specifics are outlined in "undergraduate Information" on this site.
Will interviewing with the Music Department aid my chances of acceptance to Harvard?
No. The music department is not part of the admissions process. Harvard College Admissions makes all decisions and handles all admissions materials.
Where can I find information on performing and/or music lessons at Harvard?
The Office fore the Arts has a good deal of information. You can also click here for information about performance in the music department, and for a list of student organizations and resources. The music department does not offer lessons or oversee music performance on campus.
If I want to talk to a member of the music department about the program, how do I go about it?
Prospective undergraduates with questions about the Harvard Music Department should contact Managing Communications Coordinator, Lesley Bannatyne (bannatyn@fas.harvard.edu) to schedule an appointment to talk about the program. This is not an interview -- the music department has no hand in the admissions process. For questions about performance on campus, it's best to read about the Office for the Arts or research any of the music groups on campus. To ask questions about the five-year Harvard/NEC program, contact Mary Gerbi at 617-495-2791 or gerbi@fas.harvard.edu
Prospective graduate students can call the Department receptionist (617-495-2791) during November, December and January to schedule an appointment with a professor. For additional information about the graduate program click on "Graduate Study," above.
Where can I practice my instrument?
There are twenty practice rooms in the music building; ten have grand pianos and ten have uprights. Anyone with a Harvard I.D. may use the practice rooms: students, faculty, alumni, staff, and extension school students. If you have a Special Borrowers card, you may use them daily from 8:15 am to 12:00 pm Monday through Friday. Practice rooms are available on a first come, first served basis. There is a two-hour limit.
To use a practice room you go to the front office at the Music Building (Reception area) and sign the log book. Practice room keys hang on a wooden stand nearby. Leave your ID and take a key. When the offices of the Music Department are closed, the keys will either be at a security desk near the front door or in the Music Library (next door to the reception area).
Professional lessons are not allowed in the practice rooms. Neither are amplified music and percussion instruments.
*There are also practice rooms in other campus locations. There is a perucssion practice room in Sanders Theatre. Piano practice rooms exist in SOCH (Student Organization Center at Hilles-one room), in Loker Commons (two rooms plus storage space for large instruments and percussion), in the Freshman dorms (contact the Freshman Dean's Office for locations) and in all the houses.
*These are not under the jurisdiction of the music department.
Practice Room Hours
During the regular school year (including Reading and Exam periods) practice rooms are open:
Monday - Thursday: 8:30 am to 11:30 pm
Friday: 8:30 am to 4:15 pm
Saturday: 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
Sunday: 9:00 am to 9:30 pm
Practice rooms are closed during all legal holidays, and during over the December holiday break (normally December 23-January 2).
During school breaks and the summer, practice rooms are open 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Monday through Thursday and 9:00 am to 4:15 pm on Friday. Call to confirm times: 617-495-2791, or, if the offices are closed, 617-495-2794 (the library).
Where can I store my instrument?
There are a limited number of lockers in the music building. Ask to reserve one at the Receptionist's desk.
Does Harvard offer music lessons?
The faculty do not offer lessons. Students who want to pursue lessons during their time at Harvard find their own teachers, usually drawing from the huge pool of music instructors in the Boston area. Lists of local teachers and information can be obtained through the Office for the Arts at Harvard.
Do I get academic credit for music lessons?
You can receive college credit for independent study/music lessons if you are currently enrolled in the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra or the Choral groups or a specified music department course. You must petition the department in advance with an independent study course outline developed by you in tandem with your private music instructor. Click here for complete details.
Does Harvard rent or repair pianos? Can I buy one through Harvard? Would Harvard buy my piano? How often should my piano be tuned?
Please visit the Piano Technical Services website for answers to these questions and more about pianos at Harvard.
