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<p>Hi y'all,</p>
<p>Over the last month, I've had several conversations with some of
you regarding your experiences of and questions about CCRMA's
graduate curriculum, including two Zoom meetings, one primarily
focused on the MAMST program and the other on the PhD program. I
compiled the main points from those meetings into a brief memo
that I will send to the CCRMA faculty tomorrow evening, and I
wanted to make sure you had a chance to read it first.</p>
<p>My goal with this memo is to communicate the questions and
concerns that y'all raised, including moments when I heard
different things from different people across all contexts. Given
that we are all in the midst of our graduate careers and have
never designed a curriculum ourselves, I am hesitant to spell out
specific solutions to the dilemmas we've pinpointed. In my view,
those solutions should be arrived at in collaboration with the
faculty. For that reason, I've kept this memo as neutral as
possible in that vein.</p>
<p>There are also concerns that are not mentioned in this memo,
since it focuses exclusively on questions of coursework and
curriculum. Over the past year, I have learned that attempting to
address all issues at once is substantially less effective than
focusing on a discrete, clearly-defined topic. The topic of degree
structure, including required coursework, degree schedule, and
course selection, is of particular importance right now because
the department is currently in the process of reviewing its
curricula, and this information will help the faculty in making
these decisions.<br>
</p>
<p>Many of the other issues that have been raised, including
funding, dependent medical insurance, and housing contracts, among
others, are already the center of ongoing advocacy by ASSU and
other university-wide student organizations. I would encourage you
to get involved in those efforts, especially given the
extraordinary circumstances imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>I hope you and yours are all staying safe and healthy in these
uncertain times.</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<p>-Noah<br>
</p>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<b>Noah Fram</b><br>
PhD Candidate, Computer-Based Music Theory and Acoustics<br>
CCRMA, Stanford University</div>
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