Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media

The DMA degree is awarded for high attainments in the practice of music, with emphasis on the arts of performing and teaching. A candidate for this degree must be a capable artist who demonstrates intellectual attributes of the highest order.Studies in composition and music education may be undertaken within the division of graduate professional studies (the DMA as described here) or within the division of graduate research studies. The respective programs have differences in emphasis and course content. In terms of applying, the Doctor of Musical Arts program requires an audition on an applied instrument or voice; the Doctor of Philosophy program does not require an audition for admission. Emphasis is on practical applied music in varying degrees in each of the DMA majors, and constitutes a distinctive feature of the division. Thus the composition and music education majors contain a strong performance component in the DMA degree program, and have a distinctly different emphasis in the PhD degree program.The program of study constitutes the formal requirements that must be met by the student before completion of work for the DMA degree. The program normally will comprise at least 60 credits beyond the master’s degree, and must be approved by the Graduate Professional Committee (GPC). Programs of study are developed by the student in close consultation with his or her program adviser, and are normally submitted to the GPC for approval by the third semester (or after 20 credit hours). Individual programs may vary considerably, depending upon the needs of the student (as revealed in the placement tests in theory and music history), general educational background, and career goals. The program of study must be approved by the GPC at least four months before the doctoral qualifying exam is taken. The DMA typically takes 3.5 years of full-time study to complete.

Personal Statement - Write a personal statement of two to three pages in length on the following topic:Describe your professional goals and plans. How has your background influenced your goals, and how will your graduate studies help you to achieve them. Save this document on your computer and upload within the online application. Preferred formatting is double-spaced with standard margins in an easily-readable 12-point size font.R\u00e9sum\u00e9 or Curriculum Vitae - Upload within the online Academic Transcript(s)- Applicants are required to submit academic transcripts from each college/university attended. Recommendations (3 required) - All applicants must list their recommenders in the online application. For DMA applicants, one recommendation must be from a teacher of music history, musicology or music theory. Recommenders are notified via email and given instructions to submit the recommendation online.