9/15/2019 Doctor of Musical Arts - Wikipedia

Doctor of Musical Arts

The Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) is a doctoral academic degree in
music. The D.M.A. combines advanced studies in an applied area of
specialization (usually music performance, music composition, or conducting)
with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music
theory, or music pedagogy. The D.M.A. degree usually takes about three to
four years of full-time study to complete (in addition to the master's and
bachelor's degrees), preparing students to be professional performers,
conductors, and composers. As a terminal degree, the D.M.A. qualifies its
recipient to work in university, college, and conservatory teaching/research
positions. Students seeking doctoral training in musicology or music theory
typically enter a Ph.D. program, rather than a D.M.A. program.

Contents
Terminology A graduate student from the
Types University of Southern California
Concentrations receiving his Doctor of Musical
Sacred music Arts degree in 2011.

Components
Admission requirements
Brief history
References

Terminology
The degree is also abbreviated as DMA (without periods), D.Mus.A. or A.Mus.D.. For the related degree Doctor of
Music, the abbreviation is D.M. or D.Mus. For the related degree Doctor of Arts, the abbreviation D.A. is used.

Types

Concentrations
The D.M.A. is widely available in the concentrations of performance (sometimes with a specialization in instrumental
or voice pedagogy and/or music literature), composition, conducting, and music education. Some universities
awarding doctoral degrees in these areas use the title Doctor of Music (D.M. or D.Mus.) or Doctor of Arts (D.A.)[1] or
Doctor in Musical Studies (Ph.D.) instead of D.M.A. The D.M.A. degree was pioneered by Howard Hanson and the
National Association of Schools of Music, who approved the first D.M.A. programs in 1952. Northwestern University,
the University of Michigan, and the Eastman School of Music became the first to offer the D.M.A.[2] Boston University
offered its first D.M.A. program in 1955. In 2005, Boston University also expanded into online music education by
launching the first online doctoral degree in music, a D.M.A. program (along with a Master of Music program) in
music education.[3]

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A large number of U.S. institutions offer the D.M.A. degree in the 2010s. The Ph.D. is generally considered to be more
research oriented, while other doctorates may place more emphasis on practical applications and/or include a
performance component. Such distinctions among degree types are not always so clear-cut, however. For instance,
most programs include traditional research training and culminate in a written dissertation, regardless of degree
designation. The music education degree can be a D.M.A. or Ph.D. Also, music education Ph.D. programs may include
performance-oriented tracks.[4] In composition, one may study for either the D.M.A. or the Ph.D., depending on the
institution. The Ph.D. is the standard doctorate in music theory, musicology, music therapy, and ethnomusicology.

Sacred music
A related program is the Doctor of Sacred Music (D.S.M.), also Sacrae Musica Doctor (S.M.D.), which tends to be
awarded by seminaries or university music schools that focus on church music, choral conducting and organ
performance. In the past, some seminaries titled the degree Doctor of Church Music (D.C.M.). Only one U.S.
institution, Claremont Graduate University[5] still offers the D.C.M. degree, in addition to the more typical D.M.A. The
vast majority of U.S. seminaries have closed their music doctorate programs, but some still offer a Master of Arts or
Master of Sacred Music degree. A new program offered at Perkins School of Theology is the Doctor of Pastoral Music
(D.P.M.).[6] While more theology-based and housed within the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) program, admission to the
degree requires applicants to hold a Master of Music (M.Mus.), Master of Sacred Music (M.S.M.), Master of Church
Music (M.C.M.), M.A. in Church Music or equivalent 48 semester hour degree recognized by the National Association
of Schools of Music.

Components
D.M.A. students typically complete applied studies, such as lessons or mentoring with a professor or instructor, and
take courses within their area of specialization. In many D.M.A. programs, all of the different D.M.A. streams (e.g.,
performance, composition, conducting) take a common core of music theory and music history courses. Many D.M.A.
programs require students to pass a comprehensive exam on their area of specialization and on subjects such as music
history and music theory. The last stage of the D.M.A. degree is usually the completion of a thesis, dissertation, or
research project and the performance of recitals, usually including at least one lecture-recital.

Some programs additionally require a sub-specialization in a cognate area within music, such as music history or
performance practice, which contributes to their area of specialization. For example, a student doing a D.M.A. in
Baroque violin might do a sub-specialization in Baroque music history or Baroque-era dance.

Some institutions permit D.M.A. students to do a sub-specialization in a field outside music that contributes to their
professional and academic goals. For example, a student completing a D.M.A. in piano pedagogy may be able to do a
sub-specialization in the university's department of psychology (e.g., on the psychology of learning and memory); a
student completing a D.M.A. in electronic composition may be permitted to do a sub-specialization in the department
of computer engineering (e.g., in computer programming).

While teaching experience is not an official part of most D.M.A. programs, most D.M.A. candidates will have the
opportunity to work as a teaching assistant or lecturer for undergraduate students during their degree, either as a
requirement of their scholarship/assistantship package or as a part-time employee of the university. D.M.A. students
can teach in an area related to their D.M.A. program, or, if they have multiple skill areas (e.g., a person with an M.Mus.
in piano performance who is doing a D.M.A. in composition), they may teach in another area.

Admission requirements
To be admitted to a D.M.A. degree program, most institutions require a master's degree, such as a M.Mus. degree or
an M.A. degree in music or an equivalent course of study, usually with a grade average of "B+" or higher. D.M.A.
programs in performance usually require applicants to prepare solo literature that is the equivalent of a graduate

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recital—i.e. several advanced pieces from a wide range of styles—in addition to orchestral excerpts. Admission to
doctoral programs in conducting often require a video recording of live rehearsals and performances as a pre-
screening element. Composition programs usually require the submission of a portfolio of compositions, including
scores and recordings of live performances. Programs in music education generally require two or more years of public
school (or similar) teaching experience, and may further require an example of scholarly writing.

Newly admitted D.M.A. students are usually required to pass a series of diagnostic tests in music history, theory, and
sometimes ear-training to confirm thorough command of essential musical principles gained in prior study. Advanced
courses in these areas are not permitted until the tests are passed and/or remedial coursework in deficient area(s) is
completed. Often, the knowledge of a second language – one of languages of major influence in music history (such as
German, French, Italian, Spanish, or Russian) – is required to complete the degree. The graduate admissions branch
of many US universities require applicants to complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), a standardized test
of abstract thinking skills in the areas of math, vocabulary, and analytical writing. While the outcome of the GRE test
may affect an applicant's eligibility for some university-wide scholarships, it does not always affect admission to the
music program of the university.

Brief history
After World War II, there had been a sharp rise in music education at the university level. As was the case with many
occupations, the music world was experiencing an unprecedented number of discharged musicians from the U.S.
Armed Forces. The G.I. Bill was an impetus for many opting for college, causing a spike in demand for college
professors, across all disciplines, and a spike in enrollment. In music education, universities had an opportunity to
employ formidable musicians, but many, including those of international rank, lacked a terminal academic degree that
would put them on equal footing with professors. Post World War II also a period of rise the quality of comprehensive
music education at universities. The Nation's renowned conservatories, such as Juilliard and Curtis, at the time, saw
no need for the degree – yet many alumni of those institutions, and many top musicians with no degree were the very
people being sought by universities offering degrees in music and music education.

In 1952, after six years of deliberation, the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) approved thirty-two
schools for graduate degrees for graduate work "in one or more of the fields into which graduate music study has been
divided." The NASM was, and still is, the only accrediting agency for music schools recognized by the American
Council on Education. In 1952, 143 music schools had already established standards for undergraduate degrees.[7] The
national launch of DMA by institutions meeting criteria was 1953.

Eastman School of Music (the DMA degree was approved by the State of New York Board of Regents in 1953)
Boston University
University of Southern California
The Director of the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music, Howard Hanson (1896–1981), who had been
awarded an honorary doctorate in 1925, was one of several high-profile advocates of creating a performance oriented
doctors degree.

In 1953, he published a proposal for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree, which was roundly criticized by Paul Henry Lang,
PhD, professor of musicology at Columbia University.[8]

Early Doctor of Musical Arts conferred

1954: Mathias "Matt" Higgins Doran, DMA (born 1921), University of Southern California
1955: Will Gay Bottje, DMA (born 1925), Eastman School of Music – some sources attribute Bottje as having
been the first in the nation to earn the degree[9]
August 1955: Edward F. Gilday, Jr., DMA, Boston University
Non-NASM institutions

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The alumni of Music conservatories in the United States also seek positions at universities. The conservatories that are
not affiliated with the National Association of Schools of Music began offering DMAs in the late 1960s.

1971: Margaret Hee-Leng Tan, Juilliard – she is the first woman to earn a DMA from Juilliard; Juilliard added the
degree in 1969, the year it moved to Lincoln Center

References
1. The University of Mississippi – Department of Music (http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/music/degree_programs/grad
_degrees.html)
2. Marvin Latimer, "The Nation's First D.M.A. in Choral Music," Journal of Historical Research in Music Education,
32.1 (October 2010)
3. As of November 2006
4. "Florida State University – Conducting Degrees" (https://web.archive.org/web/20140325122112/http://www.music.
fsu.edu/Areas-of-Study/Conducting/Degree-Programs). Archived from the original (http://www.music.fsu.edu/Area
s-of-Study/Conducting/Degree-Programs) on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
5. "Claremont Graduate University – Doctor of Church Music" (http://www.cgu.edu/pages/8740.asp). Retrieved
30 August 2016.
6. Perkins School of Theology – Doctor of Ministry Program (https://www.smu.edu/Perkins/FacultyAcademics/degre
es/dpm/Apply)
7. "NTSTC One of 32 Colleges for Graduate Study in Music", The Dallas Morning News, December 31, 1942, Sec I,
p. 6
8. "New Degrees to Musicians – Dissenters Claim Title Not Necessary", Omaha World-Herald, November 15, 1953,
p. 9F
9. Howard Hanson: In Theory and Practice (https://books.google.com/books?id=6AAKBSlQAxMC&pg), by Allen
Laurence Cohen, p. 14, Praeger (2004) OCLC 52559264 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52559264)
ISBN 9780313321351

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