Dr. David Sears

Associate Professor

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Biography

David Sears is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan specializing in music theory and psychology. He directs the Music Cognition & Computation Lab (MCCL) and serves as Editor-in-Chief for Music Perception, an interdisciplinary journal. His academic journey includes a PhD in music theory from McGill University and a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Institute of Computational Perception at Johannes Kepler University in Austria. Dr. Sears's research focuses on perception and cognition in musical traditions, utilizing methods from cognitive sciences. His published work examines various topics including music and emotion, music-language correspondences, and cross-cultural studies in music perception. He actively participates in conferences related to music perception and informatics. His research has been funded by prestigious organizations such as the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Moreover, he is passionate about open-access initiatives in music research and enjoys mentoring students in their research endeavors.

Research Interests

Experience

Associate Professor

— Present

University of Michigan • Ann Arbor, MI

Specializes in the intersection of music theory and cognitive sciences, directing the Music Cognition & Computation Lab.

Requirements for University of Michigan

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.5
TOEFL
Total
Required:84
GRE General
Verbal
Required:155
Verbal Percentile
Required:50
Quantitative
Required:168
Quantitative Percentile
Required:50
Analytical Writing
Required:3.6
Writing Percentile
Required:50
Prerequisites
Bachelor degree in engineering, physics, or mathematics Calculus Physics
Application Checklist
  • Rackham Graduate School Application
  • Official Transcripts
  • 3 Letters of Recommendation
  • Academic Statement of Purpose
  • Personal Statement
  • CV/Resume
Specialization Notes

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science