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Music Theory Indiana University Bloomington

Doctor of Philosophy in Music Theory

 

Degree Requirements

Music theory at Indiana University emphasizes musicianship and scholarly study with particular emphasis on the history of musical thought, analysis of musical structure, and pedagogy.

More detailed information is available here.

Admission

Applicants for the PhD in music theory must ordinarily have received a master’s degree in music theory or musicology or the demonstrated equivalent. Students with outstanding credentials may apply directly from a bachelor’s degree. Students are required to demonstrate competency in all areas required of the MM in music theory at Indiana University, and may be exempted from certain courses on the recommendation of the department. Applicants must apply both to the Graduate Division of the Jacobs School of Music and to the University Graduate School.

In addition to three letters of recommendation, applicants should also submit two extensive, formal research papers or a master’s thesis in music theory or musicology. An individual interview and audition for an Associate Instructorship are also required; applicants are expected to be proficient in sight-singing, aural skills, and keyboard harmony. The applicant’s scores on the GRE General Test must be received by the application deadline.

Proficiency Examinations

Examinations in music theory, music history, keyboard skills, music performance, and musical styles.

Major-Field Requirements

36–66 credit hours.

Foundation Courses

Demonstrated proficiency in the content of the following courses:

  • T551 Analytical Techniques for Tonal Music (3 cr.)
  • T555 Schenkerian Analysis (3 cr.)
  • T556 Analysis of Music Since 1900 (3 cr.)
  • T565 Stylistic Counterpoint: Variable Topics (3 cr.)
  • T591 Music Theory Pedagogy (3 cr.)

Students may demonstrate proficiency through methods determined by the department such as examination or submission of a portfolio based on previous coursework, or by completion of the above courses. Proficiency demonstrated through means other than taking the courses listed requires approval of the department chairperson and the director of graduate studies.

Advanced Courses
  • T623–624 History of Music Theory I–II (3-3 cr.)
  • T658 Seminar in Music Theory: Variable Topics (3-3-3-3 cr.)
  • T550 Readings in Music Theory* (3 cr.)
  • 3 credits chosen from T658 Seminar in Music Theory: Variable Topics (3 cr.), T561 Music Theory: Variable Topics (3 cr.), T619 Projects and Problems in Music Theory (3 cr.), or another graduate course approved by the department chairperson and the director of graduate studies
  • T650 Dissertation Topic Workshop (1 cr.)
  • T700 Dissertation in Music Theory (3–27 cr.). The student must enroll in enough credit hours of dissertation to reach a minimum of 36 credit hours in the major field.

*Students who have already satisfied the T550 requirement must substitute 3 credits of T658, T561, T619, or another graduate course approved by the department chairperson and the director of graduate studies.

Public Lecture

T659 Public Lecture (0 cr.). The public lecture must be completed before the oral qualifying exam may be scheduled. Students should normally register for T659 Public Lecture in the semester in which the lecture will be given (or consult with the department chair in cases in which this may not be possible).

Public lectures must be presented as part of the Music Theory Colloquium Series. The format is as follows: A prepared talk of 30 minutes or longer, followed by 5–10 minutes allotted for questions from a designated faculty respondent, followed by a general question period. Exceptions to the length requirement may be made for papers that have been accepted to conferences imposing shorter time limits.

In preparation for the lecture, it is the student’s responsibility to:

  • Consult with the advisory committee chair to identify and request the faculty respondent. The respondent must be a member of the theory faculty, but must not be the advisory committee chair, and should not be involved in the crafting of the lecture.
  • Arrange the date with the departmental colloquium committee, and inform the committee that the lecture will be in fulfillment of the Public Lecture requirement.
  • Inform all members of the advisory committee, as well as the faculty respondent, of the date of the public lecture, and ensure in advance that they all will be present (or arrange for another faculty member to substitute for a committee member if necessary).
  • At least two weeks prior to the lecture, make the text of the lecture available to the advisory committee chair and to the faculty respondent (and/or to other faculty, at the committee chair’s request).

The advisory committee chair must approve the text of the public lecture before presentation. If the chair requests changes, it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the faculty respondent has the most up-to-date version of the text in a reasonable amount of time before the lecture. It is expected that the student will not otherwise work with the faculty respondent prior to the lecture.

Lectures are usually drawn from papers written in graduate theory courses, particularly T658 seminars. The student is encouraged to meet with the instructor of the course in question to discuss the suitability of the material for a public lecture. The lecture should demonstrate originality in its scholarship and professionalism in its presentation. It should be well organized and carefully prepared, in the manner of a conference paper. Papers are normally read from a prepared text or detailed notes. Handouts, audiovisual examples, and computer-assisted presentations are commonly used and should be of professional quality.

Students, especially those with little or no prior experience in giving public presentations, are encouraged to rehearse the lecture several times in advance, in conditions simulating the lecture situation as closely as possible. Practicing in front of a few friends can be helpful, as can recording your presentation. In listening to the recording, listen for clarity, pacing, and overall timing.

The public lecture is graded satisfactory or unsatisfactory by the student’s advisory committee. If the lecture is judged unsatisfactory, the committee will offer comments and advice, and the student will be required to give another public lecture at a later date.

Minor Field

12 credit hours. PhD students in music theory must complete a 12-credit minor either in music history and literature or in musicology. See more information here.

Other Required Credits

12 credit hours. These 12 credits may be taken inside or outside the Jacobs School of Music, subject to approval by the director of graduate studies. A second formal minor may be completed by taking all 12 credits in a single field outside music theory. A maximum of 9 credits may be taken in a single department unless a minor is declared. See more information here.

Tool Subjects
  • M539 Introduction to Music Bibliography (2 cr.) with a grade of B or higher or evidence of proficiency demonstrated by examination.
  • Reading knowledge of one non-English language as demonstrated by examination or by grades of B or higher in two semesters of reading courses at the graduate level in each; or demonstration of proficiency in one research skill, approved by the department and the director of graduate studies of the Jacobs School of Music. More information about the language requirement is available here.
Qualifying Examination

Written and oral examination.

 

T650, the Dissertation Prospectus, and the Dissertation Topic Proposal

T650 and the Dissertation Prospectus

PhD students must enroll in T650 Dissertation Topic Workshop (1 credit), typically during the last semester of coursework. T650 is part of the major-field coursework and must therefore be completed before the major-field written exam may be scheduled.

Successful completion of T650 is dependent upon completion of a short dissertation prospectus and its approval by the proposed research director and two other IU music theory faculty who have agreed to serve on the research committee. Students in T650 are strongly encouraged to complete the prospectus by the twelfth week of the semester in order to give these faculty members sufficient time to read and comment on the prospectus.

Dissertation topics may develop from a number of areas, including research done in doctoral seminars and independent research. As ideas for the topic are developed, you should discuss these with one or more faculty members (in addition to the faculty member in charge of T650) who will provide feedback and help sharpen the focus of your work.

You should ask one faculty member to serve as research director for your dissertation and chair of your research committee. This is the person you will work with most closely during the proposal, research, and writing stages. In addition to the director, the research committee normally includes two other faculty from the theory department and one from an appropriate outside department (often, but not necessarily, musicology). The outside member does not need to be in place at the time of T650 and the prospectus approval, but should be identified as soon as is practicable.

The prospectus should include the proposed title, the names of the research director and the proposed committee members, approximately three to five pages of text including a proposed table of contents or chapter-by-chapter outline for the dissertation, and a bibliography.

The Dissertation Topic Proposal

The full dissertation topic proposal is developed in consultation with the research director. The proposal may be submitted either before or after qualifying exams are completed; the department encourages students to develop the proposal as early as possible.

The proposal must be approved by the three departmental members of the proposed research committee. Following this approval, the proposal is circulated to the entire department faculty for a two-week comment period. Faculty comments are sent to the research director, who communicates them to the student and determines if any further changes are required. After ascertaining that any required changes have been made, the research director notifies the Music Graduate Office that the topic proposal has been approved. At this point the student officially submits the proposal to the Graduate Office, along with a separate one- to two-page summary (required by the University Graduate School).

Proposal format

There is no particular required format for proposals, but all of the following information should be included:

  • Name, degree
  • Name of the research director and all members of the proposed research committee, including the member outside the music theory department
  • Title of the proposed dissertation
  • Short abstract of the proposed dissertation
  • General discussion of the problem: Why is this an important topic? (suggested length 1–2 pages)
  • Review of the literature, sufficient to demonstrate that you are familiar with prior research, that the topic is sufficiently original, and how your proposed research will fit into the body of prior work (suggested length 2–4 pages)
  • Outline of the proposed dissertation (usually a chapter-by-chapter breakdown)
  • Discussion of the methodology to be used, possibly with brief examples as appropriate
  • Possible conclusions
  • Bibliography

Students are encouraged to be concise, and to limit proposals to about 10–15 pages, excluding the bibliography and any musical examples or other illustrations. Complete analyses or extensive details are not required, but you should include enough to show that you have seriously considered methodological questions and have formulated an approach to the problem.

 

Dissertation-Year Fellowship

PhD students in music theory may apply for a Dissertation-Year Fellowship, awarded by the Jacobs School of Music to an outstanding PhD candidate on the recommendation of the music theory faculty. The award provides a stipend of $12,000 for one academic year.

Applications for the fellowship must be submitted by the Friday of spring break, following the instructions below. Only students who have applied by this date will be considered.

To be eligible, students must have a GPA of 3.75 or higher and must be able to devote full-time work to the dissertation during the term of the fellowship; outside employment, if any, may not exceed 15 hours per week. Students must have been admitted to candidacy (i.e., passed the oral exam) or have the oral exam pending, preferably not later than April 1. Students who will be or may be taking the oral exam between April 1 and the end of the spring semester are encouraged to apply and to discuss their situation with the department chair. A student may receive the fellowship only once; students who applied unsuccessfully in a previous year and will still be working on their dissertations in the coming year are eligible to apply again.

To apply, send an email to the department chair by the deadline noted above, expressing your interest in being considered for the fellowship. In your email, include the dissertation title, the names of your research committee members, and the date on which you passed or on which you expect to take the oral exam. Also attach a statement of not more than 250 words describing the current state of your dissertation work and the progress you expect to make within the one-year term of the fellowship.

 

To access both graduate and undergraduate course descriptions, visit our Courses page.
For information about admissions, visit our Admissions page.