A brand new, multidisciplinary MIT Graduate program in music technology and computer science will feature faculty, labs, and curricula from across the institute.
The program is a collaboration between the Department of Music and Theater Arts on the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (SHASS); Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) in Faculty of Engineering; and the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing.
“The launch of a brand new graduate program in music technology strikes me as each a needed and a provocative gesture – a crucial leap in an era that’s rapidly being redefined by the exponential growth of computers, artificial intelligence and human-computer interactions of all types conceivable. ” says Jay Scheib,​​ Head of MIT's Music and Theater Arts Department and Professor of the Class of 1949.
“Music plays a sublime role on the forefront of a remarkable convergence of art and technology,” adds Scheib. “It’s the proper time to begin this program, and if not at MIT, then where?”
MIT practitioners define music technology as the realm of ​​scientific research by which they investigate, discover, and develop recent computational approaches to music, including 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.
Eran EgozyProfessor of Practice in Music Technology and one in all this system leaders, says MIT's focus is on technical research in music technology, at all times specializing in the humanistic and artistic facets of music-making.
“There are so many MIT students who’re great musicians,” Egozy says. “We will approach music technology as computer scientists, mathematicians and musicians.”
With the introduction of this recent program – an offering alongside MIT’s offerings Media Lab and elsewhere – Egozy sees MIT as an obvious stop for college kids interested by music and computer science. It prepares high-caliber graduates for roles in academia and industry, while helping to shape creative thinkers who can tackle big challenges.
Investigate big ideas
The program includes two master's degrees and a Ph.D.:
- The Master of Science (MS) is a two-semester, thesis-based program available only to MIT students. All admitted students are robotically awarded a semester scholarship. Enrollment for the primary 12 months will happen in autumn 2025.
- The Master of Applied Science (MAS) is a two-semester, part-time course of study that’s open to all students. All admitted students are robotically awarded a semester scholarship. Applications for this program will open in fall 2025.
- The PhD program is offered to all students who want to apply to MIT's School of Engineering.
Anna Huanga brand new assistant professor at MIT, who holds a joint faculty position between MIT's Department of Music and Theater Arts and MIT's Schwarzman College of Computing, is working with Egozy to develop and launch this system. Huang arrived at MIT this fall after eight years at Magenta at Google Brain and DeepMind, where he led efforts in generative modeling, reinforcement learning and human-computer interaction to advance human-AI partnerships to support music making.
“As a composer and AI researcher specializing in generative music technology, my long-term goal is to develop AI systems that may shed recent light on the way in which we understand, learn and create music, and to learn from interactions between musicians to realize this. “We are changing the way in which we approach human-AI collaboration,” says Huang. “With this recent program, we will further investigate how musical applications can make clear problems in understanding neural networks, for instance.”
MIT's recent Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building, with expanded music technology spaces, may also help transform music education through versatile performance spaces and optimized rehearsal facilities.
A natural home for music technology
MIT's world-class, top-ranked engineering program, combined with its deal with computer science and its conservatory-level music education offerings, make the institute a natural site for the continued expansion of music technology education.
The collaborative nature of the brand new program is the newest example of interdisciplinary work across the institute.
“I’m very happy that the School of Engineering is collaborating with the MIT Music and Theater Arts Section on this essential initiative, which represents the convergence of varied engineering fields – corresponding to AI and design – with music,” he says Anantha ChandrakasanDean of the School of Engineering, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer and Vannevar Bush Professor of EECS. “I can’t wait to see the scholars’ progressive projects and the way they’ll advance this recent field.”
“Everyone on campus knows that MIT is an ideal place to make music. But I would like people to come back to MIT due to our musical work,” he says Agustin Rayothe Kenan Sahin Dean of SHASS. “This outstanding collaboration with the Schwarzman College of Computing and School of Engineering will make that dream a reality by bringing together one of the best engineers on this planet with our exceptional musicians to create the following generation of music technologies.”
“The recent master’s program offers students an unprecedented opportunity to explore the intersection of music and technology,” he says Daniel HuttenlocherDean of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and Henry Ellis Warren Professor of EECS. “It gives them a deep understanding of this confluence and prepares them to advance recent approaches to computational models of music and be on the forefront of an evolving field.”
