At Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, MA/MS in Musicology is offered as a master's degree in Music programme. The programme runs for 16 months, delivered on campus. Tuition for international students is CAD 18,024 per year (CAD 9,945 per year for local students).
The Master of Arts in Musicology at Dalhousie University is offered through the Fountain School of Performing Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in Halifax and follows a thesis-based structure taken on a full-time basis. Students complete graduate coursework and then pursue independent research under a faculty supervisor, producing and defending a written thesis. The program is delivered in person over a standard length of 16 months or longer, beginning each September. Coursework centres on text-based analysis of music informed by cultural studies, examining the social and historical contexts in which music is created and understood, rather than performance practice itself. Because the program is small, students can work with faculty to shape a course of study around a specific area of musicological interest, with close supervision throughout the research process. The degree builds skills in historical and cultural analysis, archival research, and academic writing about music. Graduates pursue careers in academia and research, as well as roles such as arts administrator or music historian, critic, or journalist, and the degree can also lead into doctoral study in musicology or related fields. The program suits students with an undergraduate background in music, musicology, or a related humanities discipline who want a research-focused graduate credential in the historical and cultural study of music.
Requirements
Minimum GPA:3.00 / 4.0
Admission Requirements: Applicants need standard undergraduate preparation equivalent to a Bachelor of Music program: two years of harmony, keyboard skills, aural skills and music history, plus counterpoint and form and analysis; a music theory or music history entrance exam may be required depending on background. Applicants must demonstrate facility in one foreign language, normally German or French, and submit two confidential letters of reference, two academic essays or equivalent writing samples, and a one-page statement covering background preparation and a research proposal. Applications received by December 1 are considered for university scholarships, for September admission.
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:Dalhousie's live Dates and Deadlines page still shows the September 2026 entry cycle as of mid-September 2026, not the 2027 cycle. For that cycle, Bachelor of Science (Nursing), Bachelor of Health Sciences, Bachelor of Science (Medical Sciences) and Bachelor of Social Work close February 15, 2026; the Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies (Architecture) closes March 1, 2026; and the Health Sciences post-diploma option closes June 15, 2026. All other undergraduate programmes are considered on a rolling, space-available basis for both domestic and international applicants, with no separate international closing date published; May 15, 2026 is only the deposit and English-proficiency deadline, not an application deadline. Dalhousie has not yet published September 2027 entry dates. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
