Degree Requirements

Programs (majors)

Click on the program name below to have a list of requirements for that degree open in a new window.  These requirements are for the 2007-2009 bulletin.  If you entered under the 2001-2003, 2003-2005 or 2005-2007 bulletin, click here for a list of program requirements. 

Minors

Students in most doctoral programs complete two minors, usually twelve credits in each minor. (Ph.D. students in Musicology complete one minor.) The first minor for a student in a performance area must be in music history and literature, music theory, or music education. The second minor may be within or outside the School of Music. Performance students may not elect a second minor in performance, except that students may complete a minor in a related early instrument and vice versa. Detailed information on minors is available here.

Major field electives or course substitutions

Some doctoral degree have electives as part of the major field.  If your degree includes elective credits, please see here for information about how to have your elective choices formally approved.

If your degree includes a course that you have already taken in a previous program at IU, you may propose a substitute course to take its place.  See here for more information.

Course Load

The minimum semester course load is 8 credit hours. (including 2 hours for ensemble, if required); the maximum is 17 (including ensemble). Most students take between 8 and 12. During the second summer session, a student must be enrolled in a least 3 credits, however, a typical summer course load is 6 credits.

Doctoral students who have fewer than 8 credit hours remaining for their degree may enroll for those hours only; they will be considered full-time students by the Music Graduate Office.  If you need full-time enrollment for any other reason (financial aid, insurance, loan deferment, etc.) contact the offices that are involved in those items to see what their requirements are.

International students who are done with coursework and preparing for/taking qualifying exams have the option of enrolling in a 0-credit course, MUS-G 601, for a maximum of two semesters. This will give the students enrolled in the course valid visa status, but does not equal full-time status.  If the qualifying exam process takes more than 2 semesters, students needing more time will need to register in at least one hour of document or dissertation credit to maintain their visa status.

See here for registration requirements for students after the completion of qualifying exams.

Residency Requirement and Transfer Credit

The doctoral degree requires completion of a least 90 credit hours of advanced study (including the master's degree). At least 30 credit hours beyond the master's degree must be completed at IU, with at least two consecutive semesters in residence. Up to 30 credit hours may be transferred from accredited institutions. Transfer credit for the D.M. and D.M.E. degrees is approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and the department in which the equivalent course is offered. Departmental practices vary; an interview or examination may be required. Performance lessons, chamber music coaching, ensemble, and review courses may not be transferred.

Time Limits

Recitals

All doctoral performance majors must perform a varying number of recitals depending on the degree program. D.M. Conducting and Composition majors are required to do one or more public performances depending on the program. For specific information on recital requirements, students should review the information for their degree in the Jacobs School of Music bulletin and check with their department chair.

Doctoral recitals are ordinarily attended and graded in person by the three members of a student's doctoral advisory committee. The chair must hear the recital in person; exceptionally, in consultation beforehand with the committee chair and the student, a committee member may arrange for a departmental substitute, or to hear a recording of the recital. Recordings, when used, are available in the Music Library.

The final grade is an average of the grades assigned by each committee member. The minimum grade for each doctoral recital is a "B."

For information regarding recital guidelines and scheduling, review the Recital Scheduling homepage, or contact the Recital Scheduling Office (recsched@indiana.edu or 812-855-6000).

Advisory Committee

After a student has been admitted to a degree program, he/she must submit a list of faculty members to serve on his/her Doctoral Advisory Committee. The Director of Graduate Studies appoints the committee based on the submitted list. This committee administers the qualifying examinations and approves and grades any required recitals or performances.

A Doctoral Advisory Committee normally consists of three major field and two minor field representatives. One of the major field representatives serves as the chair of the committee. For performance majors, the student's teacher is the chair of the committee.

Visiting faculty members may serve as committee members for recital grading. For qualifying exams, an advisory committee should include three permanent members of the student's department. If the student's teacher is a visiting faculty member, one of the other members from the permanent faculty should be asked to serve as chair.

Lecturers/senior lecturers will ordinarily not be appointed to doctoral committees, but their departments may petition the director of graduate studies to allow exceptions if they regularly teach doctoral students.

If one of the student's minor fields is Music History & Literature or Music Theory, the student must complete a form, (the Minor Field representative in Music History & Literature form, or the Minor Field representative in Music Theory form, also available in the Music Graduate Office), requesting a musicology or music theory faculty member be assigned as his/her minor field representative.  These forms require faculty signatures, and are then submitted first to the Music Theory and Musicology department office (in the Simon Center Building room M225H), and then to the Music Graduate Office.  Note: some second minors and the guided electives option do not have a minor field representative.

There is no definite date by which the Advisory Committee should be established, but it should be done as early as possible. In general, performance majors should submit his/her list before arranging the first recital; theory, musicology, and music education majors should submit his/her list before arranging qualifying examinations.

To request your committee, submit the Doctoral Advisory Committee form. Signatures are not required, but the student must speak with each person on his or her list before submitting the form to the Graduate Office.

Ph.D. students in Music Theory arrange their advisory committee in consultation with the department chair.

Research Committee

For D.M.students, the Research Committee is appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies from a list submitted by the student as part of the topic proposal approval process.  For Ph.D. students, the Research Committee is appointed by the dean of the Research and University Graduate School (see the Research and University Graduate School's bulletin for details). This committee approves the topic proposal, approves the dissertation or final project written component, conducts the defense or final project public presentation, and approves and grades the dissertation or final project; see here for details.

The Research Committee consists of three members from the student's major field, one of whom acts as chair, and one member from a minor or other outside field. In addition, one member serves as Research Director; this is generally the chair or the outside member, depending on the nature of the topic and the expertise required.  Piano and Composition majors have a slightly different type of Research Committee, see here for details.

A research committee should include three permanent members of the student's department. Lecturers/senior lecturers will ordinarily not be appointed to doctoral committees, but their departments may petition the director of graduate studies to allow exceptions if they regularly teach doctoral students.

Styles Examination

All doctoral students must pass an examination testing their ability to deal analytically and stylistically with music of various periods. Information on this exam may be found here.

Qualifying Examinations

All doctoral students take written and oral qualifying examinations after they have completed their course work. Detailed information on these exams may be found here.

Candidacy/In absentia registration

After successful completion of all doctoral qualifying exams, the student is admitted to candidacy. After admission to candidacy, the student must be enrolled each semester until graduation. In absentia registration is available for candidates not living in Bloomington.

Detailed information is available here.

Final projects, Dissertations and Defenses

Doctoral students write a dissertation or prepare a final project. Detailed information may be found here.