Programs that emphasize Aesthetics or Philosophy of Music

[kjfrazie]

Hello! Where should I apply to graduate school if I am interested in aesthetics, particularly in the philosophy of music? My undergraduate degree is in music performance and I think I would have a better shot if I went in that direction. Recommendations for PhD programs and MA programs are welcome, although an MA program may be a better fit for me at this point. Thank you!

[maxhgns]

A place to start is the American Society for Aesthetics's Graduate Guide to Aesthetics in North America. The current edition is a little out of date, but it will be updated later this year. Regardless, it's still a good place to start.

To my mind, the best programs for aesthetics and the philosophy of art in the US and Canada are currently CUNY, UBC, McGill, and NYU (but Santa Cruz will gain a lot of ground as its new hires work their way up the tenure track). In the UK, I'd say that Manchester, Nottingham, York, and Durham are tops; in Australasia, it's Auckland for sure. For music in particular, the best programs are going to be Manchester, Auckland, McGill, and Columbia.

At the MA level, be wary of American programs for which the MA is a cash cow (e.g. CUNY). UBC has a solid, funded MA program and real strengths in aesthetics. The University of Victoria (in Canada) and the University of Manitoba likewise have solid funded MAs, and top-notch philosophers of art (who also specialize in music). In the US, have a good look at Houston (which has some truly excellent philosophers of art on faculty).

[Duns Eith]

As always, @maxhgns gives solid advice.

Some other strategies you can pursue:

PGR:

• Consider the well-known (and legitimately criticized) Philosophical Gourmet Report: https://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/theory-of-value/
  • It has rankings in phil art. You can look at this short list to see whether there are any that seem of interest to you.

A collaborative document that describes aesthetics, specialties, MA vs PhD, etc. all organized on a table. You can search pretty easy for key terms you want, like "music"

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dMZqI6k0Pf8m124lncWNHaEIOJaVfJaC2ITJnpw_4pE/edit

Third, you may want to check out papers and authors on PhilPapers and see where these authors are stationed.

• https://philpapers.org/browse/philosophy-of-music
• This last option will be the most time consuming. But perhaps you want to just keep this in your back pocket, so that when you are researching and reading up on specific papers or arguments, you can pay attention to where they are.