音乐理论描绘了聆听者、作曲者和表演者构思艺术要素的方式。学院内有众多国际知名研究学者，他们在现代主义艺术和当代音乐艺术分析与理论，节奏和韵律理论、表演分析、西方和世界音乐分析领域做出了杰出贡献。
我们为本科生必修理论课程提供了广泛的视角，为研究生研究提供灵活专业的监督。通过密集的研讨会，让学生担任教学助理、研究助理和参与会议，为研究生提供专业的导师培训。跨学科的研究领域涉及音乐学，民族音乐学，数学，语言学和其他音乐相关的领域。
Theories of music describe ways that listeners, composers, and performers conceive of the elements of their art. Our faculty include internationally known researchers who contribute to theories and analysis of modernist and contemporary art music, theories of rhythm and meter, performance analysis, and the analysis of both Western art music and world music.

We bring a broad perspective to the basic theory courses required of our undergraduates, and provide flexible and expert supervision for graduate student research. Students in our graduate programs are mentored professionally through intensive seminars, teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and conference participation. We welcome research of an interdisciplinary nature, involving musicology, ethnomusicology, mathematics, linguistics, and other musically pertinent areas.