The M.A. in Theory is for students interested in exploring how specific pieces of music are put together and how this understanding may be generalized to relate to the way other pieces of music are composed. Music theory and elective seminars develop expertise in various analytical models and familiarity with the critical issues that define the discipline as a basis for developing individual research projects.
Collaborations with students from other areas and the doctoral program in seminar discussions facilitate out-of-the-box thinking; opportunities to explore interdisciplinary research topics in perception and cognition exist through collaborations with music researchers from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music, Media and Technology.
The area also provides valuable pedagogical training through teaching assistantships in undergraduate theory courses. The Faculty has a breadth of experience in early music theory, formal functions, Schenkerian analysis, mathematical models, theories of rhythm and meter, serialism, and popular music analysis.

音乐理论硕士学位为探索音乐的具体片段如何整合在一起，以及理解其他音乐片段的组成方式感兴趣的学生所准备。音乐理论和选修研讨会教授各种分析模型和并将学科界定为开发个人研究项目的关键问题等的专门知识。与来自其他地区的学生合作和在研讨会讨论博士项目帮助学生发展创造性思维；通过和来自音乐、媒体和技术跨学科研究中心的音乐研究人员合作，探索感知与认知的跨学科研究。该地区还通过本科理论课程教学研究提供了有价值的教学训练。学院在早期音乐理论、形式功能、申克分析法、数学模型、节奏、节拍和音阶理论，以及流行音乐的分析有丰富的经验。