Plan Admission Requirements
All domestic and international applicants must review and follow the Graduate College Admission and Registration Requirements.
Students applying for admission to the Doctor of Musical Arts degree program must make application through the Graduate College. There are different deadlines for international students, and for students who wish to apply for assistantships, which are also found on the Graduate College website. In addition to submitting an application and transcripts of all college-level work to the Graduate College, prospective students must have a Master’s degree in music from a NASM accredited institution.
Placement Exams
Prior to registration, all Department of Music graduate students must take placement examinations in music history, theory, and aural skills/sight- singing, regardless of their area of concentration. Passing scores on these exams, or passing grades in the appropriate history or theory review courses (B or above) are required before students may enroll in graduate level history and theory courses. Credit for review courses will not be applied towards the degree.
Successful completion of MUS 690 - Bibliography , with a minimum grade of B, is a pre-requisite for all graduate-level music history classes.
Music History Placement Exam
The examination is an assessment of accumulated knowledge. Students may wish to prepare, however, by reviewing the facts and concepts in J. Peter Burkholder, Donald J. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music, 7th edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2006), the volumes of the Prentice Hall History of Music series, or similar texts. Students who show deficiencies in music history will be required to register for MUS 603 - Graduate Music History Review . The examination is given prior to the first day of instruction for the Fall semester. The exact date, time, and location may be found on the Department of Music website: http://music.unlv.edu/home.shtml
Students must take the exam at the designated time; no make-up examinations will be given. Students who fail to take the exam at the scheduled time must complete MUS 603 before enrolling in any other music history course. This course is offered in the Fall semesters only.
For more specific details concerning the placement exam, please consult the Music History Handbook, available on the Music Department website: http://music.unlv.edu/home.shtml or contact Dr. Anthony Barone (702) 895-5953, (anthony.barone@unlv.edu).
Graduate Music Theory and Aural Skills/Sight-singing Placement Examination
A sample graduate theory placement exam may be found on the Department of Music’s website: http://music.unlv.edu/home.shtml
The Graduate Aural Skills/Sight-singing Placement Examination consists of:
- Two-voice dictation
- Three-voice dictation
- Harmonic dictation
- Two-part rhythmic dictation
- Sight-singing of a melody in any of the modern clefs (treble, alto, tenor, bass). A single melody may contain clef changes.
Students who show deficiencies in music theory and/or aural skills/sight-singing will be required to register for MUS 604 - Graduate Theory Review and/or MUS 602 - Graduate Ear Training Review.
The Graduate Music Theory and Aural Skills/Sight-singing Placement Examination is given prior to the first day of instruction for the Fall semester and the Spring semester. The exact date, time, and location may be found on the Department of Music’s website: http://music.unlv.edu/home.shtml
Students must take the exam at the designated time; no make-up examinations will be given. Students who fail to take the exams at the scheduled time must complete MUS 604 and MUS 602 before enrolling in any other music theory course.
For more specific details concerning the placement exam, please contact the Department of Music Office or the Graduate Coordinator (702) 895-3332.
Plan Degree Requirements
- The student must complete a minimum of 60 credits.
- Throughout work for the degree, the student must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.00 with no course work receiving a grade of B- or below. If a student receives a grade of B- or below, the course must be retaken. If the student’s cumulative GPA falls below 3.00, the student may be separated from the program.
- The Department of Music reviews the academic performance of graduate students at the end of academic year and reviews the academic performance of graduate students on assistantships at the end of each semester. If the Department of Music determines that a student is not making satisfactory progress toward the degree, it will request that the Graduate Dean separate the student from the department or place the student on probation. The department will provide the student with the specific requirements, including deadlines, which must be completed for the student to be removed from probation.
- In consultation with his/her advisor, a student will organize a thesis committee of at least four departmental members. In addition, a fifth member from outside the department, known as the Graduate College Representative, must be appointed. An additional committee member may be added at the student and department’s discretion. Please see Graduate College policy for committee appointment guidelines.
- Advisors are assigned by the Graduate Coordinator and are usually the student’s major teacher. New graduate students should schedule an appointment with their advisor before registering for classes to determine course of study and will be advised upon matriculation as to which, if any, areas need special attention. Advisors take an active role in assisting to correct any student deficiencies by suggesting appropriate course work. Meetings should continue on a regular basis to assure appropriate progress towards the degree.
- Participation in large ensembles is required throughout the student’s residency. Some areas may have more specific large and small ensemble requirements. Students should consult their advisor for more details.
- Reading knowledge of at least one foreign language is required for the DMA: French, German, Spanish, or Italian. With permission of the Department of Music Graduate Committee, another language may be substituted. Students whose native language is not English may not use English or their native language to fulfill this requirement. This requirement must be fulfilled before the student schedules their qualifying exams. Students may fulfill the language requirement by doing one of the following:
- Pass the Foreign Language Proficiency Exam in one of the approved languages.
- The Foreign Language Proficiency Exam typically involves the translation of a 350 to 500-word text in a 90-minute period – the student may use a dictionary during the exam.
- Students interested in this option should first contact the Graduate Coordinator to schedule the exam. The exam content will be selected from a Departmental set of translation excerpts.
- Once complete, the exam is graded by a member of the Foreign Language Department, and the results are documented in completion of the DMA Foreign Language Evaluation form by the person overseeing the exam and should be sent to the Graduate Coordinator for the student’s file.
- If the student does not succeed in passing the Foreign Language Proficiency Exam, they must fulfill the foreign language requirement by completing option b below.
- Complete two successive semesters of regular undergraduate foreign language courses while in residence for the DMA at UNLV in French, German, or Italian with a grade of B (3.0) or better in each course. Students may choose as a starting point the course that best suits their current level of competency.
- Contact the Department of Music for a list of UNLV courses that may be taken to fulfill this requirement.
- Students must formally petition the Department of Music Graduate Committee in advance if they wish to substitute a language for French, German, Spanish, or Italian.
Plan Graudation Requirements
- The student must submit all required forms to the Graduate College and then apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing his/her degree requirements.
- The student must submit and successfully defend his/her doctoral document by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
- The student must submit his/her approved, properly formatted hard-copy document to the Graduate College, and submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest by the posted deadline.
Return to: