PhD in Music

The PhD in music education immerses you in pioneering pedagogical practices, guiding you to create and publish your research while also amassing extensive classroom teaching experience.

This degree has been newly revised to provide theoretical foundations for the examination and exploration of innovative research and pedagogical practices. A limited number of 20-hour teaching associateships are available for highly qualified applicants who have earned a master’s degree and seek professional advancement and/or employment in higher education or arts administration.

PhD students complete 56 credits of approved coursework beyond the master’s degree. They must also complete a teaching demonstration, teaching a full undergraduate music education class, which is evaluated by the music education faculty. From there, they write four scholarly articles: an article suitable for publication in Music Educators Journal, a literature review related to their dissertation topic, a research article, and a curricular project from a cognate area. To complete the doctorate, students pass a comprehensive exam and write a traditional dissertation.