The Graduate Degree in Music Engineering

The University of Miami was the first American university to offer a Master of Science degree in Music Engineering Technology. This two-year multi-disciplinary curriculum consists of graduate coursework in electrical engineering, digital audio, psychoacoustics and the psychology of music. Generally, this degree program is provided for students who seek employment with software or hardware design companies and companies involved in digital audio technology.

Only students with a BSEE degree or equivalent degree are accepted for admission in this program. Students with an undergraduate degree in music engineering from the University of Miami or another institution must complete additional coursework in electrical engineering. Proficiency on a music instrument is not required for this degree.

Graduate students in the program must complete a thesis on a topic of their choosing. This project is pursued under the supervision of a faculty member in the Music Engineering program.

Graduate Research

The research projects completed by the Master of Science students cover a wide range of cutting edge topics. Very generally, projects use software design to explore facets of audio theory or practice. All research is completed under the supervision of a faculty member and culminates in a research paper and thesis presentation. In many cases, this research leads directly to employment offers from audio manufacturers seeking employees with expertise in these areas. Several of these papers have been presented in technical papers sessions in Audio Engineering Society conventions. Our collection of graduate research can be found here. These papers will give you a good idea of the caliber of work performed by our graduate students.

Employment

Master's degree graduates generally work for audio companies as audio software or hardware designers. Demand for these students is generally very high. In some cases, they choose to work in recording studios, or start their own companies. In other cases, students choose to pursue further graduate work, for example, pursuing a doctoral degree. This is a partial list of companies that have employed our Master of Science graduates: Analog Devices, Apple Computer, Boston Acoustics, Cirrus Logic, Creative Labs, Digidesign, Dolby Laboratories, Microsoft, Motorola, National Semiconductor, Niles Audio, Real Networks, Shure, Sonic Foundry, Spatializer, Texas Instruments, and others.

To receive information via US Mail, you may download the graduate application from the "Forms" tab of the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music's Graduate Studies page, or the file is here. You could also call the Music Graduate Office at (305) 284-2241. Finally, for more generic admissions information (geared towards undergraduates) fill out the online form to receive a brochure in the mail.