Admission
The general requirements for admission are: completion of a master’s degree in music (or the equivalent); evidence of an ability to pursue doctoral study in the desired area (see information online); and fulfillment of the general requirements for admission to The Graduate School, including the submission of three recommendations. Applicants whose native language is not English are also required to submit a satisfactory score on the TOEFL or the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam. Normally, the minimum acceptable score on the TOEFL is 100 (internet-based test) or 600 (paper-based). The minimum acceptable overall band score on the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam is 7. Additional admission requirements for specific areas are listed online. The D.M.A. in Performance is offered in selected areas. Admission decisions are based upon the applicant’s total portfolio with particular weight being given to composing experience.
Degree Requirements (48 Post-Masters Hours)
Prior to taking any graduate music study, all doctoral students must take the Graduate Music Diagnostic Examination and, early in their studies, complete all deficiencies and required courses resulting from the exam. Doctoral students must be admitted to degree candidacy no later than the completion of the equivalent of two semesters of full-time study (12 credits total for graduate assistants and 18 credits total for others) and must complete a minimum of 48 credit hours of graduate work past the master’s degree. At least 18 of the credit hours must be completed as part of doctoral residency (18 approved credits taken within a span of three consecutive semesters, with at least one semester being spent in full-time study on the Columbia campus). The residency requirement for D.M.A. students in composition consists of a minimum of four full-time semesters of study on the Columbia campus, three of which must be consecutive. Prior to the scheduling of the comprehensive examination, degree candidates must have satisfied reading proficiency in a foreign language or completed an advisor-approved research course. Candidates for the D.M.A. must also complete written comprehensive examinations in the major area (and any minor area) as well as an oral comprehensive examination that covers the major area, music history/literature, music theory, and any doctoral minor. In addition, degree candidates must complete a dissertation or dissertation requirement, as follows: those in conducting or performance must present four full recitals and submit a research document; candidates in composition must complete a dissertation consisting of a musical work of major proportions and a research document; and candidates in piano pedagogy must complete a written dissertation or present two recitals and complete a written treatise. The final doctoral requirement is the successful oral defense of the dissertation or dissertation requirement.
Major Area (30 Hours)
Course List | Course | Title | Credits |
| MUSC 816 | Composition | 12 |
| MUSC 890 | Composition Recital | 1 |
| MUSC 897 | Document Preparation | 1 |
| 6 |
| Advanced Orchestration | |
| Advanced Projects in Computer Music | |
| Composition | |
| MUSC 898 | Treatise Preparation | 10 |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 |
Doctoral Minor (12 Hours)
Course List | Course | Title | Credits |
| 12 |
| Total Credit Hours | 12 |
Other Studies in Music (6 Hours)
Course List | Course | Title | Credits |
| 6 |
| Total Credit Hours | 6 |
