The Bienen School of Music offers a highly competitive financial aid package to PhD students in conjunction with The Graduate School of Northwestern University.
All students who enroll in one of the PhD degree programs in music receive a full tuition waiver for five years, a monthly living stipend, and a subsidy to cover 100% of the premium for Northwestern student health insurance.
Stipends are paid as fellowship for years one and five, and as assistantship for years two, three, and four. PhD students on assistantship have the opportunity to teach coursework in their field, assist with faculty research, or pursue clinical and field studies. Both fellowship and assistantship funding are taxable. Comprehensive information on PhD student funding and taxes is found on The Graduate School’s Funding page.
Teaching is an essential element of the education and training experience of PhD students, and an integral aspect of professional development. The Graduate School requires all PhD students to serve in some instructional capacity for at least one academic quarter during their graduate education at Northwestern and strives to ensure teaching demands are as similar as possible across academic programs. Students are expected to do comparable teaching work to other students within their program. Learn more about Expectations for Financial Aid
The Graduate School offers several internal fellowships and grants to assist with academic research, professional development, and conference related travel, among other areas. Students are encouraged to review the complete list of grants and fellowships offered by TGS and to apply for those which are applicable.