Why German? Why Graz?
Why study music psychology and musicology in German? And why do it in Graz?
Richard Parncutt, 2008, revised 2011

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Graz (Austria) is a great place to study music psychology as part of a musicology degree. The Musikologie degree course was created in 2006 by joining the academic forces of two universities, the University of Graz (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, often abbreviated to Uni Graz) and the University of Music and Performing Arts (Kunstuniversität Graz or KUG - the former Musikhochschule). The program is considerably more epistemologically diverse than other leading international musicology programs. You may apply to enter Musikologie as a student of either Uni Graz or KUG.

Why study in the German language?

Most of the information that you will find about Musikologie is in German, and if you do not live in a German-speaking country, you will have to pass a German language test before being admitted to the course. Don't let that put you off! All professors on the course also speak fluent English and several courses are held in English. So if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask them in English in an email. It is also a good idea to ask your contact person to "feel free to reply in German", which will help you to improve your language skills in areas that are important to you.

There is a good reason for studying anything in a foreign language, and it is especially true in the case of musicology and music psychology. If your first (or second) language is English and you study musicology in Graz, you will become bilingual (or trilingual). At the end of the course you will be able to read, understand, speak and write in both English and German - not only in everyday interactions, but also in academic discourse in your chosen discipline.

German may be considered the original language of all subdisciplines of musicology, including music psychology. During the 19th Century, all subdisciplines of musicology were more strongly represented in Germany (by researchers, publications, institutions and so on) than in other countries. Many still regard German as musicology's second-most-important language. Unfortunately, the majority of English-speaking musicologists and music psychologists today have poor or non-existent German-language skills, which effectively closes the door for them on a large body of important research literature, both historical and current. They cannot, for example, read articles published in the Jahrbuch of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Musikpsychologie, which are mostly in German (although DGM conference abstracts are published in both languages).

It is quite possible - and indeed normal - to develop a successful research career in musicology or music psychology in just one language, English. But solid knowledge of another language will give you an edge against other researchers, and that edge might one day make an important difference - for example when you are writing an important research article, or applying for an academic position. If you already plan to devote a lot of time and energy to a second language, why not choose the second-most important language for the discipline of your choice?

Why live in Graz?

Graz is Austria's second city (bigger than Linz and Salzburg). Two motorway-hours south of Vienna, Graz boasts four universities (general, art, technical, medical) and a large student population of about 40 000 relative to the total population of about 280 000. That's one in seven! The city is large enough to offer the benefits of city life including a surprisingly diverse cultural program, and you will only have time attend a small proportion of the concerts that interest you. But since Graz is not too big, it avoids the disadvantages of big cities: you can quickly get where you want to go by bicycle, public transport or car. Well, to be honest, the traffic is getting worse, but the cycling facilities and public transport are both excellent by international standards, and the City of Graz currently (2008) has grand plans for making both even better.

Every year, especially in summer, untold thousands of tourists descend upon Vienna and Salzburg, most of them humming excepts from Sound of Music. They then move on to the next country. Graz residents don't really mind the fact that most of them do not visit Graz.

The weather in Graz is about as good as it gets, including both snow in the winter (with good skiing close by), moderately hot summers (with several nearby lakes to swim in), and considerably more sunshine than cities north of the Alps (such as Vienna). The adventurous will enjoy being close to contrasting cultures and languages: Slovenia and Hungary are right next door, and several other countries are close by, including Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Italy, not to mention the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland.


Why study musicology in Graz?

The musicology degree courses offer a wider range of study options than you are likely to find elsewhere - even in big cities. The publications of the professors are interesting and diverse. The number of students in advanced courses is relatively low, and you will enjoy the relatively generous staff-student contact time, especially if you decide to write a masters or PhD thesis.

The musicology program is divided into Bachelors (3 years) and Masters (2 years). For the Masters program, you focus on one of five modules (Western musical cultures, jazz and popular music, musical cultures of the world, music psychology and acoustics, and aesthetics and society) and take additional courses from other modules. The main prerequisite for entry to the masters program is a Bachelor of Musicology (n.b.: not music) or equivalent from any university. If for example you have hold a Bachelors degree in psychology, it should be possible to enter Graz's Master of Musicology course in Module D Music Psychology and Acoustics after studying for an additional year (to a maximum of 60 ECTS), during which you take courses selected from Graz's Bachelor of Musicology program. 

About the Master's program

If you are considering a doctoral project in music psychology, you should first carry out an empirical research project by yourself and present a complete write-up of the results. People usually do that in a Master's program. At the University of Graz, the Master's program is two years full time. You choose one of six different "Schwerpunkte"; music psychology is included in the Schwerpunkt "Music psychology and acoustics". You are also required to take some courses from outside your "Schwerpunkt". The curriculum is in German and the courses that you attend will be in a mixture of English and German. You will attend a research colloquium every semester to discuss your research; my colloquium is entirely in English. You final thesis and final spoken examination can be in German or English, as you prefer.