Funding Information

The Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences is committed to increasing the diversity (broadly defined) of the student populations of doctoral programs in the Humanities & Arts, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences.  Low-income, first generation, underrepresented minority students, and women in fields (such as Music) in which they are underrepresented are strongly encouraged to apply and may qualify for a fee waiver. Fee Waivers are available for students applying to Music doctoral programs (Master's applicants are not eligible). To apply for a Fee Waiver, please go through the university fee waiver portal https://graddiversity.stanford.edu/graduate-fee-waivers.

You should only request a School-based waiver if you do not qualify for the GRE or Diversity Program Participation fee waivers.

All fee waiver applications must be completed 10 business days prior to the department application deadline. We will do our best to review and respond to your application within two weeks of receiving it. As the number of waivers available is strictly limited, please only sign up if you are sure you will be applying this application season. Applications will be reviewed on a first-come basis. Acceptance or denial of your application for a fee waiver does not affect your likelihood of admission into a graduate program. If the application fee waiver is approved then the applicant will be sent a code to enter in the payment section of the online application. No refund will be given if you apply for a fee waiver and pay the application fee instead of using your application fee waiver code.  If we deny your request for a waiver, we will instruct you to pay the fee.

Fee Waiver Application Essay Questions:

In 250-500 words, please describe your research experiences.

In 1-3 paragraphs, please describe how your interests and background (in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic status, work and life experiences) would contribute to the diversity (broadly defined) of students pursuing doctoral degrees in the Humanities & Arts, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences at Stanford.

Please list any research, honors, and diversity related programs in which you have participated.

Please attach your resume/CV.

The Department and Center do not have regular funding to support students in the Master's in Music, Science, and Technology (MAMST) program. However, year-to-year there is occasionally an opportunity to offer a one-year fellowship or a one-quarter Teaching Assistantship. When available, these are adminstered and distributed by CCRMA faculty.

All students admitted into the doctoral programs (DMA in composition, PhD in computer based music theory and acoustics (CBMTA), PhDs in musicology and ethnomusicology) will be awarded funding programs as described below. [N.B. Figures provided are for academic year 2022 - 2023; they usually increase modestly each year.]

Year I: full tuition (11-18 units/qtr.) x 3 quarters ($56,487) & fellowship stipend ($36,162).

Years II—V: 8-10 units of tuition x 3 quarters ($36,720) & salaried assistantship ($37,566 for TA; $36,162 for RA).

[N.B. Doctoral students are expected to transition to Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status in spring quarter of year IV upon successful completion of 135 graduate-level units. Tuition paid in the winter and spring quarters of year IV, and in all of year V, will be at the TGR rate.]

Summers (I-V): one unit of tuition ($1,224 & fellowship stipend ($12,054).) The expectation is that the five summers of support will advance your individual work, keeping in mind that your Qualifying Examination will occur at the end of summer quarter of the first or second year, depending on the program.

Individual Cardinal Care Health Insurance Premiums will be covered during all 4 quarters of all 5 years.

In addition to Stanford support, students usually need to have additional funding from outside grants/fellowships, long-term loans, savings, liquid assets, a spouse’s earnings, or parental support. For additional information and resources see Stanford University Financial Aid, Graduate Basics.

In the Department of Music, students entering with a Master’s degree officially receive four years of aid; those entering directly from a Bachelor’s receive five years of aid. At the discretion of the faculty (through the Graduate Studies Committee), students entering with a Master’s with academic need may be given a full five years of support

Assistantships in years II–V may be either Teaching or Research, determined according to departmental need. Students are expected to arrive at Stanford with the ability to serve as Teaching Assistants (TAs) in any of the Department’s undergraduate core music theory and analysis classes.

To assess theoretical, aural, and keyboard core competencies, admitted doctoral students are given a diagnostic exam of musical skills necessary for fluent engagement with the graduate and undergraduate curricula in the week prior to the start of classes in the first year. Successful completion of this exam is a mark of 80% or better (equivalent to a “B” and equal to the level of competency required for counting coursework toward the degree).

The average time to complete a doctoral degree is 5 years for the DMA and the PhD in Computer-Based Theory and Acoustics and 6-7 years for the PhD in Musicology. Graduate students are expected to enroll in 15–18 units per quarter during the first year, and for 10 units each quarter in subsequent years, in order to achieve Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status by the end of their spring quarter of the fourth year and to attain their degree as soon as possible.

After the aid detailed above is completed, and once students are on a reduced-registration status, tuition is assessed at the TGR rate per quarter. Students entering with a Master’s degree are expected to enter TGR status [by transferring residency credits from their Master’s] as soon as possible, even if that occurs before the third year of aid is completed. At the end of the five-year-financial-aid period, students are self-supporting: many apply for fellowships from interior [Stanford] or exterior sources, or work part-time, while writing their dissertations.