The mission of the Wead Mitter School of Music is:To provide a rich, integrated program of undergraduate and graduate education that promotes the highest levels of professional, creative, and scholarly development while challenging students to achieve their greatest potential;To cultivate an environment that inspires creativity, stimulates intellectual curiosity, and fosters critical thinking; andTo serve the university community, the public, and the profession through performance, composition, scholarship, music education, outreach, and engagementThe Mead Witter School of Music enriches students' educational experience by hosting guest artists and scholars for master classes, recitals, colloquia, seminars, and festivals. Its performing organizations and ensembles perform more than 350 recitals and concerts every year, making a significant contribution to the cultural life of the university and the wider Madison community.The Ph.D. in music, a research degree, is offered in the two areas of historical musicology and music theory.Ph.D. degrees require significant work beyond the master's degree, including the extensive independent work described above. Each degree track varies slightly. See the Course Lists available through the Requirements tab for details on each track.The Ph.D.–music program is suited to students who have proven their scholarly discipline, motivation, and ability to write fluently and cogently in the historical musicology or music theory fields. The principal outcome of the program is a dissertation that makes a significant contribution to the relevant major field.Each Ph.D. student benefits from the mentorship of multiple faculty members, whether from the student’s own specialty or from other areas of scholarship or performance. An advisor is assigned upon the student’s entering the program, and the musicology or music theory area faculty, as appropriate, participate in the preliminary examinations. The dissertation committee is designated with the student’s particular research interests in mind. Through their guidance and support of the student through the degree program, faculty members offer multiple perspectives on the student's performance and research.Learning outcomesArticulates research problems, potentials and limits with respect to theory and cultural understanding of music.Formulates ideas and concepts beyond the current boundaries of knowledge in the field of music studyDemonstrates breadth within the learning experiences in an area of study outside the principal field of inquiryAccomplishes research that makes a substantive contribution to the fieldCreates well-written monographs based upon original research that make substantive contributions to the fieldCommunicates complex ideas in a clear and understandable manner, both verbally and in writingFosters ethical and professional conduct.
