MA in Music (Concentration in Musicology)

Language Requirement

Before applying for graduation in this degree, the student must pass an examination testing reading knowledge of one major Western European language other than English. Language exams will be prepared and graded by two faculty members and will be administered once every semester as the need arises. The exams in any language will consist of two parts, both of which will require students to work with excerpts from texts that have to do with music.  Students may use whatever dictionaries they find appropriate. Part 1 will require students to translate a short excerpt from an older document, possibly from a musical treatise, dictionary, or encyclopedia, and almost certainly printed using archaic fonts. Part 2 will require students to read and understand a longer excerpt from a recent document, most likely a scholarly article; rather than translating the excerpt, students will have to answer questions that test their comprehensive of it.  Students will receive the documents one at a time and will be allowed one and a half hours to complete each part.  Parts 1 and 2 will be graded separately on a pass/fail basis; it is therefore possible to pass one part but fail the other. Students may retake language examinations as many times as desired without penalty. If a student passes one part of the examination in a given language but fails the other part, he or she need only retake the failed part.

PhD (Concentration in Music History)

The Doctor of Philosophy Degree with a Major in Music and Concentration in Musicology features two tracks. Students with a previous master's degree may earn the doctorate by completing a minimum of 60 hours of graduate credit including the Common Core. Students without a previous master's degree may earn the doctorate by completing a minimum of 72 hours of graduate credit including the Common Core.

The minimum residence requirement for the doctoral program consists of two consecutive long semesters (fall and the following spring, or spring and the following fall) with a minimum load of nine hours during each term. Students who enter with a previous master's degree are expected (1) to achieve candidacy (i.e. complete all requirements besides the dissertation proposal and dissertation) by the end of their sixth long semester and (2) to graduate by the end of their tenth long semester. Those that enter without a previous master's degree are expected (1) to achieve candidacy by the end of their eighth long semester and (2) to graduate by the end of their twelfth long semester.

The Doctor of Philosophy degree cannot be earned by routine work alone, regardless of accuracy or amount. The degree will be conferred on the basis of mastery of the field of music as a whole and of proven ability to plan and carry out an original investigation with distinction.

Qualifying Exams

Timing

Phase 1 — Score Identification

Phase 2 — Essays

Dissertation Phase

The culmination of the doctoral work is a dissertation of appropriate scope, quality and originality. After completing their coursework, passing the qualifying exams, and demonstrating the required proficiencies, students will start working on their dissertation proposals while finishing course work. Once they have finished course work, students will be admitted to candidacy.

The student will officially request a tenure-track or tenured member of the music history faculty to serve as major professor, register for one semester of dissertation hours with that professor, and put together a dissertation committee. The student must fill in the Committee Designation Form, seek the appropriate signatures, and file it with the Office of Graduate Studies. This committee will oversee the writing of the student’s dissertation. This committee is comprised of three to five faculty members, including the major professor, a representative of the student’s minor/related field, and at least one additional member (usually a second music historian). The composition of the committee can be revised at any time by means of the same form.

In communication with the major professor and the committee, the student will select a dissertation topic, write a dissertation proposal and submit it to the Graduate Academic Degrees Committee (GADCom) for approval. Consult the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines for more information.

If it is deemed necessary, the student may be required to define a broader area of study that sufficiently contextualizes the topic. In this case, the student will compile a bibliography on the broader area and schedule a one-hour oral exam. The student’s committee will oversee the exam, during which the student will answer questions on the literature in his/her area as represented by the bibliography. Upon admission to candidacy, the student must maintain continuous dissertation enrollment (MUGC 6950) each long semester until the dissertation has been completed and accepted by the Dean of the Graduate School. Registration in at least one summer session is required if the student is using university facilities and/or faculty time during that summer session.

Before the degree is granted, the candidate must pass an oral defense of the dissertation. The oral defense may be scheduled in the fall or spring semesters no sooner than one month after a complete draft of the thesis has been approved by the major professor and submitted to the advisory committee. Requests for summer or winter term defenses must be approved by the full advisory committee.

Related Field in Musicology (DMA or PhD)

Course Requirements

The related field in musicology requires twelve credit hours. Courses used to fulfill major-field requirements may not be used to fulfill the related-field requirements.

With the permission of the area coordinator, the final three hours of the related field may also be fulfilled by Teaching Music History, a Special Problems course (MUMH 6900) taught by the instructors of MUMH 3500 or MUMH 3510 during certain semesters. Students interested in this class must contact the area coordinator at registration time.