Alumni Placement and Successes

Many of our musicology graduates go on to pursue doctoral work, and the area has an excellent track record of placing students in leading PhD programs. Students who double major in musicology and other degree programs often work in academic positions teaching voice, instrumental music, music education, music composition, and music theory. Our graduates also receive jobs in arts administration, journalism, and a variety of other fields in which writing skills about music are required.

Placements in PhD Programs in Musicology

• Nya Nulty (2026): University of Colorado
• Suzanna Feldkamp (2022): Case Western University
• Kelli Smith-Biwer (2018): University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
• Jonathan Gómez (2018): Harvard University
• Trevor Nelson (2016): The Eastman School of Music
• Emily Baumgardt (2015): Indiana University
• Stephen Armstrong (2014): The Eastman School of Music
• Patrick Bonczyk (2014): University of California at Los Angeles
• Vanessa Tonelli (2013): Northwestern University
• Monica Hershberger (2011): Harvard University
• Laura Donnelly (2010): University of Pennsylvania

Recent alumni accomplishments

• Kelli Smith-Biwer (MA, 2018) recently joined the University of Michigan faculty as Assistant Professor. Smith-Biwer was previously on the faculty of Ohio University. Read More about Smith-Biwer’s work.
• Jonathan Gómez (MA, 2018) joined the University of Michigan faculty as an Assistant Professor of Music in Fall 2024. Read more about Gómez’s work.
• Monica Hershberger (MA, 2011) was recently promoted to Associate Professor at Lehigh University. Hershberger’s first book, Women in American Operas of the 1950s, was published in 2023.