Degree Requirements

Music & Human Learning

DMA • Music & Human Learning, Jazz Emphasis

Overview

In the three-year Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in Music & Human Learning, students study the fundamental principles of human learning and behavior as applied to all aspects of musical activity. Individual courses of study are uniquely designed to broaden and refine the knowledge and skills of experienced music educators, preparing them for advanced careers as teachers and scholars in the various dimensions of research and professional music education.

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Contacts
Degree Requirements
Advising & Registration
Graduation Timeline
Important Links

Contacts

Administrative Contacts

Graduate Advisor | Director of Graduate Studies

James Buhler

Scholarships & Assistantships

Anne Hall

Graduate Admissions Coordinator

Daniel Seriff

HR Coordinator

Theresa Orendain

Graduate Coordinator

Marina Martinez

Operations & Scheduling

Page Stephens

Division Contacts

Division Head, MHL

Robert A. Duke

Division Head, Jazz

John Fremgen

Area Counselor, MHL

Robert A. Duke

Area Counselor, Jazz

John Fremgen

Director of Jazz Studies

Diego Rivera

Music & Human Learning Faculty

Robert A. Duke

Director, Center for Human Learning
Suzanne Pence

Associate Professor of Music and Human Learning, Choral Conducting
Laurie Scott

Associate Professor of Music and Human Learning
Director, The University of Texas String Project
Director, Musical Lives
Amy Simmons

Senior Lecturer in Music and Human Learning
Justin J. West

Assistant Professor of Music and Human Learning
Marjorie Yankeelov

Lecturer in Music and Human Learning

Jazz Faculty Contacts

Paul Deemer

Specialist in Jazz Trombone
John Fremgen

Associate Professor of Jazz Studies, Double Bass
Director, Alternative Improvisation Music Ensemble
Division Head, Jazz Studies
Sean Giddings

Lecturer in Jazz Piano
Adam Jackson

Lecturer in Drum Set
John Mills

Professor of Jazz Composition, Jazz Saxophone
Diego Rivera

Director of Jazz Studies
Director, Jazz Orchestra
Associate Professor of Jazz Studies & Jazz Saxophone
Mike Sailors

Professor of Practice in Jazz Trumpet
Bruce Saunders

Lecturer in Jazz Guitar
Omar Thomas

Assistant Professor of Composition

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Degree Requirements

The D.M.A. in Music & Human Learning, Jazz Pedagogy Emphasis, requires 54-57 hours of registered coursework, two comprehensive examinations, a foreign language or statistics/computer science competency, and a dissertation.

Major Coursework

Major Coursework for the D.M.A. in Music & Human Learning, Jazz Pedagogy Emphasis
Hours	Course Number	Course Title/Description
3	MUS 391	Foundations of Music Education
3-6		Jazz courses chosen from the following: MUS 388P: Jazz Pedagogy MUS 387L: Jazz Perspectives MUS 388J: Improvisation Styles & Techniques
18		Music & Human Learning courses chosen from the following: MUS 383L: Seminar in Music & Human Learning MUS 384J: Advanced Studies in Music & Human Learning MUS 392: Psychology of Music MUS 393: Problems in Music & Human Learning
6	MUS x99W	Dissertation

A reading competence in one foreign language is required. Six semester hours of upper-division or graduate level statistics or computer science may be substitute for the language requirement.

Supporting Coursework

Supporting Coursework for the D.M.A. in Music & Human Learning, Jazz Pedagogy Emphasis
Hours	Course Number	Course Title/Description
6	MUS 380	Advanced Studies in History and Culture of Music (2 semesters)
9		Music history/ethnomusicology courses selected from the following: MUS 379K: Conference Course in Music Literature MUS 380: Advanced Studies in the History & Culture of Music MUS 387L: Advanced Studies in Music Literature MUS 381J, Topic 2: Foundations of Ethnomusicology MUS 385J: Seminars in Ethnomusicology MUS 334: Music of the Americas MUS 342: Area Studies in Ethnomusicology MUS 343J: Jazz History
9		Theory/composition courses selected from the following: MUS 398T: Pedagogy of Music Theory MUS 388C: Composition MUS 388M, Topic 3: Contemporary Styles & Techniques MUS 388K: Projects in Jazz Composition MUS 388J: Improvisation Styles & Techniques MUS 329E: Introduction to Electronic Music MUS 329G: Intermediate Electronic Composition MUS 329F: Projects in Electronic Music MUS 366: Intermediate Orchestration MUS 228G: Jazz Theory MUS 328M: Studio Arranging MUS 276J: Beginning Jazz Piano Techniques (strongly encouraged for non-pianists) or Performance/conducting courses selected from the following: Inst. 280J/480J or 280/480: Graduate Performance (secondary instrument suggested for saxophonists) ENS 18x: Problems in Performance Practice MUS 28x: Chamber Music CON 480: Graduate Conducting
6		Related courses inside or outside the School of Music for which the student has the necessary prerequisites.

Comprehensive Examinations

Common Comprehensive

The common comprehensive examination consists of score identification and music history exams. Competency in music theory is tested as part of the final examination process of each section of the MUS 388T Analytical Techniques course. They are offered once per semester and in the summer.

A student who fails any portion of the common comprehensive exam on the first try must re-take the failed portion of the exam. If a student fails a portion of the exam twice, that student must choose one of the following options:

Take one or more graduate courses as determined by the musicology or theory faculty. The student must achieve a grade of B or higher in the specified course(s) to complete the requirement and officially pass.
Take the relevant portion(s) of the exam a third time, with the understanding that a third failure will result in termination of the student’s degree program.

Specialized Comprehensive

The content and procedures for the specialized comprehensive exams vary across divisions. Consult with the head of your division for additional information about the specialized comprehensive exams.

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Advising & Registration

For information about course registration, deadlines, adding and dropping courses and other policies, visit the Graduate School Academic & Registration Policies webpage.

Students who wish to take an independent study course need to fill out a Consent Form. Once the faculty member and Graduate Coordinator have approved your request, the bar to register for the course will be lifted.

To be eligible for fellowships, scholarships and assistantships, graduate students are required to be enrolled full-time (at least 9 hours).

All international students are also required to be enrolled full-time during each long semester, regardless of whether they receive funding from the Butler School of Music.

Transferring Coursework

A new doctoral student may petition to substitute up to twelve credits of graduate level coursework completed at another institution for degree requirements at the University of Texas, subject to approval by the Butler School Graduate Studies Committee. This process must be completed during the first semester of enrollment, before the close of the fall advising period.

Courses approved for substitution typically fall into the areas of music history, theory, literature, and pedagogy, as well as chamber music.

Under normal circumstances, transferred coursework should have been completed within the four academic years prior to the start of the doctoral work at UT. The GSC will consider on a case-by-case basis whether coursework completed more than four years prior to the start of doctoral study at the Butler School can count toward the program of study.

Coursework completed for a master's degree at the University of Texas at Austin may be included in the course work for the doctoral degree without a petition form, but is subject to approval by the Graduate Studies Committee chair in Music, the candidate's supervising committee, and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

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Graduation Timeline

Semester-by-Semester Overview

Prior to 1st semester

Take the diagnostic examinations in music history and music theory.

Semester 1

Review degree requirements and milestones agreement form with advisor.
For students who completed an M.M. degree before coming to UT Austin, course transfer requests must be submitted in the first semester. If they have not been submitted by at least the advising period for spring classes (i.e. late October), the student’s registration will be barred.

Semester 5

Complete all required, formal coursework.
Successfully complete comprehensive exams.
Form doctoral committee and advance to candidacy (may take place later if the comprehensive exams are delayed).
After an individual’s candidacy is approved, all Ph.D. students must see the Graduate Coordinator to add MUS X99W to their registration.

Semester 7-8

Schedule and complete final oral defense. The defense may not take place in the last week of classes. The defense must be officially scheduled with the graduate school using the Request for Final Oral Exam application.
After the final defense, students must obtain all committee signatures on the Report of Dissertation document supplied by the graduate school and return it to their office by the deadline listed on their website, along with any required pages.
All students must apply to graduate by the deadline.

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