Introduction:

The In-Service Master’s Program of the Institute was established in the 2003 academic year and prof. Cheng, Te Yuan was the first director. The second director was prof. Ted Tsung-te Tsai from the 2008 academic year. The fifth director was prof. Weng, Chih Wen from the 2016 academic year. Prof. Ted Tsung-te Tsai is currently the sixth director from the 2020 academic year. Over the years, Taiwan’s music institutes have trained numerous musicians who were dispatched to all sectors of society including being school teacher, music teachers, civil servants of cultural institutions, band musicians and so on. With the gradual development of ethnomusicology in recent years, demands for higher academic levels and degrees were not responded by the few yearly quotas for master’s degree admissions in Taiwan. Therefore, approved by the Ministry of Education to set up the In-Service Master’s Program, our Institute provides a channel to supplement the knowledge of folk music and obtain a higher degree. Since its establishment, the Program has been welcomed by young music teachers and orchestra members who applied and hoped to get a chance to recharge.

Development Priorities

In today's westernized and modernized society, the aesthetics of Western music or Chinese music has become diverse. The program uses ethnomusicology theories to examine the music of our people and peoples of the world from a cultural perspective, including the past and the present. The current research direction is in ethnomusicology-related fields especially on religious music, Taiwan aboriginal music, Taiwan traditional music, and the development history of Chinese music. We hope students can return to their jobs and face new social environments with richer and more macroscopic music skills, proving the practical applicability of the Program.

Started from the 2020 academic year, the program includes the Ethnic Musical Instrument Making Division and the Music Technology Division.

Division A (Ethnic Musical Instrument Making Division)

Courses include Acoustics of Musical Instruments, Musical Instrument Material Theory, Musical Instruments of the World, Spectrum and Instrument Analysis, Seminar on Restoration of Musical Instruments, and instrument making such as qin, zheng, huqin, di, xiao and pipa.

Division B (Music Technology Division)

This group trains students to use digital technology to process music and sound for sound research and creation. It integrates the software and hardware resources of the Taiwan Sound Lab to train cross-field talents on music technology. Courses include Sound Art and Creation Tools, Sound Signal Processing and Analysis, Immersive Sound Field and Sound Engineering, Computer Music Production, etc.

Course Regulations (for students enrolled in the 2020 academic year and after)

(1) The minimum required graduation credits of the In-Service Master’s Program of the Institute are 42, including 36 credits on professional courses and 6 credits on the Master’s thesis.

Professional courses include:

a. 4 general required courses (12 credits): Research Methods and Thesis Writing, Ethnomusicology: Theory and Practice, Field Study and Analysis in Music, and Music Culture of the World;

b. 8 elective courses (24 credits).

(2) To allow students to make up for lacking courses from the undergraduate program, the Institute offers a total of 2 advanced placement classes (4 to 6 credits). Students with the following certificates can be exempted:

a. Ethnic Musical Instrument Making Division students who previously took woodworking courses for 4 credits;

b. Music Technology Division students who previously took Musical Basic Training (Music Theory) or Acoustics or relevant courses.

c. Students who apply for exams on these courses and pass. Exam on one course can be applied once.

(3) Master’s thesis or technical reports of students of the Institute must be written according to the form predetermined by the Institute.

For the In-Service Master’s Program, started from the 2021 academic year, the program includes the Musicology Division and the Music Technology Division.

Course Regulations (for students enrolled in 2021 academic year and after):

(1) The minimum required graduation credits of the In-Service Master’s Program of the Institute are 42, including 36 credits on professional courses and 6 credits on the Master’s thesis.

Professional courses include:

a. 4 general required courses (12 credits): Research Methods and Thesis Writing, Ethnomusicology: Theory and Practice, Field Study and Analysis in Music, and Music Culture of the World;

b. 8 elective courses (24 credits).

(2) To allow students to make up for lacking courses from the undergraduate program, the Institute offers a total of 2 advanced placement classes (4 to 6 credits). Students with the following certificates can be exempted:

a. Music Technology Division students who previously took Musical Basic Training (Music Theory) or Acoustics or relevant courses;

b. Students who apply for exams on these courses and pass. Exam on one course can be applied once.

(3) Students of the Institute must attend courses held by Center for Taiwan Academic Research Ethics Education and pass its final exam to attain the certificate, so they can be eligible for the Master’s degree exam. 

(4) Master’s thesis or technical reports of students of the Institute must be written according to the form predetermined by the Institute.