The Section for Musicology belongs to the Department of Aesthetic Studies. We study music in all its manifestations, taking into account its historical and aesthetic dimensions as well as its broader cultural aspects. We also teach students to develop their vocal and instrumental skills/performance skills.

The Music in us and around us

Music is an integral part of culture; when we turn on our radio or TV-set, when we surf the net or go shopping in the supermarket, have a party or at other special events. We appreciate music enough to spend a lot of money on CD’s or live concerts, or we spend a lot of time playing or singing ourselves. Most people have or perform music that is special to them, is part of their lives and identities. In short, where there are people, there is music, and where there is music, there are people.

The music we listen to shows an impressive variety: pop, jazz, rock, classical, world music. Thanks to the electronic media music from all over the world is always within immediate reach. The global and the local, the new and the old merge continuously in our musical soundscape.

Music as a field of study

This multifarious musical and cultural situation is instrumental in the shaping of music as a field of study. In principle we find that music from all epochs and regions is worth studying, but predominantly we zoom in on music from our own Western culture. We adopt many different approaches that reflect both the academic tradition of musicology and its continuous reinterpretation: we look at music as a product, as an art work, as culture, as history, as mass production, as a score, as a social phenomenon, as performance, as a medium, as technology, as an aesthetic experience, as a ritual, as a phonogram. Through theoretical and analytical approaches we obtain a diverse and nuanced view of music as a complex phenomenon. Practical training of musical skills is also an integral part of the study program, both to support the theoretical work and to give students a necessary pedagogical platform. Musicology is a dynamic totality of a broad range of practical, theoretical and historical dimensions giving students an overview of the field and allowing them to concentrate and specialize.

The study programs

When you enter the Section you follow the undergraduate program leading to a BA. This is a 3-year program composed of 2 years at the Section for Musicology and a 1-year supplementary program in another section. If you want to be a high school teacher, you may enter a special supplementary program.

If you want to continue as a graduate student you can complete an MA after 2 years. After the MA you can apply for a doctoral grant and finish a Ph.D. after 3 years.

We also offer a 1-year supplementary program in Music Culture and a special supplementary program for high school teachers.

The basic structure is identical for all programs in the Humanities, but the contents, the didactics and the types of exam will differ as described in the programs. Student councellors will assist you with information about the programs.

The job market

A candidate in Musicology has a clear pedagogical profile leading to a career in a number of branches of the educational system: high school, schools of music, folk high schools, adult education. Students also have the opportunity to work as trainees in various cultural institutions or whereever music is performed or distributed (concert halls, agencies, DVD/CD-production units, publishers) or in the media world (radio, television, the printed press).