Music Theory Degree Offerings

Master of Music

Music Theory Concentration

The Masters of Music in Music Theory is an excellent choice for the performer looking for a secondary credential, or as a pathway to a doctorate in music theory. Recipients of the M.M. in music theory from LSU have gone on to some of the most highly rated doctoral programs in the country, including the Eastman School of Music, the University of Washington, Florida State University, and the University of Wisconsin.

Doctor of Philosophy

Music Theory Concentration

The only doctoral program in music theory in the south-central region, LSU boasts four highly accomplished full-time music theorists on its faculty.

Recent Recipients of the PhD in Music Theory

Morgan Weeks, PhD

Lecturer in Music 
Hugh Hodgson School of Music, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Dissertation: The Passive-Active Interaction (PAI) Model: Redefining Audio Interactions in Video Game Music (2025)

Jill Vogel, PhD

Assistant Professor of Music
Hollins University, Roanoke, VA
Dissertation: Quiet No More: An Analysis of Women’s Protest Music (2024)

Tamyke Jordon-Conlin, PhD

Assistant Professor of Music
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Dissertation: “Space is the Place”: Afrofuturism in Black Popular Music (2022)

Aleksandra (Sasha) Drozzina, PhD

Assistant Professor of Music Theory
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Dissertation: Schnittke, Gubaidulina, and Pärt: Religion and Spirituality during the Late Thaw and Early Perestroika (2020)

Wesley Bradford, PhD

Associate Professor of Music Theory, School of Music and Performing Arts
University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Lafayette, LA
Dissertation: Developing a Mathematically Informed Approach to Musical Narrative through the Analysis of Three Twentieth-Century Monophonic Woodwind Works (2016)

Andrew Nicolette, PhD

Assistant Professor of Music & Worship Studies
The Kings University at Gateway, Southlake, TX
Dissertation: A Model of the Tonal-Chromatic System and its Application to Selected Works of Gustav Mahler (2015)

Timothy Saeed, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Music and Performing Arts
Vermont State University
Dissertation: Analysis and Expressive Performance: Four Selected Works by Chopin (2014)

Adam Hudlow, PhD

Assistant Professor of Music Theory, Department of Music
Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA
Dissertation: Harmony, Voice Leading, and Drama in Three Sondheim Musicals (2013)

Minor in Music Theory

Graduate students in the DMA or PhD programs in music history, music education, or composition may select music theory as a minor area.