A new multidisciplinary MIT graduate program in music and computing technology It will have teachers, laboratories and study plans from across the Institute.
The program is a collaboration between the Music and Theater Arts Section in the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (SHASS); Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (EECS) in the Engineering School; and the MIT Schwarzman School of Computing.
“The launch of a new graduate program in music technology strikes me as a necessary and provocative gesture: an important leap in an era that is rapidly being redefined by the exponential growth of computing, artificial intelligence, and human-computer interactions. every type imaginable. ” says Jay Scheibhead of the Section of Music and Theater Arts at MIT and professor of the class of 1949.
“Music plays an elegant role at the forefront of a remarkable convergence between art and technology,” adds Scheib. “It's the right time to launch this program and if not at MIT, where?”
MIT professionals define music technology as the field of scientific research where they study, discover, and develop new computational approaches to music that include musical 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 musical applications.
They were Egozyprofessor of practice in music technology and one of the leaders of the program, says MIT's focus is technical research in music technology that always centers the humanistic and artistic aspects of making music.
“There are so many MIT students who are fabulous musicians,” Egozy says. “We will approach music technology as computer scientists, mathematicians and musicians.”
With the launch of this new program, an offering alongside those available at MIT media lab and elsewhere: Egozy sees MIT becoming the obvious destination for students interested in the study of music and computing, preparing high-impact graduates for roles in academia and industry, at the same time while helping to develop creative and far-reaching thinkers who can take on big challenges.
Investigating big ideas
The program will cover two master's degrees and a doctorate:
- The Master of Science (MS) is a two-semester thesis-based program available only to MIT undergraduates. One semester of scholarship is automatically awarded to all admitted students. The first class will enroll in fall 2025.
- The Master of Applied Science (MAS) is a two-semester course-based program available to all students. One semester of scholarship funding is automatically awarded to all admitted students. Applications for this program will open in fall 2025.
- The PhD program is available to all students who would apply to the MIT School of Engineering.
Anna Huanga new MIT assistant professor who holds a shared faculty position between the MIT Section of Music and Theater Arts and the MIT Schwarzman School of Computing, is collaborating with Egozy to develop and launch the program. Huang came to MIT this fall after spending eight years with Magenta at Google Brain and DeepMind, leading efforts in generative modeling, reinforcement learning, and human-computer interaction to support human-ai partnerships in music creation.
“As a composer turned ai researcher specializing in generative music technology, my long-term goal is to develop ai systems that can shed new light on how we understand, learn and create music, and learn from interactions between musicians to be able to transform the way we approach human-ai collaboration,” says Huang. “This new program will allow us to further investigate how musical applications can illuminate problems in understanding neural networks, for example.”
MIT's new Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building, featuring music technology-enhanced spaces, will also help transform music education with versatile performance rooms and streamlined rehearsal facilities.
A natural home for music technology
MIT's top-notch, world-class engineering program, combined with its focus on computing and its conservatory-level music education offerings, make the Institute a natural home for the continued expansion of music technology education.
The collaborative nature of the new program is the latest example of interdisciplinary work taking place across the Institute.
“I am delighted that the School of Engineering is partnering with MIT's Section of Music and Theater Arts on this important initiative, which represents the convergence of several areas of engineering, such as artificial intelligence and design, with music,” says Anantha Chandrakasandean of the School of Engineering, director of strategy and innovation and Vannevar Bush Professor of EECS. “I can’t wait to see the innovative projects the students will create and how they will push this new field forward.”
“Everyone on campus knows that MIT is a great place to make music. But I want people to come to MIT for what we do in music,” he says. Agustin RayoKenan Sahin Dean of SHASS. “This remarkable collaboration with the Schwarzman College of Computing and the School of Engineering will make that dream a reality, bringing together the world's best engineers with our extraordinary musicians to create the next generation of music technologies.”
“The new master's program offers students an unparalleled opportunity to explore the intersection of music and technology,” says Daniel Huttenlocherdean of the MIT Schwarzman School of Computing and Henry Ellis Warren Professor of EECS. “It provides them with a deep understanding of this confluence, preparing them to advance new approaches to computational modeling of music and be at the forefront of an evolving area.”
