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Department of Music

UC Davis
One Shields Ave.
Davis, CA 95616

530.752.5537 phone
530.752.0983 fax

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Department of Music > Academic Programs > Doctor of Philosophy
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Doctor of Philosophy

All Doctor of Philosophy students follow the same core curriculum for roughly the first two years of study and then concentrate on emphasis course work in musicology, ethnomusicology, or composition and theory.

Doctoral candidates must be in residence for at least six quarters, meet the following course work requirements, pass qualifying examinations, and successfully present and defend a dissertation. Also required are emphasis-specific language requirements; generally speaking, students are required to pass a reading exam in two foreign languages, typically German or French and one additional language.

Typical time to complete the Doctor of Philosophy degree is five years for students holding a bachelor's degree; four years for students holding a master's. Course work, which usually is completed within the first two years of the program, includes core classes required of all students as well as course work within the area of emphasis, as follows. Students who already have completed a master's degree or taken graduate-level courses in the same field at another institution may receive up to 24 units of credit.

Prequalifying Comprehensive Examination

Students are admitted to the examination after successfully completing all core courses, the foreign-language requirement, and the majority of the emphasis course work. The exam stresses breadth of knowledge and evaluates the student’s command of the field as a whole. Normally, it is taken at the beginning of the third year and consists of a written test on general and discipline-specific questions, an analysis component, and an oral exam.

Advancement to Candidacy

Upon completion of the prequalifying/comprehensive exam, research is undertaken to develop a dissertational topic, preferably but no necessarily building on prior seminar work. This process begins with the submission of a complete written study in the area of emphasis. A master’s thesis or a substantial paper written in conjunction with advanced course work is of the appropriate scope. A written proposal for the doctoral dissertation is then filed, and the candidate demonstrates in an oral qualifying examination the ability to communicate the nature of a primary research project and the appropriateness of the dissertation proposal. Ideally, advancement to candidacy is completed before the end of the third year.

Dissertation

Candidates are required to successfully present and defend a dissertation in a final public oral examination. The doctoral dissertation must be an original and significant contribution to the field of musical scholarship, or, in the case of composition students, an original composition of scope and substance and an original theoretical or analytical essay. The dissertation is supervised by the faculty and approved by a committee named by the Graduate Division. The final copies should conform to the requirements described by the Office of Graduate Studies (gradstudies.ucdavis.edu).





Core Course Work

(12 units total)

MUS 210A. Proseminar in Music (Theory and Analysis) (4)
MUS 210B. Proseminar in Music (Musicology and Criticism) (4)
MUS 210C. Proseminar in Music (Ethnomusicology) (4)


Emphasis Course Work

Musicology
(36 units total; at least 7 seminars)

MUS 221. Topics in Music History (4)
MUS 222. Techniques of Analysis (4)







































Ethnomusicology
(48 units total; 4 units of individual study)

MUS 221. Topics in Music History (4)
MUS 222. Techniques of Analysis (4)

4 units from the following:

MUS 129A. Musics of the Americas (4)
MUS 129B.
Musics of Africa, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent (4)
MUS 129C. Musics of East and Southeast Asia (4)

MUS 129D. Folk Musics of Europe (4)

8 units from the following:

ANT 201. History of Anthropological Theory
ANT 204. Contemporary Issues in Anthropological Theory
ANT 205. History and Theory in Anthropological Linguistics
ANT 210. Aspects of Culture Structure
CST 200A. Theories, Histories, and Practices of Cultural Studies
CRI 200A. Approaches to Critical Theory

12 units from the following:

MUS 212. Ethics of Musical Ethnography (4)
MUS 213. Transcription and Notation (4)
MUS 214. Recent Issues in Ethnomusicology (4)
MUS 221. Topics in Music History (4)
MUS 222. Techniques of Analysis (4)
MUS 223. Ethnomusicology (Pacific Cultures) (4)

8 units of adviser-approved electives

Composition/Theory
(36 units total)

MUS 203. Music Composition (4)
MUS 207: Advanced Computer Music (4 units)

At least one:

MUS 221. Topics in Music History (4)

At least two:

MUS 222. Techniques of Analysis (4)