Music D.M.A.

Introduction

The Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degree program in music composition allows for the development of broad and diverse compositional practices. The D.M.A. program seeks to develop accomplished, active, and articulate composers who have a broad awareness of the diverse practices, cultural influences, media, venues, and technical means available to them in the 21st century. Students participate in a range of composition-focused seminars, including seminars in cross-cultural approaches to composition and performance—with emphases on indigenous, Asian, and African-diasporic musics—and computer-assisted composition, which focus on algorithmic approaches, constraint-based generation of musical materials and structures, digital synthesis, intermedia work, and real-time sound processing.

Advancement to Candidacy

Course Requirements

For students entering with the bachelor’s degree, a minimum of 102 credits in coursework at UC Santa Cruz will be required. All students must be in residence for a minimum of nine quarters. Students must enroll in a minimum of 10 credits each quarter until they advance to candidacy. After advancing to candidacy, students remaining in residence must take a minimum of one 5-credit course each quarter.

For students entering with a master’s degree from another institution, a minimum of 72 credits in coursework at UC Santa Cruz will be required. All students must be in residence for a minimum of six quarters. Students must enroll in a minimum of 10 credits each quarter until they advance to candidacy. After advancing to candidacy, students remaining in residence must take a minimum of one 5-credit course each quarter. D.M.A. students are expected to complete the degree within a maximum of six calendar years from entrance to the program (leaves of absence are not excluded from this count).

Students entering the D.M.A. program with a bachelor's degree must take the following course:

All students entering the D.M.A. program must take the following courses:

D.M.A. students may petition to fulfill the Music 200 requirement with a graduate seminar in research-methods or professional discourse/citation taken in another program.

Current Issues Colloquium

Before advancing to candidacy, all D.M.A. students must enroll in MUSC 252, Current Issues Colloquium, each quarter in residence.

Five quarters of independent study:

Elective Requirements

D.M.A. students must take at least two of the following elective courses.

Note that if students elect to take MUSC 267, Workshop in Computer Music and Visualization, to satisfy one elective requirement, two quarters of the course are required. 

Language Proficiency Requirements

All D.M.A. students are required to demonstrate reading knowledge equivalent to at least one year of coursework for one language other than English. This requirement must be met before taking the Qualifying Exams (see below).

To complete this requirement, current skill in reading and comprehension of a language other than English, to be determined in consultation with your primary advisor, must be demonstrated in one of the following ways:

1. Native speakers of a language other than English will satisfy this requirement (no test is necessary).
2. Satisfactory completion of the third quarter of instruction in a language other than English, at UCSC, preferably in the first year of the program. These courses may be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory. Submission of an official transcript documenting successful completion of one year of university-level language instruction at another institution (equivalent to level 3 at UCSC).
3. Passing a proficiency examination administered by the Music Department in French, Spanish, German, Italian, or Russian. (This test requires translation of a passage of at least 600 words, with no resources other than a dictionary, to be completed in 1.5 hours.) If a student does not pass this test, enrollment in the appropriate language at UCSC will be required. The proficiency examination may be taken only once.
4. For languages other than French, Spanish, German, Italian, or Russian, the department may accept completion of an online course as fulfilling the requirement if the student can demonstrate that the course builds skills equivalent to those gained in a “level 3” (third-quarter) language course at UCSC. The Graduate Committee will determine whether or not to accept any such course.

Graduate Division policy states that the language requirement must be completed prior to taking the Qualifying Exam. In order to advance to candidacy, a Report on Language Requirement form must be submitted to Graduate Division.

Qualifying Examination

Advancement to candidacy is contingent upon the passing of a written examination and an oral examination normally administered at the end of year three for students entering with a bachelor’s degree, and the end of year two or the beginning of year three for students entering with a master’s degree from another institution. For the written portion of the examination, the qualifying examination committee provides questions on the three topics assigned as areas of emphasis. The oral examination is administered by the student’s qualifying examination committee and may concern any aspect of the assigned topics with an emphasis on those issues addressed in the written portion of the examination. Advancement to candidacy will be granted after successful completion of the written and oral examinations, acceptance of the dissertation reading committee form, satisfactory completion of coursework and the foreign language requirement, and the payment of the necessary fees.

Post-Qualifying Requirements

After advancing to candidacy, students must enroll in at least two quarters of MUSC 297, Independent Study, and one quarter of MUSC 299, Thesis Research, in preparation for the dissertation. Students may substitute additional quarters of MUSC 299 for MUSC 297.

Letter Grade Policy

Graduate students must take all core courses for a letter grade. These courses include the following: MUSC 200, MUSC 201, MUSC 202, MUSC 203A-MUSC 203H, MUSC 206A-MUSC 206D, MUSC 219, MUSC 220, MUSC 253A-MUSC 253D, and MUSC 254A-MUSC 254X. Grades of C or D do not satisfy any course requirement for a music graduate degree.

The colloquium course (MUSC 252) must be taken with the satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade option.

Independent study courses (MUSC 261, MUSC 265, MUSC 295, MUSC 297, MUSC 298, and MUSC 299) may be taken with the satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade option.

Dissertation

Dissertation

D.M.A. students must complete a dissertation consisting of a substantial musical composition accompanied by an essay. One to two years of work beyond the qualifying examinations should be sufficient for the completion of the dissertation, except in cases where extended fieldwork is required.

Dissertation Defense

The final examination will be a public oral defense of the dissertation. After an oral presentation by the candidate, the candidate will be questioned by the dissertation committee.

Academic Progress

For more information about maintaining academic good standing, students should consult the Academic Requirements and Standards section of the Division of Graduate Studies Handbook. 

Applying for Graduation

For more information on applying for graduation, students should make an appointment with the Graduate Program adviser and consult UCSC's Graduate Division Handbook.