Hildegard

I know it's too late, but for anyone who might be reading this in the future: the two students you talked to are absolutely right about CCM. Terrible student morale--I know very few current students or alumni who were not bitter about the program at some point. Also, the funding is only for 3 years, and that is barely enough to get you through coursework at CCM. You will be completely on your own (in more ways than one) for the dissertation. That said, it won't be a total loss if your interests are in 18th-century Vienna or 20th-century USA. Those are CCM's strongest areas.