Applicable only to students admitted during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Doctoral Degrees
 

Doctor of Philosophy

Advising

Students must plan a program under the head of the composition faculty who serves as the faculty adviser. Students are required to contact their adviser at the beginning of each quarter.

An ongoing evaluation of students' progress toward the degree is made by the faculty adviser each quarter in consultation with the student. Any problems are reviewed by the faculty in composition. Students are responsible for checking URSA to be sure their official study list is correct.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

The department offers the Ph.D. degree in the field of composition, composition for visual media and in the field of composition with a cognate in ethnomusicology.

Foreign Language Requirement

A reading knowledge of two foreign languages is required. Students must select from German, French, Italian, Latin, Russian, or Spanish. Students whose native language is not English may use English or their native language as one of the foreign languages; the other language must be selected from the above group of languages. Students who elect a cognate in ethnomusicology may petition to substitute a language related to their area of research for one of the required languages. Students may fulfill the language requirement by completing three successive quarters of the regular undergraduate series or the 1G-2G series of language study with a grade of B (3.0) or better in each course or by passing the UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test in one of those languages, placing into level four or higher.

Course Requirements

Students may petition to their area on the advice of their faculty adviser for exemption from specific requirements on the basis of equivalent work done at the M.A. level. If students are in the program in composition with the cognate in ethnomusicology and have had no prior coursework in ethnomusicology, they are required to take Ethnomusicology 20A-20B-20C. They are also encouraged to participate in the ethnomusicology performance organizations (Ethnomusicology 91A through 91Z and 161A through 161Z).

Students may complete the residency requirement by taking 100- or 200- series courses as recommended by the faculty adviser.

Required courses for the Ph.D. degree in composition are one course in Musicologyat the 200 level whose topic covers some aspect of music after 1900, excluding performance practice seminars; three quarters of Music M201/Musicology M201; Music 204, 251, 252 for 24 units, 253, 254, 255, and 256. To satisfy the breadth area requirement, students must take two additional graduate research seminars from the department of Musicology (not including performance practice seminars) or Ethnomusicology, or from another outside department, chosen in consultation with the student's faculty adviser. Students also are required to complete Music 290 during their first year of residency. Students who received the M.A. degree in composition from UCLA take a minimum of one additional quarter of Music 290..

Students who received the M.A. degree in composition from UCLA are required to take an additional 12 units of Music 252 in the Ph.D. program in composition. Students who received the M.A. degree in composition elsewhere are required to take 24 units of Music 252.

In addition to the dissertation, students are expected to produce other works involving both instrumental and vocal music for both solo and ensemble forces. Furthermore, students are responsible for the campus presentation of one original work during each year of residency.

Cognate in Ethnomusicology. Students may substitute Ethnomusicology 201 for Music 204 and Ethnomusicology 282 or 283 for Music 253.

Required courses for the Ph.D. degree in composition for visual media are three quarters of Music M201/Musicology M201; Music 204, 226, 251, 252 for 12 units, 253, 255, 256, 260A, 260B, and three graduate seminars from the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, chosen in consultation with the student's faculty adviser. To satisfy the breadth area requirement, students must take two additional graduate seminars from the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, chosen in consultation with the student's faculty adviser. Students also are required to complete Music 290 during their first year of residency. Students who received the M.A. degree in composition for visual media from UCLA take a minimum of one additional quarter of Music 290, an additional three quarters of 252, and two seminars in film studies offered by the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, chosen in consultation with the student's faculty adviser.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

The guidance committee normally consists of the faculty members who taught the following courses that the student completed: Music 254 or Music 255, Music 256, Musicology 200-level music after 1900; and of the student's principal breadth adviser. The guidance committee consists of three ladder faculty. In the event that the manner in which the student completes the above courses results in a committee of four faculty members, one may be dropped. In the event that the manner in which the student completes the above courses results in a committee of two faculty members, one from the composition area must be added, in consultation with the faculty adviser.

When the student and the guidance committee believe the student is ready to take the qualifying examinations, the student should submit a schedule to the Student Services Office and the committee members listing the order in which the examinations are to be taken. The Student Services Office staff acts as proctor for the tests. Normally the four written examinations are spread over a two-week period but should be completed within three weeks. Repeat examinations may be scheduled in consultation with the guidance committee and after a stipulated period of time.

The written examinations consist of the following: (1) analysis of pre-1900 music; (2) analysis of post-1900 music; (3) topics in 20th-century music; and (4) the breadth area.

Upon successful completion of the written examinations, a departmental oral qualifying examination is scheduled. The oral examination consists of two parts: (1) defense of the written examinations before the guidance committee (listed above); and (2) a presentation of analyses of typically four compositions specified by the composition faculty in the previous year, before the composition faculty.

Written examinations ordinarily are taken in the first two weeks of Winter Quarter. The first departmental oral examination ordinarily is taken in the sixth or seventh week of Winter Quarter. Both examinations are scheduled in consultation with the guidance committee and with the Student Services Office. The second departmental oral examination ordinarily is scheduled by the composition faculty for the tenth week of Winter Quarter.

For students with a cognate in ethnomusicology, the dissertation composition should reflect the ethnomusicological area interests of the student and draw from a variety of traditional, classical, Western, and/or non-Western sources; a public reading of this composition is required. The monograph should deal with a cross-cultural, 20th-century work.

For composition for visual media students, the dissertation composition will be a newly-composed score for a new (student or commercial) film, to be chosen and approved from qualified film making schools, which the candidate’s committee must approve of before composition commences. The film would ideally be a feature, although a documentary of at least 30 minutes duration may be acceptable; the student must write at least 15 minutes of underscore accepted by the director and included in the final mix. The written dissertation monograph will be an essay on some aspect of film composition, related to the thesis dissertation film or on an unrelated film music subject, approved by the candidate’s committee. A public screening of the completed thesis dissertation film is required.On completion of the departmental qualifying examinations and the second language, the student may submit the dissertation topic and request for a doctoral committee for approval. The dissertation topic and the composition of the doctoral committee are approved by the faculty before he committee nomination is submitted to the Graduate Division. Once the committee is formally appointed the student is eligible to take the University Oral Qualifying Examination.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

Progress toward the degree for full-time students with no deficiencies upon admission to graduate status, is as follows:

(a) From graduate admission to admission to the doctoral program (approval of the Form I): four quarters.

(b) From graduate admission to departmental written and oral qualifying examinations: six quarters.

(c) From graduate admission to approval of the dissertation proposal and advancement to candidacy: eight quarters.

(d) From advancement to candidacy to final oral examination: four quarters.

(e) From graduate admission to award of the degree: 12 quarters.

Doctor of Musical Arts

Advising

Students must plan a program under the guidance of the faculty adviser in their field of concentration. Students are required to contact their adviser at the beginning of each quarter. The faculty adviser for each area of specialization is assigned by the chair on a yearly basis. Students may contact the Student Services Office at the beginning of Fall Quarter for the name of their adviser.

An ongoing evaluation of students' progress toward the degree is made by the graduate adviser each quarter in consultation with the student. Any problems are reviewed by the faculty in students' areas of specialization. Students are responsible for checking URSA to be sure their official study list is correct.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

The department offers the D.M.A. degree in all classical solo instruments, voice, collaborative piano, and conducting.

Foreign Language Requirement

A reading knowledge of one foreign language from German, French, Italian, or Spanish is required. Students may fulfill this requirement by passing a departmental examination. This requirement may also be satisfied by completing three quarters of UCLA foreign language instruction in the same language with a grade of B or better or by passing the UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test in one of those languages, placing into level four or higher. Students specializing in repertoire where another language is vital may petition to use another language. This requirement must be completed by the end of the student's second year of residency.

Students in voice, collaborative piano, and choral conducting must demonstrate reading proficiency in a second language by one of the means listed above.

Course Requirements

Students are required to complete a minimum of 102 units, 28 of which must be at the 200 level, 60 units at the 400 level, and 10 units at the 500 level. Ninety-eight of these units are specified below. The elective must be from 200-, 400-, or 500-series courses. Music 599 serves to guide the preparation of the dissertation and should normally be taken during the final year of residence. Students who received the M.M. degree at UCLA are expected to complete at least 32 additional units and two recitals beyond the M.M. requirements, subject to the specific requirements of their area of specialization. The department provides a maximum of nine quarters of enrolled private instruction in performance. Students who were admitted to the program with a master's degree from another institution may petition for up to a year of private lessons (18 units) and 12 units of academic courses to be applied to D.M.A. requirements.

The requirements for the D.M.A. degree are:

Instrumental/Vocal Performance. A core of Music 202, 203, 204; three courses from Music 261A through 261F, 271; eight quarters of 400-level performance instruction; three quarters of Music C485; one quarter of Music 401, 595B, and 599; the appropriate course from Music 469, 471; one additional course from Music 261A through 261F, C267, 270E, 270F, 271, 596D, additional courses in pedagogy, Musicology 250, and Ethnomusicology 271, 273, 275, 279 or other appropriate graduate courses selected with advisement. Keyboard specialists are required to collaborate with at least one vocalist or vocal ensemble, one wind player or small ensemble, and one string player or small string ensemble within the context of the Music C485 requirement.

Collaborative Piano. A core of Music 202, 203, 204; three courses from Music 261A through 261F, 271; eight quarters of 400-level performance instruction; one quarter of Music C455 and C458; one quarter of 400-level performance organization; one quarter of Music 401, 595B, and 599; the appropriate course from Music 469, 471; one addition course from Music 261A through 261F, C267, 270E, 270F, 271, 596D, additional courses in pedagogy, Musicology 250A, 250B, and Ethnomusicology 271, 273, 275, 279 or other appropriate graduate courses selected with advisement.

Conducting. A core of Music 202, 203, 204; three courses from Music 261A through 261F, 271; eight quarters of 400-level conducting instruction; three quarters of 400-level chamber ensembles; one quarter of Music 401, 595B, and 599; one course from Music 469, 471; one additional course from Music 261A through 261F, C267, 270E, 270F, 271, 596D, courses in pedagogy, Musicology 250A, 250B, 596, Ethnomusicology 271, 273, 275, 279 or other appropriate graduate courses selected with advisement. Conducting students may substitute three quarters of 400-level performance organizations for the C485 requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Two preliminary recitals are required; they will be adjudicated by the department's Graduate Committee for Performance. The first-year recital is a standard program and is normally performed on campus. The second-year entrepreneurial recital is an individual project in public performance and is performed outside the UCLA campus. All scheduling, publicity, program notes, and ticketing must be arranged by the student without assistance from the supervising instructor.

Departmental written and oral qualifying examinations are required. The written examination requires the student to bring together the material covered in the core course sequence of Music 202, 203, 204, one of the performance practice seminars, and other relevant coursework in the research for and writing of a scholarly essay on a given work or topic. Students choose the historical era of the examination; they do not know the work or topic beforehand. This examination is graded by the Graduate Committee and the student's master teacher. The oral examination with the student's doctoral committee consists of a discussion/demonstration of portions of the relevant works on the final recital program (including the New Music Forum premier work ) and a defense of the dissertation topic and its relationship to the final recital (the University Oral Qualifying Examination).

After the entrepreneurial recital is passed and the foreign language requirement is met, the student may schedule the written qualifying examination and submit the request for a doctoral committee and the proposal for the dissertation. Upon successful completion of the written examination, the proposed program for the final recital is submitted.

The final doctoral recital (a full professional recital of approximately 60 minutes of music) and lecture, a formal lecture open to the public on the subject of the dissertation, take place well after students take the second examination, the University Oral Qualifying Examination.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

The normal progress toward the degree for full-time students with no deficiencies upon admission to the D.M.A. program is as follows:

(a) From admission to the written qualifying examinations: six quarters

(b) From admission to the oral qualifying examinations: seven quarters

(c) From admission to advancement to candidacy: seven quarters

(d) From admission to the award of the degree: nine quarters (minimum of six; maximum of 12)

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standards reasons outlined above, a student may specifically be recommended for termination because of (1) a terminal master's degree recommendation from the student's master's committee; (2) inadequate scholarship as recommended by the Graduate Committee in the student's area; (3) inadequate progress toward the degree as recommended by the student's area; or (4) denial of the Form I.

In all cases, the student's academic progress is discussed in depth by the council or committee that made the recommendation. A recommendation for termination is forwarded to the departmental chair for review and decision. The student is notified of a recommendation for termination in writing.

A student may appeal a recommendation for termination by stating the reasons in writing to the departmental chair. The chair transmits the appeal to the student's area for consideration.

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