Colleges > Moores School of Music > Doctor of Musical Arts Programs
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Admissions
Auditions
Prospective Doctor of Musical Arts students must audition before a faculty committee; a live audition is an integral part of the application process and should be arranged as early as possible with both the Graduate Office and the appropriate area coordinator. An acceptable graduate-level performance is required at the audition. The audition should be arranged within the published scholarship audition dates (available online at www.music.uh.edu, or contact the Graduate Office at gradmusic at uh.edu); a recorded audition may be arranged only under extenuating circumstances and at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies, as well as the appropriate area faculty.
Auditions will be conducted by a committee of at least three faculty members. Prospective students should consult the audition requirements specific to the area in which they are auditioning; generally all DMA auditions will require that prospective students prepare at least three representative works in different styles and at least one work that will be performed from memory at the audition (for voice and piano applicants, all works must be performed from memory). Prospective DMA students in voice performance should plan to perform selections in four languages, including English, and proficiency in the four major singing languages: English, Italian, German, and French. If an accompanist is needed for the audition, the applicant should supply scores to the Graduate Office well in advance.
If you have additional questions, please contact the appropriate area coordinator or the Graduate Office.
Diagnostic Exams
All students entering DMA programs must take Moores School of Music diagnostic exams in music history and music theory prior to the start of their first term. (Students who complete an MM degree at the Moores School of Music and who are immediately accepted–in their first term after completion of their previous degree–to another MM program or a DMA program may be exempt from the diagnostic exams.) Students who do not take diagnostic exams prior to the start of their first term will automatically be enrolled in the appropriate remedial course(s) (MUSI 6340 and/or MUSI 6341 ).
Diagnostic exams in music theory are given on scheduled audition days; diagnostic exams in music theory and musicology are given on the Thursday before the first week of classes in fall and spring terms. More information on diagnostic exam scheduling, as well as information on registering for appropriate history and theory review courses, is available from the Moores School of Music Graduate Advisor. See below for specific information on what students can expect with regard to diagnostic exam content.
Exams are evaluated by the musicology and music theory faculty. All students are allowed one opportunity to take the diagnostic exams, and the full exam must be completed to be considered (i.e., students may not elect to take portions of exams). If remedial coursework is required after the exam (as determined by the exam results), students must enroll in these courses in the earliest term such courses are available (in most cases this will be during the first term of graduate study).
Passing scores on the diagnostic exams, or passing grades in the appropriate history or theory review courses (where a passing grade is B- or better for DMA students) will be required before students may enroll in graduate-level history and theory courses (including MUSI 6300 :Introduction to Research Methods in Musicology). Credit for review courses will not be applied toward the degree.
Voice majors at the graduate level are required to take a diagnostic exam in diction that will include oral recitation of selected prosaic and poetic passages in English, Italian, German, and French, as well as a written test that will include International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol recognition and transliteration of passages of songs in each language. This exam is administered shortly before the start of classes every term and evaluated by the voice faculty. Students who do not receive a passing score on the exam must take Advanced Lyric Diction (MUSI 6103 ) at their earliest opportunity (their first term, unless granted special dispensation by the Voice Division Coordinator or the Director of Graduate Studies). Those students required to take Advanced Lyric Diction must successfully complete the course before they will be permitted to perform their degree recital.
Specific information regarding diagnostic exam content:
Diagnostic exam in music history and literature:
The diagnostic exam in music history and literature comprises three sections:
- Short answer identification of terms and names. This section involves important terms and names in Western music, from early medieval times to the present (e.g., organum, fauxbourdon, basso continuo, the Art of the Fugue, Modest Mussorgsky, tone cluster, Louis Armstrong, metric modulation, Peter Grimes). Students can prepare for this by studying the glossary and marginalia in such texts as J. Peter Burkholder, Donald Grout, and Claude Palisca, A History of Western Music.
- Short essays. This section largely involves questions about some of the prominent genres of music history, such as motet, mass, art song, symphony, opera, or ballet; or some prominent movement in music, such as Ars Nova, Romanticism, Neoclassicism, modern jazz, or minimalism. Students can prepare for this by consulting either a history of music as mentioned above, or a shorter handbook that gives an overview of Western music.
- Listening examples. This section asks students to attempt to identify the composer and approximate year of various musical examples from the Middle Ages to the present. The readers of this portion are not so concerned with the student’s ability to actually identify such pieces as to make educated guesses as to the likely composer and century of composition. The student can prepare for this by consulting the recorded examples for one of the major textbooks on Western music history, such as the Burkholder-Grout-Palisca text.
For a sample exam, see Diagnostic Exam Musicology.
Diagnostic exam in music theory:
The diagnostic exam in music theory comprises four sections:
- Exercises in common-practice chromatic voice-leading, i.e., 4-part SATB writing with chromatic harmony and/or modulations. Students should be able to realize a figured bass and/or harmonize a melody line (given no bass line and no other harmonic indicators), using in both cases standard procedures of common-practice voice leading (logical harmonic progressions, avoidance of motion in prohibited parallel intervals, and the like). Any and all of the exercises may require the use of standard elements of chromatic harmony, including modulations, augmented sixth chords, and Neapolitan chords. Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of how such elements function in harmonic progressions and how to employ them in a voice-leading exercised.
- 18th-century counterpoint analysis. This will involve analysis of a fugue, in which students are expected to know the names of and be able to identify in score, the major components of standard Baroque fugues. Relevant terms may include: subject, counter-subject, answer (real or tonal), exposition, bridge, episode, middle entry, etc.
- Formal analysis of a large common-practice movement or portion thereof. This will involve score analysis in which students are expected to identify sections and characteristics of a standard sonata form. This will include analysis of the exposition and its constituent theme groups, transition, and coda sections, and may include analysis of a development (or portion thereof) and/or recapitulation. Harmonic analysis (i.e., Roman-numeral and figured bass analysis) of any section of the piece may be required.
- Analysis of post-common-practice, 20th-century materials. This will require students to recognize, given scores or score excerpts, compositional procedures such as 12-tone serialism; polymeter, metric shifts, or other metric procedures; harmonic resources such as extended tertian harmony or non-tertian harmony; and scalar and collectional resources such as diatonic modes, non-diatonic scales, pandiatonicism, or others.
Other information: Students will not be permitted to use a piano for assistance on any part of the exam. In preparing for the exam, students may use for study and reference the latest editions of these widely-available theory texts: Benjamin, Horvit, Koozin, and Nelson, Techniques and Materials of Music: From the Common Practice through the Twentieth Century, 7th ed. (on voice-leading theory and practice and twentieth-century materials); Aldwell and Schachter, Harmony and Voice Leading (on voice leading theory and practice); Robert Gauldin, A Practical Approach to 18th-Century Counterpoint; Douglass Green, Form in Tonal Music; Stefan Kostka, Materials and Techniques of Twentieth-Century Music.
For more information and a sample exam, see Music Theory Diagnostic Exams.
Standardized Testing Requirements
- GRE
- Only applicants specializing in Music Education are required to submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination (General Exam) as part of their applications for admission. The GRE is a prerequisite for admission in this area and may not be taken after a student has been admitted for graduate study.
- TOEFL
- International applicants for whom English is not the primary language are required to submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language.
- The TOEFL is a prerequisite for admission and may not be taken after a student has been admitted for graduate study.
- The University of Houston accepts the internet-based TOEFL, or iBT, with a minimum acceptable score of 79; including a minimum writing score of 20; the minimum standard is strictly enforced at the university level.
- The University of Houston does not accept the institutional TOEFL, or iTOEFL, for graduate admission.
- IELTS
- International applicants for graduate admission may submit passing scores from the International English Language Testing System as a substitute for TOEFL scores.
- The minimum acceptable IELTS score for graduate admission at the University of Houston is 6.5, including a minimum writing score of 6.5.
- LCC
- Applicants for graduate admission may submit, in lieu of the minimum passing scores on the TOEFL or IELTS, a passing grade in Level 6 of the intensive English program at the Language and Culture Center (LCC) at the University of Houston (administered by the University of Houston Department of English).
Foreign Language Proficiency
All doctoral students except those in music education must demonstrate reading proficiency in French, German, or Italian in order to gain admission to candidacy. Proficiency may be demonstrated in one of the following ways:
- Satisfactory completion of second-year (fourth term-equivalent of 12 credit hours or four one-term courses) undergraduate French, German, or Italian.
- Satisfactory completion of six credit hours (two terms) of intensive graduate reading courses in French, German, or Italian.
- Satisfactory completion of a translation exam in French, German, or Italian. Translation exams are administered by the musicology faculty; contact the Graduate Office for scheduling information.
Doctoral students in voice performance must also pass a three-part language proficiency exam in order to gain admission to candidacy. The content of the exam is normally as follows (consult the voice area coordinator for more information):
- Part 1: Translation, with the aid of a dictionary, of an approximately 300-word prose text in the student’s choice of French, German or Italian.
- Part 2: Translation, with the aid of a dictionary, of a poetic text (song or aria) in the student’s choice of French, German or Italian.
- Part 3: Transliteration using IPA, without the aid of a dictionary, of four texts in, respectively, French, German, English, and Italian.
Conditional Versus Unconditional Admission
The School of Music does not consider Doctor of Musical Arts applicants for conditional admission. Admission for the DMA is not possible for students who do not satisfy all entrance requirements.
Academic Policies
University Academic Regulations and Requirements
Students must satisfy all the university academic regulations and degree requirements. See the Degree Requirements section on the Graduate Catalog Policies page.
Orientation
An orientation and information session for all new Moores School of Music students occurs during the week prior to the start of classes. There is a general meeting of all students on the Tuesday of the first week of classes in the Fall term, at 1:00pm. Contact the graduate office more specific information.
An orientation session for graduate students with Teaching Assistantship positions occurs on the Friday before the start of the Fall semester. Contact the graduate office for more specific information.
Advising
Students must schedule an advising appointment with the Graduate Advisor before registering for courses in every term in which they are enrolled for graduate study. Students must come prepared for advising appointments: students should carefully review their degree requirements, courses they have completed, progress toward their degree, and course offerings in the upcoming term.
Candidacy and Continuous Enrollment
DMA students with majors in Performance and Conducting must complete all required coursework, present all required recitals except their lecture recital, and pass their comprehensive exam in order to gain admission to candidacy.
DMA students with majors in Composition must complete all required coursework, present their chamber-music recital, and pass their comprehensive exam in order to gain admission to candidacy.
DMA students with majors in Music Education must complete all required coursework and pass their comprehensive exam in order to gain admission to candidacy.
Note that students are expected to present any required pre-candidacy recitals during the time in which they are completing coursework; for students required to complete remedial work in music theory or music history, it may be advisable not to schedule degree recitals until all such requirements have been satisfied.
For all doctoral students, the comprehensive exam may be scheduled upon completion of (but not before the completion of) all required coursework and pre-candidacy recitals. Comprehensive exams are administered by the Graduate Office and scheduled over a three-day period in the week preceding the start of classes in Fall and Spring terms (see “Doctoral Comprehensive Examination” for more information). Students are expected to take their comprehensive exam at the start of the term immediately following that in which they complete required coursework for their degree.
Admission to candidacy is granted upon successful completion of the comprehensive exam. Students complete their lecture recital and doctoral document after admission to candidacy. Note that in some cases, students may present their lecture recital before their admission to candidacy, pending approval of their doctoral committee and the Director of Graduate Studies.
Doctoral students must adhere at all times to the requirement to be continuously enrolled in Fall and Spring terms until the degree program has been completed and the degree awarded (see “Continuous Enrollment and Leaves of Absence,” on the Graduate Studies home page).
Credit and Grade Requirements
Doctoral degrees require 60 credits of graduate work beyond the master’s degree with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00. No course (including any required prerequisite courses) in which a student earns a grade of C+ or lower will be accepted for credit toward the degree.
Posting of Previous Degrees Earned
Each student who enters a graduate degree program at the University of Houston must be certain that their transcript on file reflects the posting of any previous degrees earned. Students may be accepted for admission to the DMA program with the submission of a transcript showing a degree in progress, but once that degree has been completed, the student must submit to the Graduate Office an updated transcript that reflects that degree’s completion.
Scholarships and Teaching Assistantships
Students with scholarship or teaching assistantship support are responsible for meeting the terms of their Acceptance Agreement-including enrollment at the appropriate credit-hour load and any other stipulations-and must renew their support each spring following initial acceptance of the award. Students will be notified of the renewal requirement as appropriate.
Semester Credit Hours
The Moores School of Music further defines a credit hour as representing at least 15 not more than 30 minutes of private music instruction per week per 15-week term.
Residency Requirement
Doctoral students must complete at least one year (usually the first year) of the program in residence, enrolling for full-time study (9 credits) in consecutive Fall and Spring terms.
Grades and Grade Point Average (GPA)
No course in which a DMA student earns a grade of C+ or lower will be accepted for credit toward the degree. (All graduate students should see also the Low-Grade Policy). All graduate students must maintain a minimum term and cumulative grade point average of 3.00 for all graduate courses attempted. Failure to do so may result in a warning, probation, suspension, loss of financial support, or dismissal from the program.
Graduation
Graduation is not automatic upon completion of degree requirements. Students must first obtain the signatures of the Graduate Advisor, the chair of their research committee, and the Director of Graduate Studies on the DMA Graduation Certification Form (available at Doctor of Musical Arts Graduation Certification Form). Students may then apply to the university for graduation by the deadline listed in the University of Houston Academic Calendar . Fee is required; students also must be enrolled in the term in which they plan to graduate. For more information, contact:
The Office of the University Registrar
128 Welcome Center
713-743-1010
If a student is unable to graduate in the term during which application for graduation is made, the student will be required to complete another application for graduation and pay another fee in order to graduate in a subsequent term.
Academic Requirements
Doctoral Committees
Over the course of their degree programs, doctoral students in all areas except Music Education will form two committees, both of which monitor the student’s progress and guide them toward successful completion of the degree. (Music Education DMAs only have a single committee: the “Research Committee” described below). The student forms a “Recital Committee” before their first recital; this committee is responsible for adjudicating recitals and recital programs (with the exception of the lecture recital). Before beginning work on their lecture recital and doctoral essay or document, the student will form a “Research Committee,” which is charged with guiding the student’s written work on those projects.
Both the Recital and Research Committees will consist of (1) the student’s major professor; (2) a second faculty member from the student’s major field; (3) one at-large faculty member from the School of Music but from outside the student’s discipline; and (4) one at-large faculty member from any discipline, inside or outside the School of Music. At least one committee member must be from an academic division within the school of music (music theory, musicology, composition, or music education), and in all cases, the committee must include at least one member who has written a doctoral document or dissertation. Students may add a fifth at-large member to the committee, if appropriate. Both committees may consist of the same members, but it is recommended that the student chooses a Research Committee in which at least members (3) and (4) are knowledgeable about the student’s area of research.
The student’s major professor chairs the Recital Committee. In cases in which the major professor is an affiliate artist, the committee is co-chaired with another full-time faculty member. For the Research Committee, the committee member most knowledgeable about the student’s research area should serve as chair (in many cases this will be a member of one of the school’s academic divisions).
The Recital Committee is subject to the approval of the student’s committee chair and the Director of Graduate Studies; the Research Committee is subject to the approval of these individuals, the Director of the Moores School of Music, and the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Any reconfiguration of the committees must be approved by these same individuals. Both the “Moores School of Music DMA Recital Committee Appointment Form” and the “College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Research Committee Appointment Form” are available through the Moores School Graduate Advisor.
Doctoral Comprehensive Examination
Before scheduling their doctoral comprehensive examination, doctoral students must:
- satisfy the residency requirement;
- remedy all academic deficiencies;
- satisfy the foreign-language proficiency requirement;
- complete all coursework with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00;
- present all required pre-candidacy recitals (see “Candidacy and Continuous Enrollment,” above, for more information);
- and submit an application form, with a completed degree plan, to the Graduate Office; students cannot be scheduled to take the comprehensive exam without submitting an application.
Doctoral comprehensive examinations are written by a committee of four faculty members (who are not necessarily members of the student’s doctoral committee): (1) the student’s major professor; (2) one faculty representative from the student’s minor field; (3) one music theory faculty member; and (4) one musicology faculty member. Members 2, 3, and 4 are selected by the Graduate Office; generally these will be the coordinators in the respective areas of study or their designated representatives. Committee members will submit comprehensive exam questions, including scores if necessary, to the Graduate Office at least two weeks prior to the examination. The Graduate Office will notify committee members of the date of the exam and the deadline for submitting questions.
The doctoral comprehensive examination is divided into four sections - major field, minor field, music history, and music theory - and administered by the graduate advisor over three consecutive days. Students are required to take the exam on campus, on the designated day, at the scheduled time. Each day is divided into two four-hour time blocks: block 1 in the morning; and block 2 in the afternoon.
The exam is administered on the following schedule:
DAY |
BLOCK |
CONTENT |
1 |
1 |
music history part 1 |
|
2 |
music history part 2 |
2 |
1 |
major field part 1 |
|
2 |
major field part 2 |
3 |
1 |
music theory |
|
2 |
minor field; or music theory part 2, if music theory is the minor field; or free, if music history is the minor field |
Every doctoral comprehensive exam is tailored to the individual student; as such, students should seek guidance from their exam committee regarding what will be expected of them on their exam. Exam content may include, but is not limited to, these subjects:
- major field: questions pertaining to any aspect of the student’s major field of study.
- minor field: questions pertaining to any aspect of the student’s minor field of study.
- music history: questions pertaining to (a) literature and performance practice in the student’s major field; (b) bibliographic knowledge of source materials for research in the student’s major field; and (c) general knowledge of music history and literature.
- music theory: questions pertaining to (a) analysis of selected repertoire performed on degree recitals or other repertoire relevant to the student’s major field; (b) analysis of unidentified scores; (c) (b) bibliographic knowledge of source materials for relevant analytical research.
At the conclusion of the exam, the Graduate Office circulates the entire exam as a package to each committee member for evaluation. Each committee member will evaluate the exam within three working days and forward it to the next member. Committee members grade each portion of the exam independently and have four grade options for each section: pass, fail, oral exam required, or abstain.
If one or more committee members chooses a grade of “fail” on one or more portions of the exam, the full committee will meet to consider the exam. If the committee then determines by majority vote that the student has failed any portion of the exam, the student may retake (in written form) that particular portion of the exam within six months. The committee will then evaluate the student’s rewritten exam according to the same procedures and criteria as the first exam. A second failure will result in the student’s dismissal from the graduate program.
In evaluating the exams, committee members also have the option of requiring-before issuing a pass or fail grade–the student to submit to an oral follow-up exam if aspects of the written exam remain in need of clarification. The oral exam will take place if one or more committee members chooses a grade of “oral exam required” on one or more portions of the exam. The oral exam will take place within three weeks of the written exam and will be graded pass or fail by a majority vote of the committee. If the student fails the oral exam, a second oral exam may be scheduled within six months, or the student may complete another course of action at the committee’s discretion (another written exam, for example). A second failure will result in the student’s dismissal from the graduate program.
Admission to candidacy is granted upon successful completion of the doctoral comprehensive exam.
Doctor of Musical Arts Degree: Two-Track Option
All DMA students have the option to complete their degrees on one of two tracks: the doctoral document track or the doctoral essay track. Generally, the doctoral essay track will require one extra recital and a shorter, essay-style final research project (see below, under “Final Research Project: Doctoral Essay Track”); the doctoral document track will require one fewer recital and a longer, multi-chapter final research project. Both tracks require a lecture recital. For specific information on recital requirements specific to various majors, consult the appropriate degree plans, available at the bottom of this page.
Students must propose to complete their degrees on one of the two tracks following completion of their second DMA recital. (Some areas may require the doctoral document track, in which case no proposal is necessary.) Track proposal forms are available from the Graduate Office. The track proposal will require students to submit to their doctoral committees a writing sample, which in most cases will be a paper completed in an academic course in which the student has previously enrolled. The student’s doctoral committee will read the writing sample and recommend approval or disapproval the choice of track; the track proposal is subject to the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. (Note that the track proposal is not a doctoral document or doctoral essay topic proposal.) Any changes to the track after the initial approval will require a new petition to the student’s doctoral committee, following exactly the same procedures as the first track proposal.
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Final Research Project: Doctoral Document Track
The doctoral document is a contribution to the existing body of research in the student’s major field of study. It is the student’s opportunity to produce a piece of scholarly work on the level of professionals in the field, and, as such, the document must show evidence of original thought, original research, and a command of basic musicological or analytical tools.
After passing the doctoral comprehensive exam and achieving candidacy for the degree, students must submit a doctoral document topic proposal to their doctoral committee for approval. The proposal should include: the proposed title; a minimum three-page description of the document’s proposed scope, methodology, and aims; a working, chapter-by-chapter outline; a working bibliography (which will include, if appropriate, a discography); and a signature page with spaces for the signature of each committee member. The student’s entire doctoral committee must approve the topic proposal.
Documents are expected to be comparable to others produced in the student’s major field of study; a general guideline for length is 75 pages (60 pages minimum), double-spaced in a standard font. Students should use footnotes, not endnotes, and the notes should be included at the bottom of the page on which the reference appears. For other questions concerning formatting (including margins and other issues related to physical appearance of the document), front matter, order of pages, and numerous other issues, students should see the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts web page. Note also that students are required to submit a review copy of the completed and successfully defended manuscript, with all committee signatures (and with signature pages printed on the correct paper), by the published deadline in the term in which graduation will occur; usually this is the last day of classes in the term. Manuscript submissions require an appointment with the college’s dissertation secretary. Following delivery of the final copy to the dean’s office, the dissertation secretary will coordinate submission of the document to ProQuest for public archiving.
For more general questions regarding matters of style, format, and other issues involving writing, students may consult the standard style reference for humanities disciplines, the Chicago Manual of Style; other sources may include Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations; and Oliver Strunk and E. B. White, The Elements of Style. Music education majors may consult the standard style reference in the science disciplines, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. For questions regarding writing about music specifically, students may also wish to consult D. Kern Holoman, Writing About Music: A Style Sheet from the Editors of “19th-Century Music”; Jonathan Bellman, A Short Guide to Writing About Music; Richard J. Wingell, Writing About Music: An Introductory Guide; or James R. Crowdery, ed., How to Write About Music: The RILM Manual of Style. Finally, note that some students may need to enlist outside consultants for assistance with general style and copyediting issues.
During the term in which the document will be completed, students should schedule a defense on a date at least three weeks prior to the published submission deadline (see above, on manuscript submissions). The student’s doctoral committee must attend the defense, and as such the student should consult with the entire committee to find an acceptable date and time. Students may schedule the defense by calling the main office in the School of Music to reserve the conference room; one hour should be sufficient for most defenses.
Students must submit to their entire committee a final copy (the “defense copy”) of their doctoral document at least three weeks prior to the scheduled defense date; students must allow the entire committee three weeks to review the defense copy. Upon reading the document, the committee has the option of not permitting the defense to proceed as scheduled.
At the conclusion of the defense, the committee will, by majority vote, approve the document as submitted, approve the document pending revisions, defer approval (perhaps pending a second defense), or disapprove the document. A result of deferral or disapproval will require that the student resubmit the document and reschedule a defense according to the procedure outlined above. This normally will require that the student enroll for additional terms of study; consult the Graduate Advisor for more information.
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Final Research Project: Doctoral Essay Track
The doctoral essay is a scholarly essay of sufficient quality, and on a topic of sufficient interest, to warrant possible publication in the student’s field of study. The essay will be a minimum 7500 words, not including footnotes and bibliography. Doctoral essays do not require a final defense and will be archived in the Graduate Office (not submitted to UMI).
After passing the doctoral comprehensive exam and achieving candidacy for the degree, students must submit a doctoral essay topic proposal to their doctoral committee for approval. The proposal should include: the proposed title; a minimum three-page description of the essay’s proposed aims; a working outline; a working bibliography; and a signature page with spaces for the signature of each committee member. The student’s entire doctoral committee must approve the topic proposal.
Essays should use footnotes, not endnotes, and the notes should be included at the bottom of the page on which the reference appears. The physical appearance of the essays will be exactly the same as doctoral documents, including all front matter pages, signature pages, abstract, etc. For all questions on these and related matters, students should see the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts web page. With the exception of sections rather than chapters, all doctoral document provisions apply to doctoral essays: students completing doctoral essays are required to submit a review copy of the approved essay, with all committee signatures (and with the signature page printed on the correct paper), by the published dissertation submission deadline in the term in which graduation will occur (usually this is the last day of classes in the term); and essay submissions require an appointment with the college’s dissertation secretary, as with doctoral documents.
Students must submit to their entire committee a final copy of their doctoral essay at least four weeks prior to the published submission deadline. Students must allow the entire committee three weeks to review the final copy, after which students will have one week to make any remaining changes requested by the committee. Upon reading the essay, the committee has the option of not approving the essay in its present form; disapproval will require that the student resubmit the essay according to the procedure outlined above. This may also require that the student enroll for additional terms of study; consult the Graduate Advisor for more information.
Large Ensemble Enrollment and Other Co-Enrollment Requirements
All students enrolled in applied music must enroll concurrently in an appropriate large ensemble, even if all degree requirements have been met. The new-music ensemble (AURA, MUSI 6104 ) may count for large-ensemble credit for a limited number of terms (one term for master’s terms and two terms for doctoral students).
Piano majors enrolled in applied music are assigned two hours per week of studio accompanying. (Piano majors with scholarship support must either [1] schedule an additional two hours per week of accompanying, or [2] enroll in an appropriate large ensemble during each term of enrollment in applied study.) Organ majors will have other concurrent enrollment requirements, as determined by the department. For other co-enrollment requirements specific to their major area of study, students should contact their division head.
Recitals
Doctoral recitals (with the exception of the lecture recital) are adjudicated by a student’s Recital Committee (see “Doctoral Committees” for more information). Doctoral recitals are scheduled in Fall and Spring terms. Students must be enrolled for private applied study and doctoral recital credit during the term in which the recital occurs. No degree recitals may be presented (and no committees may be formed) before a student is accepted into the Doctoral of Musical Arts program.
A “full recital” at the doctoral level typically comprises at least sixty minutes of music, with doctoral piano recitals usually approximately ten minutes longer; recitals must fulfill all requirements specific to the student’s degree plan or area of study, including requirements for memorization (vocalists and pianists, for example, are required to perform entirely from memory). All degree recital programs must be approved by the student’s Recital Committee at least two months before the scheduled recital date; programs and other aspects of the recital (including duration) are also subject to the approval of the coordinator in the student’s major area of study. The lecture recital is subject to the same guidelines, except that it is approved by the student’s Research Committee. Music from the student’s entrance audition and music previously presented in recital may not be included without approval of the student’s Recital or Research Committee and the coordinator of the student’s major area of study.
Vocalists and pianists are expected to perform all solo works (not chamber works) from memory. For other instrumentalists, the amount of memorization should be appropriate to the student’s field of study and the genres of the specific works performed (memorization expectations for concertos, for example, differ from those for other solo works); at least half the program will typically be performed from memory. The student’s Recital or Research Committee is responsible for approving memorization requirements when questions arise.
Chamber-music recitals should include works for a variety of media and from a variety of musical periods. This repertoire should be prepared under the supervision of the student’s major professor and other faculty coaches, as appropriate. In many cases, students may wish to combine the required solo and chamber-music recitals, with each recital including solo and chamber literature; in these cases, expectations for memorization, repertoire, and duration continue to apply, as appropriate for the specific literature. Note that in all cases the ultimate responsibility for all aspects of chamber-music recitals and their quality, including ensemble playing and issues of musical interpretation, rests with the student.
Students’ Doctoral Committees have responsibility for deciding whether recitals in the form of solo performances with an orchestra (on or off campus) will qualify as degree recitals, with consideration given to the nature of the repertoire, duration of the performance, venue, ability of the committee to attend the performance, or availability of a high-quality video recording of the performance.
Students must perform a pre-recital jury before their full committee at least two weeks prior to all scheduled solo, chamber-music, and lecture degree recitals (exceptions to the two-week requirement are subject to the approval of the student’s committee). Students’ performances in their pre-recital juries, together with all other aspects of the recital, must be approved by the full committee; the committee has the option to not permit the recital to proceed as scheduled on the basis of either the program or the student’s performance at the jury. Jury approvals are granted on the Pre-Recital Jury Form available online at www.music.uh.edu or in the Graduate Office, and juries are graded “pass” or “fail” by a majority vote of the committee. The committee chair should obtain the Pre-Recital Jury Form from the Graduate Office prior to the jury, circulate it among committee members after the jury, and return it to the Graduate Office upon its completion.
Lecture recitals should include both lecture and performance, with approximately half of the total sixty minutes allotted for each. Students must present a final draft of the lecture (orally or in written form) at the pre-recital jury. Memorization on lecture recitals should be appropriate for the student’s field of study and the specific works presented. Students must distribute to the audience a printed handout (or other materials, as appropriate) that supports the lecture. The lecture recital should not be an oral duplication of the doctoral document but rather may focus on a particular aspect of the students’ work toward the document; in many cases, the topic of the lecture recital may be completely different from that of the document.
At least two members of a students’ Recital Committee (or Research Committee in the case of the lecture recital) must be present for all degree recitals and pre-recital juries. If one or more committee members are unable to attend either event, students may either appoint one or more substitute committee members, in consultation with the committee chair and the Director of Graduate Studies; or students may provide absent committee members with a high-quality video recording of the recital or jury.
Committee members should submit recital grades to the Graduate Office within 24 hours after the recital (or within 10 days if viewing a recorded recital). Graduate Recital Evaluation Forms are available online at www.music.uh.edu or from the front desk in the School of Music office; committee chairs should distribute a copy of the form to each committee member at the time of the recital. Committees may meet at the conclusion of the recital to discuss the student’s performance and grade, but in any case, each committee member should submit their own confidential grade form.
The student’s final recital grade will be the average of the grades submitted by each committee member (including the committee chair). Doctoral students must select a minor field, study in which comprises twelve credits of graduate-level coursework. The most common minor fields are in musicology (ethnomusicology, music history, or music literature) and music theory. Other options may include music education, a field outside music (students may have to satisfy prerequisites before enrolling in courses offered in other university departments), or an applied/research minor in music comprising six credits of applied instruction and six credits of research-oriented coursework (i.e., in musicology or music theory). This last option may include work in early music (applied work on a period instrument, for example, with musicological studies in early music), studies in contemporary music (including, for example, composition and analysis of contemporary music), collaborative arts (applied study in collaborative arts, for example, with relevant work in musicology or music theory), or vocal pedagogy and voice science. All applied study in such minors is subject to approval by appropriate area faculty and must be on the graduate level The minor field should be selected in consultation with, and is subject to the approval of, the chair of the student’s doctoral committee and the Director of Graduate Studies. The minor field must be declared by the end of the first year of study using the appropriate form.
Juries
Jury requirements at the doctoral level vary by area of study; students should consult with their major professor for more information and specific requirements.
Minor Field
Doctoral students must select a minor field, study in which comprises twelve credits of graduate-level coursework. The most common minor fields are in musicology (ethnomusicology, music history, or music literature) and music theory. Other options may include music education, a field outside music (students may have to satisfy prerequisites before enrolling in courses offered in other university departments), or an applied/research minor in music comprising six credits of applied instruction and six credits of research-oriented coursework (i.e., in musicology or music theory). This last option may include work in early music (applied work on a period instrument, for example, with musicological studies in early music), studies in contemporary music (including, for example, composition and analysis of contemporary music), collaborative arts (applied study in collaborative arts, for example, with relevant work in musicology or music theory), or vocal pedagogy and voice science. All applied study in such minors is subject to approval by appropriate area faculty and must be on the graduate level. The minor field should be selected in consultation with, and is subject to the approval of, the chair of the student’s doctoral committee and the Director of Graduate Studies. The minor field must be declared by the end of the first year of study using the appropriate form.
Music 6300: Introduction to Research Methods in Musicology
Introduction to Research Methods in Musicology is a prerequisite for graduate-level music history and literature courses. (Note that the prerequisite for MUSI 6300 is satisfaction of deficiencies in music history, either by successfully completing the diagnostic exam in music history or by passing the graduate-level Survey of Music History review course; see above, under “Diagnostic Exams.”) MM students must complete MUSI 6300 at the first available opportunity; MM students are required to complete MUSI 6300 before enrolling in graduate-level coursework in music history. DMA students are also required to take MUSI 6300 unless the requirement is waived on the basis of materials submitted as part of their application to the school of music. DMA students will be required to take MUSI 6300 at their first available opportunity (which in most cases will be in their first term of study).
Electives
Some DMA degree programs allow for electives. Electives may be satisfied with graduate-level (6000-level or above) music courses or, pending approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, other courses in a different university department that may be considered an enhancement of a student’s degree objective. No additional hours of doctoral document research or doctoral essay research (MUSI 8299 ) beyond the amount required in the degree will satisfy a free elective requirement or any other degree requirement; additional hours of applied study in the major area will not satisfy a free elective requirement or any other degree requirement.
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