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 and before permission to present the second doctoral recital is requested, doctoral students must submit a detailed curriculum vitae to the Graduate Committee of the School of Music summarizing their background and objectives. The student 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 student'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 six to eight units of course work in that area, excluding courses from the basic curriculum, 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.

Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination for the D.M.A. is administered by the student's guidance committee. It is comprehensive, partly written and partly oral, and designed in part to test the student's fitness for independence as a performer, composer, teacher, researcher and/or scholar. The student must obtain permission from the guidance committee to take the qualifying examination and schedule it at least two months in advance to ensure the committee's availability. The examination may be taken at any time during or following the final semester of course work (except dissertation or individual instruction), provided that all members of the guidance committee are available to administer it. Qualifying examinations will not be scheduled during summer sessions except under extraordinary circumstances and only with the written approval of all guidance committee members. All portions of the examination must be completed within one month.

Written examinations are prepared and read by the guidance committee. All of the student's areas of concentration, except performance, conducting and composition, will be covered in a written examination or comparable project. The examination in performance, conducting or composition normally is a public recital, evaluated by appropriate members of the guidance committee. If the written examination is judged to be satisfactory, an oral examination is then given. This examination covers in depth topics discussed in the written examinations and/or new material, particularly when a recital in one or more areas of concentration has been presented.

All members of the guidance committee must be present at the oral examination and render a judgment on the acceptability of the qualifying examinations as a whole. The examinations will be reported as passing if there is no more than one dissenting vote on the guidance committee. A student must pass both the written and oral examinations to pass the qualifying examination. A pass on the examination cannot be made contingent upon any form of additional work.

If a student fails the qualifying examination, the guidance committee may permit the student to repeat it once at a mutually satisfactory time within a period of not less than six months nor more than one year from the date of the first examination. A student may not take the qualifying examination more than twice.

Admission to Candidacy

Admission to candidacy occurs after the student has passed the qualifying examination, upon formal action of the dean of the School of Music. The dissertation, treatise, or one final recital must be completed after admission to candidacy.

Doctoral Dissertation

A dissertation based on original investigation is required of candidates in church music, composition, and music education, and a treatise is required in choral music. Either document must reveal scholarly ability, technical mastery, capacity for independent research and originality in creative thought.

Dissertation Committee

After the guidance committee recommends admission to candidacy and approves the dissertation or treatise topic, it is reduced to three members. This smaller committee guides the student through the completion of the final project. Additional members may be added at the discretion of the chair of the committee if the topic requires special expertise.

Registration

The student must register in 794 Dissertation each semester after admission to candidacy until degree requirements are completed. Registration for the dissertation in no less than two regular term semesters following admission to candidacy entitles the candidate to supervision by the dissertation committee. If the dissertation is not completed and accepted within two semesters, the candidate must register for 794 each semester thereafter until the document has been accepted. No more than eight units of credit in 794 may be accumulated regardless of the number of semesters the candidate may be required to register.

A candidate who must withdraw temporarily from registration in 794 for a semester must formally report this before the beginning of that semester to the Office of Student Services, School of Music, requesting by petition a leave of absence. During a leave of absence the candidate will not be entitled to assistance from the guidance committee or to the use of university facilities. A leave of absence does not change the candidate's responsibility for meeting the time schedules for the completion of degree requirements. Leave will be granted only under exceptional circumstances.

Format for Theses and Dissertations

All theses and dissertations submitted for requirements for graduate degrees must conform to university regulations in format and method of preparation. See Doctoral Dissertation.

Defense of the Dissertation

After meeting all requirements including the qualifying examination, the candidate must defend the dissertation. This defense occurs to determine for the committee that the candidate has attained the stage of scholarly advancement and power of investigation demanded for recommendation to the doctorate. While this oral defense is open to the general university community, only the members of the dissertation committee have the authority to recommend its acceptance or denial. The recommendation must be unanimous.

Departments differ in their ordering of these final steps, some holding the oral defense prior to approval for final typing, some holding it after the final typing. The following schedules apply in the two cases.

Defense of the Dissertation Prior to Approval for Final Typing

In this case a candidate defends the dissertation on the basis of an approved preliminary copy. If the defense is satisfactory, the committee then signs the approval for final typing; if additional work is required, the form is left unsigned until that work has been approved.

At the time the approval for final typing reaches the dean of the School of Music, the candidate submits the typed copy for the abstract of the dissertation.

The final typewritten copy of the dissertation, together with signed signature sheet and approval cards, must be presented to the Thesis Editor, the Graduate School, GFS 315, at least two weeks prior to the end of the semester in which the degree is to be received. Approval of format and acceptance by the Graduate School must be presented to the dean of the School of Music at least one week before the end of the semester.

Defense of the Dissertation Subsequent to Final Typing

At least seven weeks before the scheduled date of the defense of the dissertation, written approval for final typing by all members of the candidate's dissertation committee must be filed with the dean of the School of Music. The typed copy for the abstract of the dissertation is due at this time.

At least five weeks before the date of the final oral examination, the original copy of the final draft of the dissertation, accompanied by a signature sheet and cards of approval signed by all members of the dissertation committee, must be submitted to the Thesis Editor for approval. This final draft must conform to the regulations provided by the university. See Doctoral Dissertation.

Abstract of Dissertation

Since the abstract of the dissertation is published in Dissertation Abstracts International, it should be written with care and be representative of the final draft of the dissertation.

Time Schedule

The D.M.A. is established on the assumption that a well-qualified student can complete it in three years of full-time work. If the student pursues part-time graduate study, or if the field of graduate work is not that of undergraduate study, more time may be required.

The student is required to complete the degree within seven years from the date doctoral work at USC was begun. Extensions will be granted by petition to the School of Music for only the most compelling reasons.

Basic D.M.A. Curriculum

The basic curriculum is required for all D.M.A. candidates	Units
MUCD 441 (2), 443 (2)	4
MUHL 570 (2)	2
Four courses numbered MUHL 573 through 578	8
MUHL electives numbered 500 through 695	4
Ensemble	2
MUTC 532ab (2-2)	4
	____
	24

Courses with similar content taken for graduate credit in another accredited institution may be substituted, subject to departmental approval. Master's degree credit for ensemble taken at USC may fulfill this requirement, subject to departmental approval.

Choral Music Major

A keyboard proficiency test will be given by the choral faculty during the student's first semester in residence to determine if additional study in keyboard is required.

Curriculum Requirements	Units
Basic D.M.A. curriculum	24
MUCM 540* (2), 541* (2), 542 *(2), 641 (2), 643 (4), 694 (2), 790 (2)	16
MUCH 571 (2)	2
MUCD 641	6
Ensemble (400 level; choral music majors must participate in a choral ensemble each semester if enrolled for 4 or more units)	2
MUPF 401VO (2), 653CD (2)	4
MUTC 441	2
Electives	9
Conduct two principal choral concerts (at least one of which will include instrumental ensemble) and one lecture-recital or appropriate appearance as conductor, soloist or accompanist. No more than two of the three recitals or appearances may take place before the successful completion of the qualifying examination.	0
	____
	65

*May be taken as part of the master's degree.

Church Music Major

Proficiency tests in both keyboard and voice will be given by the choral and church music faculty during the student's first semester in residence to determine if additional study in either area is required.

Curriculum Requirements	Units
Basic D.M.A. curriculum	24
MUCM 540* (2), 541* (2), 542* (2), 641 (2)	8
MUCH 474* (2), 790 (2), 794ab (4)	10
MUCD 641	4
Choral Ensemble	2
MUPF 441a* (2), 443 (2), 401 or 453 or 553 (P, OR or VO) (4)	8
MUTC 434a (2) or 441 (2)	2
Electives	9
	____
	65

*May be taken as part of the master's degree.

Dissertation Options

For the D.M.A. in church music there are two options for fulfilling dissertation requirements, the choice to be made by the candidate in consultation with the guidance committee.

Option I The candidate will write a dissertation conforming to USC regulations in format and method of preparation. Refer to Doctoral Dissertation.

Option II The candidate will present two lecture-recitals or a performance of a sacred choral work, or works, as the culmination of the historical and stylistic study of a circumscribed body of literature. This study and an analysis of the problems encountered in performance will be dealt with in a document which, although shorter than a dissertation, will conform to the technical requirements of Option I.

Composition Major

Curriculum Requirements	Units
Basic D.M.A. curriculum	24
MUTC 536 (4), 592 (4), 637 (4), 737 (4), 794ab (4)	20
Electives	21
Graduate recital	0
	____
	65

Music Education Major

Curriculum Requirements	Units
Basic D.M.A. curriculum	24
MUED 502* (2), 503* (2), 550* (2), 601 (2), 602 (2), 603 (2), 604 (2), 790 (2), 792 (2), 794ab (4)	22
Electives	19
	____
	65

*May be taken as part of the master's degree.

Performance Major

It is the objective of the performance curriculum to combine high standards of performance with intellectual accomplishments appropriate to a university degree. Candidates electing this major must present at least four major public appearances: two solo recitals and two other appropriate appearances. The exact format, content and scheduling of the four appearances are the responsibility of the candidate's guidance committee.

Curriculum Requirements	Units
Basic D.M.A. curriculum	24
MUPF 653 (take harpsichord, organ, string instrument, vocal arts, wind instrument or percussion for a maximum of 12 units)	12
Electives	29
Two solo recitals and two other appropriate performances	0
	____
	65

Performance Major - Piano

Curriculum Requirements	Units
Basic D.M.A. curriculum	24
MUPF 653 (12); 520 (6)	18
Electives	23
Four graduate recitals: two solo recitals, one chamber recital, and one lecture-recital	0
	____
	65

Performance Major - Keyboard Collaborative Arts

Curriculum Requirements	Units
Basic D.M.A. curriculum	24
MUPF 653	12
MUPF 481, 560, 561	6
Electives	23
Four doctoral level recitals; one with voice(s), one with instrument(s), one lecture recital, and other recital as approved	0
	____
	65

The exact format, content and scheduling of the four graduate recitals are the responsibility of the candidate's major professor.

Performance Major - Early Music

Curriculum Requirements	Units
Basic D.M.A. curriculum*	24
MUPF 653 (8); 650 (2)	10
MUHL elective (500 level or above)	2
MUEN 650	2
Electives	27
Four graduate recitals: two as soloist and ensemble director, one lecture-recital, and one recital of the student's choice	0
	____
	65

*The eight required MUHL classes must include MUHL 570, 572, 574, 575 and 589ab.

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