MUSDMA - Music
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Major Core Units: 48
Additional Emphasis Units: (see emphasis requirements below)
Composition: 38
Conducting: 40
Performance: 40
Required Minor Units: 12
Total Minimum Degree Units: 98
Master's Degree: 30 Units
course*: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Music: 3 units
*Students who already have taken course or its equivalent as a part of their master’s degree must substitute 3 units of MUS core courses.
Students must select 15 units of course work from the following three categories of core courses. At least 3 units must be selected from each category.
Category A: Music Education
course: Advanced Studies in Music Teaching (3)
course: Behavioral Research in the Arts (3)
course: Foundations and Principles of Music Education (3)
course: Psychology of Music (3)
course: Teaching Music in Higher Education (3)
course: Music Education (3)
Category B: Music Theory
course: Counterpoint (3)
course: Counterpoint (3)
course: Analysis of Tonal Music I: Form (3)
course: Analysis of Tonal Music I: Chromaticism (3)
course: Analysis of Contemporary Music (3)
course: Music Since 1950 (3)
course: Electro-Acoustic Music (3) OR course: Electro-Acoustic Studio Resources (3)
course: Theory Pedagogy (3)
course: Post-Tonal Analysis (3)
course: Introduction to Schenkerian Theory (3)
course: Seminar in Schenkerian Theory (3)
course: Current Trends in Music Theory (3)
course: Specialized Readings in Music Theory (3)
course: Music Theory (3)
Category C: Historical Musicology and Ethnomusicology
course: Music in the Renaissance (3)
course: Music in the Baroque (3)
course: Music in the Classical Period (3)
course: Music of the Twentieth Century (3)
course: Music in the Middle Ages (3)
course: Music in the Romantic Period (3)
course: Studies in Latin American Music (3)
course: Art Music in the United States (3)
course: Music History Research (3)
course: Musicology (3)
course: Ethnomusicology (3)
Students are expected to enroll in at least one core class per semester until all core courses are completed. A 3.0 semester and cumulative GPA must be maintained. If the GPA falls below 3.0 in any semester, the consequence may be loss of financial aid and/or dismissal. Appeals may be made directly to the Director of Graduate Studies.
GRADUATE MUSIC COURSES (not including Ensembles)
course: Analysis of Tonal Music I: Form (3)
course: Analysis of Tonal Music II: Chromaticism (3)
course: Analysis of Contemporary Music (3)
course: History and Literature of the Wind Band (3)
course: Entrepreneurship in the Arts (3)
course: Music in the Renaissance (3)
course: Music in the Baroque (3)
course: Music in the Classical Period (3)
course: Music of the 20th Century (3)
course: Music Since 1950 (3)
course: Music in the Middle Ages (3)
course: Music in the Romantic Period
course: Electro-Acoustic Music (3)
course: Electro-Acoustic Studio Resources (3)
course: Advanced Studies in Music Teaching (3)
course: Behavioral Research in the Arts (3)
course: Studies in Latin American Music (3)
course: Art Music in the United States (3)
course*: Music History Research (3)
course: Seminar in Music and Dance Collaboration (2)
course: Independent Study (1-3)
course: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Music (3)
course: Qualitative Research in Music (3)
course: Historical Research in Music (3)
course: Theory Pedagogy (3)
course: Post-Tonal Analysis (3)
course: Introduction to Schenkerian Theory (3)
course: Seminar in Schenkerian Theory (3)
course*: Choral Literature (3)
course*: Advanced Composition (3)
course: Foundations and Principles of Music Education (3)
course: Psychology of Music (3)
course: Quantitative Analysis in Music Education
course: Teaching Music in Higher Education (3)
course: Internship (1-6)
course: Practicum (1-6)
course: Special Topics in Music (3)
course*: Music Education (3)
course*: Musicology (3)
course*: Music Theory (3)
course*: Composition (3)
course: Keyboard Studies (3)
course: Ethnomusicology (3)
course: Independent Study (1-5)
*Course is repeatable for credit
Ensemble Policy for DMA Degrees
Doctoral degrees may require large conducted ensemble participation as delineated in each degree grid. The appropriate large conducted ensemble varies by degree plan. The required large conducted ensemble, designed to support applied and academic study in each degree plan, must be chosen from the following list:
Bowed Strings: course: Symphony Orchestra; course: Philharmonic Orchestra. Based on placement audition, with bowed string faculty and large conducted ensemble faculty approval.
Wind/Percussion: course: Wind Symphony; course: Conducted Instrumental Ensemble; course: Symphony Orchestra; or course: Concert Jazz Band
Piano/Keyboard, Harp, Guitar: course: Marching Band - "Pride of Arizona" / course: Symphonic Band / course: Wind Symphony / course: Conducted Instrumental Ensemble / course: Summer Chorus / course: Symphonic Choir / course: University Singers / course: University-Community Chorus / course: Arizona Choir / course: Symphony Orchestra / course: Philharmonic Orchestra / course: Collegium Musicum / course: Concert Jazz Band / course: Treble Glee Club / course: Mariachi Arizona / course: Studio Jazz Ensemble; or course: Coached Ensemble; or course: Small Conducted Ensemble; as determined by piano/keyboard, harp, and guitar faculty and large conducted ensemble faculty.
An audition process designed and administered by the ensemble directors in consultation with the applied faculty and approved by the Director of the School of Music will determine participation in the appropriate large conducted ensemble. Students whose degree grids specify a large conducted ensemble requirement of two or more credits must participate in a large conducted ensemble in a two-semester sequence.
Diagnostic and Qualifying Examinations
All entering graduate students are required to take diagnostic examinations in music history and music theory, and voice students also take a diagnostic exam in diction. These 2-3 hour examinations are administered prior to the beginning of classes in the fall and spring semesters. The music history diagnostic exam also is offered online prior to summer session classes. Students who show deficiencies on the history and theory exams may be recommended to take designated course work, which should be completed prior to enrollment in graduate musicology and theory courses. All graduate-level courses in music history and music theory taken to fulfill diagnostic exam recommendations and completed with a grade of “C” or higher may be used to fulfill doctoral degree requirements.
Graduate diagnostic examinations in music history and music theory may be taken only once. Students who proceed directly from master’s degrees into doctoral degrees at The University of Arizona are exempt from additional diagnostic examinations.
In addition to the diagnostic examinations, all doctoral students take qualifying examinations in the major and minor fields of study, unless the major or minor exam is waived by the faculty responsible for setting the exam. The qualifying examinations test a student’s overall readiness to enter into doctoral work, and are not purely diagnostic. If faculty evaluate an examination as failing, students may be required to retake the exam during the next exam cycle. Qualifying exams may be taken a maximum of two times. Normally students take both major and minor examinations during the fifth week of the first semester in residence, although they may be taken as late as the second semester. Students may elect to take the major exam in the first semester and the minor exam
in the second semester. DMA and Ph.D. qualifying exams are administered in October and February of each year. Faculty may use these results to guide the student’s direction of study in the major and minor fields by recommending additional coursework beyond that specified by a student’s degree grid.
The qualifying examination in the major field of study may be waived only when a candidate has completed a master's degree in the same field at The University of Arizona, and only upon the recommendation of the major area. The qualifying examination in the minor field may be waived at the option of the minor area.
Doctoral Recitals: Repertory
Doctoral candidates in conducting and performance present a series of recitals (including a lecture recital and accompanying document) in lieu of the dissertation required of Ph.D. candidates. Although it is expected that most of the repertory on the Doctoral Qualifying Recital will be newly-learned, some repetition of pieces from prior study is permissible on this recital at the discretion of the major professor. Previously performed music may only be used for the Doctoral Qualifying Recital. For the other three doctoral degree recitals, music may not be selected from repertoire used to satisfy previous degree recitals.
Candidates in Performance present a series of four recitals--the Qualifying, Ensemble, Solo, and Lecture Recitals. Students who wish to perform more than one degree recital in a semester must first receive approval from the School of Music Graduate Committee. The order of recitals after the qualifying recital is interchangeable. The Final Oral Examination cannot be scheduled until all four recitals have been completed. Each recital should be from 50-90 minutes in length. Doctoral voice students who receive approval per unanimous decision by the voice and opera faculty may substitute a major operatic role or two secondary opera roles in lieu of one of the solo degree recitals.
The Doctoral Comprehensive Written Examination (except Music Education)
Before admission to candidacy, doctoral students must pass examinations in the chosen fields of study. These examinations are intended to test the student’s comprehensive knowledge of the major and minor areas. This is the occasion when committee members have both the opportunity and obligation to require the student to display a broad knowledge of the chosen field of study (i.e. music) and sufficient depth of understanding in the areas of specialization (major area and minor area). The exam is comprehensive and integrative in relation to the field and specialization.
The written comprehensive examination is held when essentially all course work is completed, and no later than three months prior to the date of the final oral examination. The written comprehensive examinations are administered in October and February of each year. Piano, strings, music theory and voice majors must have satisfied their foreign language requirements before scheduling these examinations.
The Written Comprehensive Examinations are not “take home”. The five members of the student's Advisory Committee must each prepare a two-hour written examination that will be given on campus (a six-hour test in the major area and a four-hour test in the minor area). Two negative votes constitute a failure of the written comprehensive examinations. At the discretion of the committee and with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies the student may re-take the written test one time.
After successful completion of the written examinations, an oral examination shall be conducted before a committee of the faculty approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and the Dean of the Graduate College.
Doctoral Comprehensive Oral Examination
The Oral Comprehensive Examination will last at least one hour but not more than three. In this examination the faculty have both the opportunity and the obligation to require a student to display a broad knowledge of the chosen field of study (music), and sufficient depth of understanding in areas of specialization (major and minor fields). As a test of a successful performance, the student should demonstrate a professional level of knowledge expected of a junior faculty member.
Formal Proposals for Dissertations or Doctoral Documents
All doctoral students in music culminate their academic studies with a capstone project. The capstone project for doctoral students in music education, music theory, and musicology is a Dissertation that
presents original research and substantiates a thesis or hypothesis. These students will continue to use the guidelines for doctoral proposals given in the current edition of the Graduate Handbook and earlier editions. For doctoral composition students the capstone project is a substantial original composition accompanied by a detailed explanation of the compositional and aesthetic decisions that informed the work's structure and content. These students will continue to use the guidelines for doctoral composition proposals given in the current edition of the Graduate Handbook.
Final Doctoral Oral Examinations
This final examination is an oral defense of the entire “dissertation” (in the DMA degree all recitals and the lecture- recital document are offered in lieu of dissertation) and the student is expected to be able to defend all elements of the "dissertation." The examination may include any further general questioning related to the field(s) of study encompassed within the scope of the dissertation. Committee members should have the penultimate copy of the document at least 30 days before the examination (all committee members have reviewed the document and all requested changes have been made).
Doctoral Minor: A Secondary Concentration
To allow for greater flexibility and to develop a second area of concentration, each doctoral student selects at least one minor area of study. The minor must be approved by the minor advisor designated on the student study plan.
Minor areas of concentration in music may be chosen from complementary disciplines (e.g., Composition, Conducting, Music Education, etc.). Minors outside the School of Music may be chosen with the approval of the Graduate Committee and the approval of the faculty in the chosen discipline. Conducting majors (choral, orchestral, wind) may elect conducting in a complementary area as a minor (e.g., choral major with an orchestral minor) upon permission of the conducting faculty after an audition in the complementary area. Otherwise, the minor may not be in the same music emphasis area as that selected for the major. For example, violin performance students may not minor in piano performance.
Discuss your proposed minor with the Director of Graduate Studies before contacting the area in which you hope to minor.
Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.
Minimum Credit Units
38 (in addition to Core Major Units and Required Minor Units above)
Emphasis Core Coursework Requirements
DMA Composition
Emphasis Elective Coursework
See electives for overall plan above.
Additional Emphasis Requirements
See additional requirements for the overall plan above.
Minor Requirements for Doctoral Students in this Emphasis
See minor requirements for the overall plan above.
Minimum Emphasis Units
40 (in addition to Core Major Units and Required Minor Units above)
Emphasis Core Coursework Requirements
DMA Conducting
course: Music Individual Studies: Conducting*(16-21)
Large Conducted Ensemble (4) - see Ensemble Policy in Additional Requirements for overall plan above
Doctoral Recitals (20)
*All Instrumental Conducting Majors with a Wind Band emphasis must take course: History and Literature of the Wind Band (3). Choral Conducting majors must take course: Choral Literature (9), course: Music Individual Studies (8), and course: Arizona Choir (4); once the Graduate Committee has approved the lecture- recital proposal, students may elect to take additional semesters of course in preparation for presentation of the lecture recital and document.
Emphasis Elective Coursework
See electives for overall plan above.
Additional Emphasis Requirements
See additional requirements for overall plan above.
Minor Requirements for Doctoral Students in this Emphasis
See Minor Requirements for overall plan above.
Minimum Emphasis Units
40 (in addition to Core Major Units and Required Minor Units above)
Emphasis Core Coursework Requirements
DMA Performance (Vocal)
Large Conducted Ensemble (4) - see Ensemble Policy in Additional Requirements for overall plan above
course: Doctoral Recitals (20)
DMA Performance (Instrumental)
course: Music Individual Studies (16)
Large Conducted Ensemble* (4) - see Ensemble Policy in Additional Requirements for overall plan above
course: Doctoral Recitals (20)
*Guitar and Harp only: Students may instead take 4 units of course: Coached Ensemble or course: Small Conducted Ensemble.
DMA Performance (Piano)
One of the following:
Large Conducted Ensemble (4) - see Ensemble Policy in Additional Requirements for overall plan above
course: Coached Ensemble (4)
course: Small Conducted Ensemble (4)
Piano majors may elect an ensemble emphasis in which the series of recitals is as follows: qualifying recital (4 units), ensemble/vocal recital (5 units), ensemble/instrumental recital (5 units), and the lecture recital (6 units).
DMA Performance (Organ/Harpsichord)
One of the following:
Large Conducted Ensemble (4) - see Ensemble Policy in Additional Requirements for overall plan above
course: Coached Ensemble (4)
course: Small Conducted Ensemble (4)
Organ/Harpsichord majors may elect an ensemble emphasis in which the series of recitals is as follows: qualifying recital (4 units), ensemble/vocal recital (5 units), ensemble/instrumental recital (5 units), and the lecture recital (6 units).
Elective Coursework
See electives for overall plan above.
Additional Requirements
See additional requirements for overall plan above.
Vocal majors: must show practical proficiency in Italian, French, and German as determined by examination. Prior to the first semester of graduate study, students will take a diction diagnostic exam. This exam determines deficiencies and may require remedial coursework. In addition, singers must pass a more comprehensive language proficiency exam for each of the above-mentioned languages. The language proficiency examinations must be taken during the first semester of study. If a student does not pass a language proficiency exam the first time, they may retake it in full or in part when offered by the area. Master’s and doctoral oral examinations may not be scheduled until all sections of the language proficiency exam have been passed and any deficiencies identified by the diction diagnostic exam have been remedied.
Keyboard majors: A reading knowledge of French or German is required. Competency will be measured by a written examination to be completed prior to scheduling Written Comprehensive Examinations.
Minor Requirements for Doctoral Students in this Program
See Minor Requirement for overall plan above.