You are here

Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance

Three to Five Year Degree (54-30)

The Supervisory Committee creates the Doctor of Musical Arts program for each student in order to fulfill the best interests of that student’s education. Therefore, it is important that a student form a Supervisory Committee as soon as possible after entering the doctoral program. It is the responsibility of the Supervisory Committee to assure an appropriate program of study for each student. Students typically enter the doctoral program having completed coursework equivalent to a master’s degree in music. See our master’s degree program requirements. The Graduate School requires ninety (90) credits for the doctoral degree, sixty (60) of which must be taken at the University of Washington. In addition to coursework at the master’s level, the following is a breakdown of coursework required for the doctoral degree.

Major Area: 51  
Graduate Organ Instruction: Enroll for 18 credits or until performance requirements are satisfied:  
  • MUSICP 572, Organ Lessons (3 credits ea.)
18
  • Pass a jury at the end of each year unless a jury-approved recital has been completed
 
Doctoral Recitals: Present four recitals consisting of 2 solo recitals, 1 chamber recital and 1 lecture recital. The scheduling of the recitals must be done with the consent of appropriate faculty. All recitals must be documented as “A recital in fulfillment of the requirement for the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree.” The programs and recital approval forms signed by appropriate faculty are placed in the student’s file. Students should register for 6 credits of MUSIC 590, Doctoral Recital, during the quarter in which they perform the lecture-recital/concerto-recital, and should register for 6 credits of MUSIC 800 (R) during each quarter in which they perform each of the three other required doctoral recitals, which form part of the DMA dissertation. 6
Dissertation: A student must register for a minimum of 27 credits of MUSIC 800, dissertation writing, over a period of at least three (3) quarters. At least one of the three quarters must come after the student has passed the General Examination. Nine credits of MUSIC 800 (D) should be devoted to writing the research papers, which forms one third of the DMA dissertation; the remaining 18 credits of MUSIC 800 are divided among the doctoral recitals (see above). 27
Other Studies in Music: 27  
Music Ensemble: Enroll in an appropriate ensemble each quarter in which private instruction is taken:  
  • MUSEN 525, Accompanying (2 cr); MUSEN 569, Baroque Ensemble (1 cr); MUSEN 583, Collegium Musicum (1 cr); MUSEN 584, Contemporary Group (1 cr), or any choral ensemble.
6
Theory Electives: At least 9 credits from theory courses or seminars at the 400- or 500-level in addition to courses taken for the master’s degree. 9
Music History:  
  • MUSHT 500 (3 credits)
3
Music History Electives: At least 9 credits at the 400- or 500-level in addition to courses taken for the master’s degree. 9
Electives: 12 (Additional credits may be required to ensure proper preparation for the DMA program of study.)  

Total Credits: 90

  • Foreign Language: Students must pass a foreign language examination, choice of language to be approved by the supervisory committee. If a student has fulfilled this requirement for the master’s degree, no additional language is required.
  • General Examination: Students must pass a General Examination in order to earn candidacy for the doctoral degree and may sign up for MUSIC 600 with members of their committee in order to prepare for the examination. Students must have their Supervisory Committee established at least four months before the oral portion of the General Examination. The Request for the General Examination must be submitted online to the Graduate School no later than three (3) weeks before the examination. The Graduate School requires completion of 60 credits of coursework (including coursework taken for the master’s degree) prior to the General Examination, 18 of which must be from the 500-level or above and 18 of which are from
    the 400-level or above and numerically graded.
  • Final Examination: Students must submit a draft of the dissertation to the Reading Committee no later than five (5) weeks before the proposed Final Examination date. Once the Reading Committee has read a draft of the dissertation and agrees that it is ready to defend, the student may then submit the Request for Final Examination online to the Graduate School, which must be done no later than three (3) weeks before the exam date. See the Graduate School home page at http://www.grad.washington.edu for information about formatting and submitting the dissertation, etc. A student must satisfy the Graduate School’s requirements for the degree at the time the degree is to be awarded.

Rev. 6/12

Share