Music Education, Ph.D.
Admission
The general requirements for admission are a master’s degree in music education (or the equivalent); satisfactory score on the general section (verbal/quantitative/analytical) of the GRE or the Miller Analogies Test; master’s thesis or equivalent demonstration of the ability to undertake and complete significant, original scholarly work; evidence of successful full-time teaching at the elementary or secondary level (a minimum of three years and an expectation of five years); 30-minute teaching video; an interview; and fulfillment of the general requirements for admission to The Graduate School, including the submission of three recommendations preferably written on School of Music forms.
Applicants whose native language is not English are also required to submit a satisfactory score on the TOEFL, the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam, or the Duolingo exam. The minimum acceptable score on the TOEFL is 100 (internet-based) or 600 (paper-based). The minimum acceptable overall band score on the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam is 7. The minimum acceptable score on the Duolingo exam is 120. Applicants whose TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo score is below the minimum acceptable score will be considered on an individual basis for conditional admission. Such applicants must demonstrate exceptional abilities in the major area and evidence through past academic or professional activities strong promise for future professional success. Admission decisions are based upon the applicant’s total portfolio with particular weight being given to a record of successful music teaching at the elementary or secondary level and documented evidence of an ability to undertake and complete significant, independent research and writing.
Prior to taking any graduate music study, all doctoral students must take the Graduate Music Diagnostic Examination, and must fulfill all requirements resulting from the exam.
Degree Requirements (60 Post-Master’s Hours)
Major Area (36 Hours)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUED 790 | Principles of Music Education | 3 |
| MUED 795 | Research in Music Education and Pedagogy | 3 |
| MUED 796 | Seminar in Music Education Research | 3 |
| MUED 890 | Research Project | 3 |
| MUSC 899 | Dissertation Preparation | 12 |
| Advisor-approved MUED courses 700-level and above | 12 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 36 | |
Educational Research Core (9 Hours)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDRM 710 | Educational Statistics I | 3 |
| EDRM 711 | Educational Statistics II | 3 |
| EDFI 731 | Qualitative Inquiry | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours | 9 | |
Other Studies in Music and Related Fields (15 Hours)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Advisor-approved Music History course chosen from the following: | 3 | |
| Seminar in Music History | ||
| Topics in Music History | ||
| Music and Culture of Tudor England | ||
| Introduction to Ethnomusicology: History, Theory, Methods, and Education | ||
| Renaissance Music | ||
| Music of the Baroque | ||
| Music of the Classical Period | ||
| Romantic Music | ||
| Music Since 1900 | ||
| Advisor-approved Music Theory course chosen from the following: | 3 | |
| Analysis of Popular Music | ||
| Analysis and Performance | ||
| Public Music Theory | ||
| Survey of Analytical Techniques | ||
| Pedagogy of Music Theory | ||
| Tonality in the Twentieth Century | ||
| Music and Repetition | ||
| Style and Technique Since 1900 | ||
| Topics in Music Theory | ||
| Schenkerian Analysis | ||
| Contrapuntal Techniques | ||
| Contemporary Experimental Music | ||
| Music & Modernism | ||
| Music Cognition | ||
| Transcription and Analysis | ||
| Advisor-approved courses 700-level and above; minimum three credits must come from MUSC; may include courses outside MUSC and MUED; cannot include more than four credits of MUSC 734A-MUSC 734V and/or MUSC 735A-MUSC 735U in total | 9 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 15 | |
Additional Requirements
- Students must fulfill the doctoral residency requirement as defined by the Graduate School or by completing 18 advisor-approved credits within the span of three consecutive semesters, with at least one semester being spent in full-time study on the Columbia campus.
- Students are required to pass a doctoral candidacy exam. Typically, students enter candidacy by the end of the second semester of study.
- Students are required to satisfy the Foreign Language and/or Research Methods Requirement.
- Students are required to pass a written and oral comprehensive exam no later than 60 days before graduation. Prior to scheduling the comprehensive exam, degree candidates must have completed MUED 795, MUED 796, EDRM 710, and EDRM 711.
- Students must defend their composition treatise and their dissertation document.