music2021

Hi all. I am international applicant. I have been accepted to PhD in Musicology programs at McGill, UMich, and Stony Brook. I am debating what would be the best choice for me. It would be great to hear your thoughts. McGill is offering 3-years of funding (bummer!), but the program really aligns with my interests and I would love to live in Montreal. I would defo need to apply for external scholarships (most probably Quebec scholarships) if I go there. And government scholarships can be very competitive, as you know. UMich is giving a good package, but it is a very classically oriented program (I am doing a combination of Voice & Gender Studies. Professors generally do not have that kind of a focus as far as I understand). Also, I am quite to used to living in big cities so I am not sure how fulfilling life would be there. Besides, students finish their program in 6 years on average, which I think is super long as opposed to some other unis in the States. Stony Brook does not have a good ranking though it is good. My research interests align with the faculty, but I am not sure how much I should care about the reputation as long as the program is a good fit. On the downside, I heard that social life was not so great there despite its proximity to NYC.

Hello and thanks for the reply. Congrats on your acceptance! I received a seperate letter a couple of weeks after my acceptance. I believe everyone is getting a different package though. Tbh, they were a bit shady throughout the process (the stipend amount they offered changed several times as well as the details about TAships and RAships...). If I knew that I could get funding later on, I would not hesitate but the whole process was undertaken really unprofessionally... Do you happen to know how difficult it is to get external scholarships once you are there?

Hi all. I am international applicant. I have been accepted to PhD in Musicology programs at McGill, UMich, and Stony Brook. I am debating what would be the best choice for me. It would be great to hear your thoughts. McGill is offering 3-years of funding (bummer!), but the program really aligns with my interests and I would love to live in Montreal. I would defo need to apply for external scholarships (most probably Quebec scholarships) if I go there. UMich is giving a good package, but it is a very classically oriented program (I am doing a combination of Voice & Gender Studies. Professors generally do not have that kind of a focus as far as I understand). Also, I am quite to used to living in big cities so I am not sure how fulfilling life would be there. Besides, students finish their program in 6 years on average, which I think is super long as opposed to some other unis in the States. Stony Brook does not have a good ranking though it is good. My research interests align with the faculty, but I am not sure how much I should care about the reputation as long as the program is a good fit. On the downside, I heard that social life was not so great there despite its proximity to NYC. Help pls!!