Graduate Degree

In addition to meeting the requirements of the university and of the College of Music students must meet the requirements specified below.

Admission

To be admitted to the Doctor of Musical Arts degree program in collaborative piano on regular status, an applicant must have:

1. a master's degree in music from a recognized educational institution or a total of 30 credits of approved graduate course work.
2. presented a live performance audition acceptable to the committee appointed by the Dean of the College of Music.

Applicants must present a live 40-minute audition, including 30 minutes of performance that demonstrates proficiency in solo performance and instrumental and vocal accompanying and approximately 10 minutes of discussion on one or more of the works, that is acceptable to the committee appointed by the Dean of the College of Music.

Applicants must also be prepared to respond to questions from the audition panel on the entire program.

With the approval of the faculty in the piano area, an applicant may be considered for admission to the program based on a high–quality recording of a recent performance, rather than based on a live performance audition.  An applicant who submits a recording may be admitted only on provisional status pending the presentation of a live performance audition before a faculty committee appointed by the Dean of the College of Music.  The audition must be presented before the end of the first semester of enrollment in the program.

Guidance Committee

The student’s guidance committee, which must be formed during the first year of graduate study, must consist of the Director of Collaborative Piano, who serves as its chairperson, a second faculty member from the piano area, one faculty member from the area of musicology, and one faculty member from the area of music theory. In instances where additional expertise would be beneficial it is recommended that the guidance committee include a faculty member from within or outside the College of Music.

Requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Collaborative Piano

Each student in the program has a major professor who provides instruction in collaborative, oversees the musical content of the student's program, guides the preparation of required recitals, oversees the preparation of the scholarly paper, lecture-recital(s) and the final oral examination.  Normally, the student studies with the major professor for six semesters.

The student must meet the requirements specified below:

1.	Complete the following courses (11 credits):
	MUS	830	Research Methods and Materials in Music						3
	MUS	840	Chamber Music Literature with Piano						2
	MUS	842	Vocal Coaching Techniques						2
	MUS	891	Special Topics (Doctoral Seminar in Advanced Collaborative Piano Techniques)						4
2.	Complete at least 6 credits of 800- or 900-level courses in musicology and three courses in music theory, as specified by the student’s guidance committee.
3.	Demonstrate proficiency in two languages by completing two of the following options:
	a.	FRN	101	Elementary French I					4
		MUS	249	French Diction for Singers					1
	b.	GRM	101	Elementary German I					3
		MUS	248	German Diction for Singers					1
	c.	ITL	101	Elementary Italian I
		MUS	144	Italian Diction for Singers					4
	Courses completed at another university or passing the appropriate MSU departmental placement examination may be used to satisfy this requirement.
4.	Pass the written comprehensive examinations in musicology and music theory. Students become eligible to take the comprehensive examination in either of these areas during the semester in which they are completing the required course work in that area.
5.	Complete the following requirements in lieu of 24 credits of Music 999, a doctoral dissertation, and a final oral examination in defense of the dissertation:
	a.	Complete 24 credits of Music 996 Doctoral Recital Performance. These credits must include at least six semesters of instruction in collaborative piano, 3 credits of instruction in applied piano (1 credit for each of three semesters), 4 credits of instruction in piano performance (1 credit for each of four semesters), 2 credits of instruction in chamber music (1 credit for each of two semesters), and 4 credits of collaborative performance of vocal repertoire (2 credits for each of two semesters). These requirements may be met concurrently.
	b.	Perform five public collaborative recitals that have been approved in a pre-recital hearing by a committee of faculty from the piano area, two of which must be presented within two consecutive semesters, excluding summers.  Two of the recitals must be instrumental recitals; two of the recitals must be vocal recitals. The fifth recital may be either an instrumental, vocal, or chamber recital.  A recording of each of the five recitals and must be submitted to the Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and will be retained by the college as part of the permanent degree record.
	c.	Complete one of the following three options:
		(1)	Present a lecture–recital twice, first to the student's guidance committee as part of an oral examination and then to the public and submit a scholarly paper upon which the lecture-recital is based.  In no case may the lecture–recital be presented publicly until it has been approved by the committee. The oral examination will be a defense of the lecture-recital and the paper.  A recording of the lecture–recital must be submitted to the Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and will be retained by the College as part of the permanent degree record.
		(2)	Present two lecture-recitals. Each lecture-recital must be presented twice, first to the student’s guidance committee as part of an oral examination and then to the public. In no case may the lecture-recital be presented publicly until it has been approved by the committee. Each oral examination will be a defense of one of the lecture-recitals. A recording of each lecture-recital is required and must be submitted to the Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.
		(3)	With the unanimous consent of the student's guidance committee, submit a scholarly paper of major scope, comparable to a traditional dissertation, and take a final oral examination based on the paper.
A proposal for each lecture-recital and the scholarly paper, if applicable, must be approved in writing by all members of the guidance committee no less than three months before the oral examination on that lecture-recital may occur. A recording of the public lecture-recital(s) and the scholarly paper will be retained by the College as part of the permanent degree record.
In the case of (1) and (3) above, the student must have completed successfully all of the required course work (with the exception of Music 996 Doctoral Recital Performance), the comprehensive examination, the required public recitals, and the scholarly paper before the final oral examination may occur. In the case of (2) above, the student must have completed successfully all of the required course work (with the exception of Music 996), the comprehensive examination, and the required public recitals before either of the oral examinations may occur.

Academic Standards

Doctoral study presumes continuing excellence in course work.  A student may accumulate no more than 6 credits with a grade below 3.0 in courses that are to be counted toward the degree.

With regard to 4. (c) (1) above, the student’s performance on the lecture-recital and the related scholarly paper and the final oral examination based on the lecture-recital and the paper must be approved by the members of the student’s guidance committee with not more than one dissenting vote. Should the committee fail to accept the student’s performance on the lecture-recital and the related paper or the final oral examination, the student shall be allowed to repeat the performance of the lecture-recital or to revise the related paper or to repeat the final oral examination. The lecture-recital must be repeated or the paper revised or the oral examination repeated within one year, during a fall or spring semester.

With regard to 4. (c) (2) above, the student’s performance on each of the two lecture-recitals and the final oral examination based on each lecture-recital must be approved by the members of the student’s guidance committee with not more than one dissenting vote. Should the committee fail to accept the student’s performance on either lecture-recital or the final oral examination, the student shall be allowed to repeat the performance of the lecture-recital or to repeat the final oral examination. The lecture-recital must be repeated or the oral examination repeated within one year, during a fall or spring semester.

With regard to 4. (c) (3) above, the student’s performance on the scholarly paper and the final oral examination based on the paper must be approved by the members of the student’s guidance committee with not more than one dissenting vote. Should the committee fail to accept the student’s performance on the paper or the final oral examination, the student shall be allowed to revise the related paper or to repeat the final oral examination. The paper must be revised or the oral examination repeated within one year, during a fall or spring semester.