Graduate Degrees, page 5
School of Music

Doctor of Musical Arts

The Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) is a comprehensive professional degree granted by the School of Music in choral music, church music, composition, music education or performance.

Degree Prerequisites

D.M.A. applicants must complete the appropriate master of music degree program or its equivalent.

Admission

Refer to School of Music Graduate Degrees, Admission Requirements.

Graduate Record Examinations

Scores from the General Test of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) are required for application and admission to the Doctor of Musical Arts degree. (The Music Subject Test is not required.) Test scores on the GRE that are more than five years old at the time of application are not accepted.

Graduate Committee Interview

Before the completion of 16 units beyond the master's degree, doctoral applicants must submit a detailed curriculum vitae to the Graduate Committee of the School of Music summarizing their background and objectives. The applicant will be evaluated on musicianship and general academic qualifications, teaching experience and the validity and quality of creative, literary or performance projects submitted. The committee determines the candidate's continuation in the program, proposed areas of concentration and the guidance committee members.

Course Requirements

Each student is required to prepare four areas of concentration: the major field, music history and literature, and elective areas chosen in consultation with his or her advisor from two of the following: theory and composition (composition, counterpoint, film music, orchestration, analysis, band arranging, or choral arranging); performance, early music, or jazz studies; music education; church or choral music; conducting; pedagogy (performance or theory); electro-acoustic media; a field outside of music.

Each of the elective fields must be prepared by taking four to eight units of course work in that area, as determined by the department in which the minor fields are administered. No more than two of the four fields may be under the guidance of the same department within the School of Music, and at least one of the elective fields must result in a written examination as part of the qualifying examinations.

Required courses for each major curriculum are listed subsequently in this catalogue. Special requirements in any of the four areas of concentration (if any) are determined by the guidance committee member responsible for that area.

A minimum of 65 graduate units beyond the bachelor's degree are required to complete the degree. Fifty-five or more units must be in music, 12 of these beyond the master's level must be in the major. At least 40 of these must be at the 500 level or higher. All course work earned under these requirements for a doctoral degree is considered to be obsolete after 10 years from the date of completion of such work and may not be used to fulfill degree requirements.

Residence Requirement

A minimum of two years of full-time study beyond the Master of Music degree is required for the Doctor of Musical Arts. At least one year of full-time study beyond the master's degree (eight units or more per semester) must be in residence at USC.

Grade Point Average Requirements

A minimum grade point average of 3.0 (A = 4.0) is required for all graduate course units in music. A grade of B or higher is required for all courses in the major.

Transfer Credit

Transfer work must have been completed within 10 years of admission to the D.M.A. program to be applied toward that degree.

Foreign Language

A reading knowledge of French, German, Italian or Spanish is required of all students. Departments within the School of Music may require additional language skills. All language requirements must be fulfilled one semester before the qualifying examination at the latest.

Guidance Committee

The guidance committee is composed of at least five members: two faculty from the major department, one of whom will serve as chair; a faculty member from music history and literature; and one faculty member from each of the student's elective fields. At least four members of a committee must be drawn from tenured and tenure-track faculty.

The committee administers the written and oral parts of the qualifying examination. The committee continues to serve until the qualifying examination has been passed, the dissertation topic approved, and the student is admitted to candidacy. For students in curricula which require recitals, the guidance committee serves as the recital committee and is responsible for the format, content, scheduling, and approval of the required performances.

Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995
David Henriquez
univpub@stuaff.usc.edu