New Students

Welcome to graduate studies at the Schulich School of Music!

Each year MGSS hosts a series of events during orientation week to help you get your footing at McGill and in Montreal, as well as to introduce you to other students in the program. A schedule of events for the Fall 2025 orientation will be posted in August.

Resources for Incoming Students

Welcome to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies – A comprehensive guide to enrolling at McGill with additional information about Montreal’s many offerings.

The PGSS Member Hand-Book – McGill’s Post-Graduate Student Society (PGSS) maintains a comprehensive PDF document concerning study at McGill and life in Montreal.

The academic calendar – Information concerning start and end dates, examination periods, and holidays

The Marvin Duchow Music Library – The music library can be found on the third, fourth, and fifth floors of the New Music Building (527 Sherbrooke O.). In addition to their wide holdings of books, scores, periodicals, and other print materials, they also have a useful collection of audio-visual equipment that students may borrow. Their website also has valuable guides and resources for music research.

Instrument locker registration – The registration of instrument lockers is overseen by the Music Undergraduate Student Association (MUSA).

Practice room registration – The registration of practice rooms takes place early in the semester and is also overseen by MUSA. Rooms are available on the third, fourth, and fifth floors of the E-wing of the music building (555 Sherbrooke O.) as well as the eleventh floor of 550 Sherbrooke O.

Instrument loans – The Building Manager’s Office22, E-223, and E-224) oversees the lending of musical instruments and various other equipment.

Administrative Offices

On the 7th floor of the Elizabeth Wirth Music Building, you will find the upper administrative offices of the Schulich School of Music. These incredible staff members are available to support you through your studies at Schulich.

The Schulich website and directory offers a wealth of information on various aspects of graduate studies in music at McGill University. The directory of staff can also point you to administrative staff, who you can contact via the emails listed. The Associate Dean of Graduate Studies is Dr. Lisa Barg, and Helene Drouin and Michel Cayer are always very helpful in assisting students with any questions or concerns as Student Affairs Coordinators. The graduate studies office can be reached at graduatestudies.music@mcgill.ca.

Doctoral Colloquium

The Doctoral Colloquium is a forum for Graduate Students in all areas to present their work, and to foster collegiality and shared knowledge across disciplines by engaging with research presented by guest lecturers and McGill faculty members.

These colloquia happen on a weekly basis, on Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00pm.

All Ph.D. students must attend 8 sessions of the doctoral colloquium each year, for their first two years. They additionally must register for MUGS 705D1/D2, although you only need to register in your first year.

Select comparable lectures can count towards your doctoral colloquium credits, including CIRMMT distinguished lectures. Please confirm with the coordinator, and get instructions on how to submit attendance to an alternative event for credit. The coordinator changes on a yearly basis, so if you are unsure who it is, email the grad studies office.

Students registered in MUGS 605: M.Mus Colloquium need to attend 3 research lectures or professional development events over the course of their degrees, and the Doctoral Colloquium counts towards this.

Additionally, Ph.D. students must present once at the colloquium at any time during their program. Most students chose to present their doctoral research at the end of their degree.

MGSS regularly offers a colloquium reception after colloquiums, particularly presentations by doctoral researchers. These are great opporitunities to drink some wine, have some snacks, and get to know students and faculty inside and outside your area!

See our "events" page for a list of the doctoral colloquiums!

Funding

There are many opportunities for funding your education, including internal and external funding opportunities.

McGill requires all PhD students to apply each year for external funding. The two largest sources of funding are the federal SSHRC and the provincial FRQ grant competitions. Deadlines for application occur in the fall, but some applications need to be submitted internally to the department as early as August.

Information about funding, both internal and external can be found on the Schulich website, here.

As of September 2023, Schulich has launched a program to offer assistance to students seeking funding. This includes access to Graduate Writing Assistants, who are peer mentors able to help you in crafting a winning application. Information on grant writing assistance can be found here. The Grant Writing Assistants can be reached at GRgrantwriting.music@mcgill.ca

If you are an international student, you may be able to get an “International Fee Exemption” if you satisfy one of the eight criteria. For information on the various CSQ category types, see this post on canadavisa.com.

The international student services office is your best resource for information about Visas, CAQs etc. They have drop-in-hours that you can use to answer specific questions, but the majority of information can be found on their website. Information about extending your stay is available here. Work permit information is here. They reside in Suite 3215 of the Brown Student Service Building.

CIRMMT

CIRMMT is the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology, which is housed at the Schulich School of Music. CIRMMT is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research group that aims to provide a cutting-edge environment for integrated studies of music, acoustics, cognitive science, engineering, digital media, and performance sciences.

Students are able to become members of CIRMMT, so long as they are sponsored by an existing full member, typically a faculty member. On their website, you can find the list of current members. Student members are able to part in the various CIRMMT research projects, use their facilities, and apply for various forms of funding.

CIRMMT also hosts an incredible distinguished lecture series, which is open to all, as well as workshops and concerts involving music technology.

Their facilities are located on the 8th floor of the New Music Building. You can learn about upcoming events, and how to get involved on their website.

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