Brandeis University to Close PhD Programs in Music

Doctoral programs in composition, music theory, and musicology are on hiatus, with the expectation that they will eventually close

Brandeis University has informed its academic staff that it intends to discontinue its two PhD programs in music: the PhD in composition and music theory, and the PhD in musicology. The letter to staff claimed that savings from the doctoral programs would instead be allocated towards the university's undergraduate music program, "so it compares to those at elite liberal arts colleges."

Brandeis has had a long association with some of America's most prominent musical figures, including the conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein and the composer Aaron Copland.

In an open letter to the university's administrative staff, prominent Brandeis alumni warned that this significant heritage was now under threat.

Eric Chasalow, the chair of the music department at Brandeis and a former dean of its graduate school, told the Boston Globe that he suspected the university intended to prioritize funding programs in science over their arts and humanities counterparts.

"As some of you know, our Provost told us in May that the Musicology graduate program at Brandeis would be put on hiatus, with the intention of restoring it when the University’s finances improved," wrote Assistant Professor Emily Frey Giansiracusa. "The administration told us today that BOTH Musicology and Composition will be put on hiatus following this year – now with the intention of closing them permanently and shifting their scant resources to the sciences."

"This recommendation was made in spite of the results of an 18-month-long review of all Brandeis PhD programs, which found that Musicology and Composition ranked at or very near the top of all programs by every metric the PhD review team claimed to value. These elements included job placement rate, attrition, matriculation, and many other measures by which we were found to be excellent."

"Despite the fact that our President has a background in economics, the administration makes this recommendation contrary to all economic sense; comparatively speaking, the PhD programs in Music are dirt cheap to run, and they produce among the best results at Brandeis."

"This decision is based, rather, on values: the Brandeis administration does not believe that the arts and humanities are worthy of study at the graduate level. It’s an attitude that smacks of the techno-utopianism of 15 years ago – before Silicon Valley realized that it might have to think about the ethical and historical questions in which artists and humanists are expert, before ChatGPT and generative AI pushed questions about the nature of human creation to the front page of every newspaper. This is an exceptionally strange time to declare so confidently that the arts and humanities don’t matter, but here we are."

A representative from Brandeis University commented: "The landscape of higher education is continually changing, and it is imperative for colleges and universities to regularly review their degree programs to ensure they are sustainable. Brandeis’ music program has a proud history, and music will continue to be a crucial part of the robust liberal arts education the university provides to its undergraduates.

"When the university conducted a year and a-half long review of its PhD programs, it was determined that the two music PhD programs needed more investment than Brandeis could provide to maintain the excellence they have been known for. Therefore, the difficult decision was made to place them on hiatus with the intent to close.

"While this means the university will not admit new students to these programs, it will fully support current students and ensure they are able to complete their PhDs. Music and the arts will continue to play a very important role at Brandeis; we are focusing our efforts on our outstanding undergraduate music program to ensure it remains competitive with those at other universities."