MFA in Sonic Practice

Dartmouth’s MFA in Sonic Practice is a three-year, fully-funded graduate program for composers, artists, and scholars working expansively with sound. The program draws together a close-knit community of makers and thinkers concerned with the visceral and social force of sound: its capacity to move bodies, shape cultures and stretch perception. Through one-on-one conversation with faculty, seminars, group critiques, and cross-disciplinary classes, students foster critical and technical skills to empower their creative practices and deepen their intersectional grasp of the aesthetics and politics of sounding and listening.

The MFA in Sonic Practice is best suited to artists with a strong track record of independent creative work who feel they would benefit from three years of focused mentorship, critical engagement, and community support. We aim to embrace a wide range of aesthetic approaches and sonic lineages and see this program as a home for students with hybrid practices that challenge conventional disciplinary boundaries and academic norms. Our curriculum is flexibly designed to support the individualized research goals of each student, and best fits learners who thrive in self-motivated contexts with a high degree of academic independence.  

All MFA students receive full tuition waivers, health insurance, a living stipend (47,000 USD in 2024–25), and a relocation bonus. Facilities include The Warehouse, a brand new 24-channel sound and light lab, The Bregman Electronic Studio, with an 8-channel system and an array of vintage analog synthesizers, Sudikoff, a dynamic makerspace fully stocked with sensors and soldering irons, as well as individual work spaces in the cohort clubhouse Hallgarten. 

Join us at our Virtual Open House for Prospective Applicants on Thursday, December 5, from 12 to 1:30pm (ET) to meet faculty, staff and current students and learn more about the program and application process. 

For more information, visit here.