Music Technology Ph.D.

Program overview

This program provides a world class multi-disciplinary environment where research is applied to music and music-making. Applicants typically have a strong background in music technology or music and a related field. Original research topics, presented in the admission application, are typically oriented toward a particular faculty member's area of expertise. State of the art labs support initiatives in sound analysis and synthesis, instrument design and modeling, gesture control, information retrieval and optical recognition, and music perception and cognition, among others.

An option exists for specialization in:

Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies

This program option is open to doctoral students who are interested in cross-disciplinary research that focuses on issues centrally related to gender, sexuality, feminist theory, and/or women’s studies. The Music Technology Ph.D. requirements are augmented by participation in a Research Methods course and a Graduate Feminism Symposium that engages with a diverse array of critical and empirical perspectives.

The program draws on the resources of the McGill Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies that includes faculty and graduate students from across the University. Supporting music faculty have interests in Opera, film studies, aesthetics, theory of performance, and popular/jazz studies.

Students interested in production should explore the M.Mus. in Sound Recording.

Faculty

Leaders in their fields, our faculty are engaged in novel research spanning the science and technology of music:   sound analysis and real-time processing; synthesis and gesture control; digital musical instruments; music information research and digital archives; computational acoustic modeling; music perception and cognition.

Opportunities and Resources

  • State-of-the-art research laboratories and computing facilities directed by each faculty member and the multidisciplinary and multi-institutional infrastructure of CIRMMT.
  • Music Technology Computer Lab for seminar work.
  • Supportive team environment that includes strong mentoring from doctoral students.
  • Opportunities to present at conferences and participate in multi-authored papers.
  • Environment of musical excellence and international collaboration with composers, performers, and researchers.
  • Digital Composition Studio and state-of-the-art recording environments.

Awards

Students in this program have received awards from NSERC, Discovery Grants, SSHRC, Vanier, PBEEE, CIRMMT Student Awards, Research Assistantships (supported by supervisor), MIDAS Internships, K.B. Jenkes Dissertatin Award, and the Deans Essay Prize (among others).

Careers

Graduates continue to post-docs, hold teaching positions in European and American Universities, research and development positions in companies like Bombardier Aerospace, Ubi-soft, Bang & Olufsen, SRS Labs, and commercial positions related to media technologies (e.g., gaming and audio industries).

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