<p>Libera
D is in a PhD program right now in the midwest and her cohort is multi-aged.Please remember that you can often follow the route of a direct PhD (as she is) in Musicology…if that turns out to be your interest area…the Masters is awarded “along the way”.But her program also has taken in students with a Masters already awarded from another institution.
My first reaction to your posting was Vanderbilt in Nashville…so strong for your interest in American folk/bluegrass(there Institute is the epicenter) until I saw you need to not relocate…is that set in stone? Remember, Musicology PhD’s are usually funded with tuition remission and fellowships in exchange for TA work so you would have some income.You can usually pick up additional work “on the side” D works in the Music Library, she has friends who gig,give piano lessons, teach at Community Colleges,or community based educ programs for adults (music appreciation,opera appreciation,etc) or sub in the public schools.
For whoever is saying you must go to the “name recognition” schools, you must remember that a grads interest may take them to a school whose name the general public doesnt recognize as “top” but may house a professor/advisor or Institute type group doing the work they are drawn to, and whose work is recognized in that field.</p>