Music technology is a broad field of study with many applications in industry, academia, and the arts. At MIT, our focus is technical research in music technology that always centers the humanistic and artistic aspects of making music. As such, our program is truly multidisciplinary, with faculty, labs, and curricula coming from the Music and Theater Arts Section (MTA) in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS), and the School of Engineering (SoE).
We define Music Technology as the field of scientific inquiry where practitioners study, discover, and develop new computational approaches to music that include music information retrieval; artificial intelligence; machine learning; generative algorithms; interaction and performance systems; digital instrument design; conceptual and perceptual modeling of music; acoustics; audio signal processing; and software development for creative expression and music applications.
The graduate program in Music Technology and Computation at MIT offers two Master’s degrees. Please follow the provided links for more information.
- The Master of Science (SM) is a two-semester, thesis-based program, available only to MIT undergraduates. One semester of fellowship funding is automatically awarded to all admitted students. To start an application to the Master of Science (SM), please visit https://apply.mit.edu/apply.
- The Master of Applied Science (MASc) is a two-semester, coursework-based program, available to all students. One semester of fellowship funding is automatically awarded to all admitted students. This program will begin accepting applications in the fall of 2025.
Students who are interested in doctoral-level research in music technology and computation can apply to the School of Engineering’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) PhD program and indicate that they want to do research with Music-affiliated faculty members, Professors Anna Huang and Mark Rau.
- Professor Huang’s research focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and human-computer interaction as related to generative music systems and Human-AI creative partnerships.
- Professor Rau’s research areas include instrument acoustics and measurement; physical modeling synthesis, audio signal processing, and real-time digital audio effects.
If you are interested in any of these graduate programs, please fill out this form.
You may also email Amanda Davis, Music Tech Academic Administrator (davisama@mit.edu) with any questions.