General DMA Degree Requirements

The DMA degree is granted upon successful completion of a program of study, written and oral qualifying examinations, and terminal projects appropriate to the student’s field of specialization. Students must complete a minimum of 48 semester credits with grades no lower than B- in graduate-level coursework. All degree requirements must be completed within seven years of the date of matriculation.

Proficiency Examinations

All entering Master of Music (MM) and Doctor of Musical Arts students are required to take a proficiency examination in music theory and a proficiency examination in musicology. These examinations are given before the start of classes. Accepted students are notified of the exam dates and are responsible for taking them. Exam results are used for advisement and may establish prerequisite or required coursework. Material covered in these examinations is commonly presented in most undergraduate degree programs in music. Detailed descriptions of these exams are supplied to accepted students. Students in composition, music theory, and musicology will also be examined in fugue; historical performance students will be examined in counterpoint.

Students with insufficient background in music theory may be required to take MU 400 Graduate Theory Review, which may be used as elective credit. The course is a seven-week, online course given three times per year in the second half of Fall, Spring, and Summer Terms.

Composition Program Outline

Recital

The student must present a program, approximately one hour long, of original compositions.

Language Requirements

The minimum requirement for students in the DMA in composition is reading competency in modern French, German, or Italian. All language requirements must be fulfilled before a student takes the doctoral qualifying examinations.

Qualifying Examinations

After completing at least 30 credits, students may take the doctoral qualifying examinations, which consist of written and oral examinations in music theory, music history, and the major field. One or both of the music theory and history examinations may be taken in a given semester. Details on these examinations are available in the School of Music Graduate Handbook.

The student has three opportunities to pass examinations in each area. Once a student has passed an individual area exam, he or she need not repeat it even if required to retake another area exam. The student proceeds to oral examinations only when he or she has passed all written examinations.

Requirements for examinations vary by concentration.

Final Projects

Students in the DMA in composition follow the dissertation track, and they are permitted to begin work on the dissertation only after satisfactory completion of the qualifying examinations. For further details on final projects, see the School of Music Graduate Handbook.

Students who have completed a BA or BM may apply directly to the Post-Baccalaureate DMA program. Applicants must meet the general admission requirements for the MM program and must show evidence of strong academic performance as well as compositional achievement. Students who apply from the MM program prior to completion are subject to the same admission rules.

Composition Program Outline

Recitals

Students give two recitals during this degree program. During the second year of study, the student submits a recital portfolio for faculty approval. This portfolio must contain works totaling at least one-half hour in length. Once the portfolio is approved, the student presents these works in a recital. If the works have all been previously publicly performed or read, this first recital requirement may be waived at the discretion of the composition faculty. Prior to work on the dissertation, during the third or fourth year, the student must again submit a recital portfolio for faculty approval. These works, which may include pieces previously submitted, must make up a full-length program. Once the faculty has approved the recital, the student must present it publicly. This may be done at any time prior to graduation. Students are expected to register for Graduate Composition lessons until the second recital portfolio is completed and approved.

Dissertation

Students in the Post-Baccalaureate DMA in composition follow the dissertation track, and they are permitted to begin work on the dissertation only after satisfactory completion of the qualifying examinations. For further details on final projects, see the School of Music Graduate Handbook.

All degree requirements must be completed within seven years of matriculation.