The College of Arts & Sciences

Investigate tradition + creativity in everyday life

Our department is a world-renowned center for the integrative study of human expressive culture, at home and abroad, in the past and the present. The only department to combine the disciplines of folklore and ethnomusicology, we offer a unique education in three interrelated areas: humanistic inquiry and analysis, artistic performance and presentation, and public engagement.

Explore Folklore + Ethnomusicology

Our degree programs

There are a number of degree options in Folklore and Ethnomusicology. Undergraduate students can pursue a major, minor, or certificate. Our graduate program includes a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in Folklore and Ethnomusicology. We also offer three dual graduate degrees in partnership with several of IU’s professional schools.

View our undergraduate degrees
Learn about our graduate degrees

There is more to the story

Our courses explore the rich history of stories, music, and other forms of expression around the world and throughout time. We engage with topics that touch our everyday lives: health and illness, social movements, diverse cultures, superstition, and more.

View undergraduate courses  View graduate courses

Leaders in our fields

Recognized as the best of its kind, our department owes its reputation to the academic interests and diverse perspectives of our faculty. Our research considers the many ways in which tradition intersects with the domains of popular culture, politics, commerce, and public policy.

Meet our faculty  View our research

Two institutes for research + teaching

Together, folklorists and ethnomusicologists illuminate cultural worlds through people’s own creations appreciated in context. Such meaningful forms of expression range from verbal art and song to music and dance, from custom and ritual to visual arts and material culture.

Folklore Institute
Ethnomusicology Institute

News

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Dr. Emily Bryant joins Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum

Pravina Shukla.

Dr. Pravina Shukla receives 2025 James P. Holland Morley Award for Exemplary Teaching and Service

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Events

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