Degree Requirements

Musicology & Ethnomusicology

PhD • Musicology

Overview

In the five-year Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Musicology, students have the opportunity to acquire the appropriate tools and methods of research in both historical musicology and ethnomusicology, and to study the history of music from the remote past to the present as well as the nature and function of music in the cultures of the world. This program prepares students for positions in college teaching, research, music criticism, and, with additional training, library work.

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Degree Requirements
Advising & Registration
Graduation Timeline
Important Links

Contacts

Administrative Contacts

Graduate Advisor | Director of Graduate Studies

Hannah Lewis

Scholarships & Assistantships

Lynda Oh

Graduate Admissions Coordinator

Daniel Seriff

HR Coordinator

Theresa Orendain

Graduate Coordinator

Marina Martinez

Operations & Scheduling

Page Stephens

Division Contacts

Division Head, Musicology & Ethnomusicology

Andrew Dell'Antonio

Area Counselor, Musicology

Jacqueline Avila

Area Counselor, Ethnomusicology

James Gabrillo

Faculty

Jacqueline Avila

Associate Professor of Musicology
Jean Jacques "JJ" Barrera

Specialist in Conjunto
Charles Carson

Associate Professor of Musicology
Andrew Dell'Antonio

Professor of Musicology
Division Head, Musicology and Ethnomusicology
James Gabrillo

Assistant Professor of Musicology and Ethnomusicology
Joel Guzman

Specialist in Conjunto
Richard Huntley

Lecturer in Percussion
Hannah Lewis

Director of Graduate Studies
Associate Professor of Musicology
Alison Maggart

Assistant Professor of Instruction in Musicology
Robin D. Moore

Professor of Ethnomusicology
Luisa Nardini

Professor of Musicology
Guido Olivieri

Professor of Instruction in Musicology
Tony Rasmussen

Assistant Professor of Musicology & Ethnomusicology
Sonia Tamar Seeman

Director, Bereket Middle Eastern Music Ensemble
Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology in Middle Eastern Studies
Program Coordinator, Bachelor of Arts in Music

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Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. in Historical Musicology requires 60 hours of registered coursework, established proficiency in at least one research language in addition to English, a specialized comprehensive examination with a dissertation prospectus, and a dissertation.

Major Coursework

18 Credit Hours

Major Coursework for the Ph.D. in ethnomusicology or historical musicology
Hours	Course Number	Course Title/Description
6	MUS 381J	Topic 1: Foundations of Musicology Topic 2: Foundations of Ethnomusicology
3	MUS 395W	Writing About Music (5th semester)
3	MUS 394	Directed Reading with Primary Advisor (in preparation for Doctoral Comprehensive Exams)
6	MUS 399W / 699W	Dissetation (usually two semesters of 399W)
0	MUS 08X (TBD)	Mus/Ethno Forum (registration expected every semester)

18 total credit hours

Supporting Coursework

42 Credit Hours

Required From Short List

Choose 2 from the short List
Hours	Course Number	Course Title/Description
3	MUS 381J	Topic 4: Ethnographic & Analytical Methods
3	MUS 388T	Analytical Techniques
3	MUS 388M	Foundations of Music Theory
3	MUS 398T	Supervised Teaching in Music

6 Total Credits

Note: Other foundational courses may be substituted by petition to the division.

Courses within the Division

list of division courses
Credits	Course Number	Course Title
6	MUS 380 or MUS 387L or ENS 186-C-V or MUS 284P	Advanced Studies Music Literature Division Ensembles World Music Practicum
12	MUS 385J	Graduate Seminars

18 Total Credits

Courses Outside the Division Related to Area of Specialization

Relevant courses in language study, History, Anthropology, Area Studies, portfolio work, Music Theory, Performance, etc.

Ethnomusicologists must take one Anthropology seminar.

12 Total Credits

Electives

Electives are up to the student’s discretion and in consultation with Division Graduate Counselor and/or their Primary Advisor, and may be a combination of courses within and outside of BSOM.

6 Total credits

Note: For Students Coming In with Graduate Credit that They Wish to Substitute for University of Texas Requirements:

None of the Major Coursework courses may be petitioned for substitution
Student may not petition to substitute more than nine credits of MUS 385J

Language Requirements

Students may be required to demonstrate linguistic competence in their chosen area of research in consultation with their Primary Advisor and contingent on Division approval. These are to be one or two languages in addition to English. The choice of language(s) and format of the exams must be appropriate for the student’s planned research project. A student may submit a petition to the Division to have their proficiency in the language of research accepted in lieu of a second language in addition to English.

Such demonstrations will most commonly consist of one of the following:

2 hour open-book translation of materials selected by Division in consultation with Division-selected language exam expert by recommendation of Primary Advisor; OR
2 hour length conversation and/or oral comprehension exam in the research language with native speakers, witnessed and evaluated by Division-selected language exam expert by recommendation of Primary Advisor; OR
Written translation of a work or set of works over a set period of time (1 week) selected by Division upon recommendation of Primary Advisor and evaluated by Division-selected language exam expert; OR
Any combination or variation of the above which is deemed as appropriate for the student’s research skills in consultation with the student’s advisor and as approved by the Division.

Language proficiency must be demonstrated through one of the options listed above before the student undertakes the Doctoral Comprehensive Examination. Plans that diverge from those specified above must be submitted for approval by the Division.

PROGRESS THROUGH THE PHD DEGREE

FOSTERING A MUS/ETHNO COMMUNITY

The Mus/Ethno Division is committed to fostering a supportive community of both mentors and peers for each student in the program. The 0-credit-hour course MUS [TBD], Musicology/Ethnomusicology Forum, is an opportunity for the entire Division to come together to support each other’s work-in-progress and to learn from invited speakers. Students are expected to enroll in this course every semester, unless they have an unmovable conflict with their outside coursework or TA assignment. Faculty will also be expected to attend regularly.
The Division strongly recommends that when students are making course selections, they should expose themselves to as many different perspectives, specialties, methodologies, and research areas as possible, rather than focusing on a single area of specialization. Participation in Division ensembles is also strongly encouraged as an important form of professional training.
As students begin to form their comprehensive exam and dissertation committees, they should reflect on this breadth of experiences and consider how their committee will help them fulfill their intellectual and professional goals, and how their committee is an opportunity to foster different networks within an intellectual community. Students may wish to consider a range of criteria when selecting a committee, including breadth/range of scholarly specialization, methodology, and practical/professional expertise.

ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS TO THE PHD

Every entering student will meet with their assigned Division Graduate Counselor at the start of their first semester to review the degree program benchmarks, enroll in first-semester courses, and begin conversation about potential second-semester coursework.
In October of each year, every student who is not in doctoral candidacy will meet with their assigned Division Graduate Counselor prior to course pre-registration for spring semester, to review completed coursework, assess their progress to degree according to the benchmarks specified below, and determine appropriate fall semester coursework.
In January of each year, every student will submit a brief self-report on progress to degree, using a form provided by the Division. The self-report will include coursework completed, as well as intended coursework and degree benchmark completion for the upcoming Spring and Fall semesters.
The Division will review student self-reports alongside faculty reports on student progress and will provide each student by March 1 with a brief written evaluation indicating satisfactory, satisfactory-with-reservations, or unsatisfactory progress to degree. The written evaluation may also indicate suggestions from the Division for the student to take into consideration in their continuing work. If the Division determines that the student is making unsatisfactory progress, the Division will provide the student with clear and explicit guidelines on expectation for resolution of their “unsatisfactory progress” status (see Unsatisfactory Progress to Degree below).
In March of each year, every student who is not in doctoral candidacy will meet with their assigned Division Graduate Counselor prior to course pre-registration for fall semester, to review completed coursework and assess their progress to degree according to the benchmarks specified below, discuss the Division written evaluation if they choose, and determine appropriate fall semester coursework.

STANDARD / SATISFACTORY PROGRESS TO THE PHD DEGREE

The standard progress-to-degree timeline for all Division graduate students will involve three years of organized coursework that concludes with comprehensive exams and the defense of a dissertation prospectus at the end of the 6th semester. Dissertation research (Fieldwork, archival research, etc) is to be conducted during the 7th and 8th semesters, and writeup and defense of the dissertation during the 9th and 10th semesters. In certain cases, additional coursework (language study, etc.) may be needed for a student to complete their dissertation research; in this case, additional courses may be taken in the 7th and 8th semesters. A more detailed description of the standard timeline with specific benchmarks is provided below.
It is understood that some students may need extra time to advance to candidacy and / or to progress from candidacy to completion of their dissertation, owing to required remedial work in music, certificate programs, other additional coursework they consider necessary for their pre-professional training, and/or personal circumstances. Students may fall up to two semesters behind the standard timeline specified below without negative effect on their satisfactory progress to degree, but funding is not guaranteed by the Division for this additional year.

UNSATISFACTORY PROGRESS (AND WAIVER/RESOLUTION)

If a student falls more than 2 semesters behind the suggested benchmarks prior to doctoral candidacy, they will be considered as making “unsatisfactory progress” and will be notified of their status and the expectations for resolution (See below).
If a student falls more than two semesters behind expectations for graduation after advancing to doctoral candidacy, they will be considered as making “unsatisfactory progress” and will be notified of their status and the expectations for resolution (See below).
The Division will waive “unsatisfactory progress” designation, by petition, for students whose inability to meet suggested benchmarks is connected to disability or significant adverse personal circumstances. However, the Division cannot commit to providing more than five years / 10 semesters of funding overall to any student, regardless of circumstances affecting progress through degree benchmarks.
If/when a student is alerted by the Division of “unsatisfactory progress”, they must quickly inform the Division (within two weeks, in writing, via the Division Head) how they intend to return to “satisfactory progress” status within a semester (details on necessary action will be provided to the student in each case), in order to remain in the program and continue receiving financial support. This response can also include a student’s petition for the Division to waive “unsatisfactory progress” status, per above.
If the Division does not waive the “unsatisfactory progress” designation, and if a student does not resolve their “unsatisfactory progress” according to their plan within a semester, their financial support from the Division will be suspended until they have returned to “satisfactory progress” status.

Comprehensive Examination & Prospectus

Through the PhD Comprehensive Examination a student should demonstrate extensive familiarity with two disciplinary areas within which they wish to establish their professional career.
1. One of these areas, which includes within it the student’s dissertation topic, will be considered the Major Area; the other will be considered the Minor Area.
2. Major and Minor Areas are defined as topics of a systematic nature within the cultural study of music and/or adjacent disciplines.
3. For each of the chosen areas, the student will be expected to show a firm grasp of bibliography, historiography / ethnography, methods and problems, and current scholarly concerns, and to be able to articulate how their proposed dissertation work will contribute to the disciplinary conversations in their areas.
No later than six months before their proposed PhD Comprehensive Examination date, Student identifies a Division faculty member who agrees to serve as their PhD Advisor. It is possible for two faculty to be Co-advisors if all parties agree.
In consultation with their PhD Advisor(s), student identifies other faculty whom they wish to serve on their Comprehensive Examination Committee, and obtains agreement from those faculty to serve.
The Comprehensive Examination Committee must have five faculty members, two of which (including the PhD Advisor) must be members of the Division.
1. Since the Graduate School requires that the Dissertation Committee include at least one faculty member from outside the Butler School of Music, having that faculty member join the Comprehensive Examination Committee is customary.
In consultation with their PhD Advisor and the members of their proposed Comprehensive Examination Committee, the student identifies a Major and a Minor area of expertise for their Comprehensive Examination.
No later than the third week of the semester during which they intend to take their Comprehensive Examination, the student proposes their Comprehensive Examination to the Division by submitting the BSOM Ethno/Musicology Request Form for Division Approval of Comprehensive Exams and the BSOM Ethno/Musicology ABD Requirement Verification Form to the Division Head.
Within one week of the student’s submission of the Comprehensive Examination Proposal form, if the Division would like to request clarifications or changes, the Division Head conveys that request to the student. Otherwise, the Division Head verifies to the student the Division’s approval of the Comprehensive Examination Proposal.
Within two weeks of Division approval, the student meets with each Comprehensive Examination Committee member to begin discussing specific topics of interest within the Major and Minor examination areas.
In consultation with the members of their Comprehensive Examination Committee and especially their PhD Advisor, the student compiles a bibliography of resources that they will consult in preparation for the Comprehensive Examination.
In the following weeks the student continues regular conversations with the members of their Comprehensive Examination Committee, in order for each member to have the opportunity to construct one or more exam prompts and/or contribute to the reading lists based on their conversations with the student about their mutual areas of interests/expertise within the student’s chosen Major and Minor Areas.
No later than one week before the proposed start date for the Comprehensive Examination, the student’s PhD Advisor consults with the other members of their Comprehensive Examination Committee, and compiles a set of prompts for the student to address through their Comprehensive Examination.
1. The format and scope of the Comprehensive Examination should be tailored to the student’s professional goals in transparent conversation with their PhD Advisor and Comprehensive Examination Committee. View sample prompts from past Comprehensive Examinations.
2. The purpose of the collected prompts is to demonstrate the student’s professional preparation and to help them construct a bridge between what they have done in their coursework and what they would like to do for the dissertation.
  The prompts should be constructed so that the student is not surprised by any of the questions, and is challenged to take the conversations they have had with the Comprehensive Examination Committee a step further and ideally incorporate issues tangential to the Major and Minor areas.
3. The expectation should be for a student to spend the equivalent of about 15 focused hours of writing, or write the equivalent of approximately 40 double-spaced pages in 12 point font size in response to 6-8 prompts, or some comparable focused effort. Further details are to be agreed upon in conversation between the student and the Comprehensive Examination Committee.
4. The student will determine with their Comprehensive Examination Committee what period of time they would like to have available for this focused writing, with the understanding that it should not exceed two weeks.
The PhD Advisor forwards the collected prompts to the BSOM Graduate Coordinator, who forwards them to the student on the date the student has designated for the start of their Comprehensive Examination.
Upon completion, the student returns the completed Comprehensive Examination to the Graduate Coordinator, who forwards it to the PhD Advisor, who in turn circulates it to the Comprehensive Examination Committee.
In consultation with their PhD Advisor and Comprehensive Examination Committee, the student schedules an oral follow-up (“defense”) to the written Comprehensive Examination, usually about two weeks after completion, but a longer period can be set with the Comprehensive Examination Committee’s agreement.
1. If the student wishes to advance to candidacy immediately after the defense, the student forwards their Dissertation Prospectus (which they have been developing in consultation with their PhD Advisor) to their Comprehensive Examination Committee at least two weeks before the defense to give the committee the opportunity to review the prospectus thoroughly.
2. The Dissertation Prospectus:
  1. should be between 6,000 and 12,000 words in length, double-spaced in 12 point font, not counting bibliography, notes, and citations;
  2. should focus on situating the proposed work within extant scholarship through a systematic literature review and brief outline of the goals and significance of the project;
  3. will ideally serve as the basis of the first chapter of the student’s dissertation;
  4. should include:
    1. a methods section;
    2. a statement of significance;
    3. a provisional list and description of the chapters the student intends to include;
    4. a plan of work.
  5. View samples of past prospectuses by Division students.
  6. The student should also provide an abstract of the prospectus of approximately 250 words that will be included in their candidacy application.
  7. The Division understands that the student’s focus can change, and probably will, so nothing is set in stone. The goal of the prospectus is to demonstrate that the student has a plan in place for the independent dissertation work.
3. If the comprehensive exam has included a prompt that has allowed the student to articulate the substance of the prospectus, the full draft of the prospectus may be turned in fewer than 2 weeks before the defense with the agreement of the Comprehensive Examination Committee.
At the defense, the Comprehensive Examination Committee discusses the student’s exam submissions (and Dissertation Prospectus, where applicable) and poses questions and suggestions moving forward.
If the student does not wish to advance to candidacy immediately after the defense, the student forwards their Dissertation Prospectus (which they have been developing in consultation with their PhD Advisor) to their Comprehensive Examination Committee no later than the second week of the long semester following the comprehensive examination. The Examination Committee then consults with the PhD Advisor to determine whether an oral conversation about the Prospectus is advisable or whether written feedback to the student is sufficient.
Once the Comprehensive Examination Committee has verified the student’s passing performance on the Comprehensive Exam and given approval to the student’s Prospectus, the student submits a proposal for doctoral candidacy to the Graduate School with the assistance of the BSOM Graduate Coordinator.
If the student wishes to obtain a Master’s credential, once they have passed the Comprehensive Examination and submitted their Dissertation Prospectus, they should consult the instructions on Obtaining a Master’s Degree during PhD Coursework, below.

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updated October 2023

Obtaining A Master’s Degree During PhD Coursework

Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program who wish to obtain a Master’s Degree as part of their credentials can do so at the time of their advancement to Ph.D. candidacy (after they have passed comprehensive exams and submitted their prospectus) by communicating that intention to the Division Head, who will ask for the Division’s consent.
Once the Division has approved the student’s Master’s Degree petition, the student must communicate with the Music Graduate Coordinator, who will provide details on how to complete the paperwork that will be required for the Graduate School to award the Master’s Degree on the basis of coursework. The student must have taken MUS 394 with their doctoral advisor in order for this paperwork to be completed successfully.

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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.

View a List of Upcoming Courses offered by Musicology & Ethnomusicology

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

Students entering the Ph.D. program with a masters typically complete coursework in 4 or 5 semesters; students entering with a bachelors typically complete coursework in 6 semesters. students may petition to take extra time to complete coursework, with permission from the division.

Semester-by-Semester Overview

Prior to 1st semester

Take the diagnostic examinations in music history and music theory.

Semester 1

Student undertakes foundational disciplinary coursework as described in the degree plan.
If a student wishes to transfer graduate work completed elsewhere, they should initiate the transfer process their first semester with the Music Graduate Office.

Semester 2

Student continues foundational coursework.
If a student wishes to transfer graduate work completed elsewhere, they must Finalize the transfer process by the end of their second semester with the Music Graduate Office.

Semester 3

Student continues foundational coursework.

Semester 4

All students must choose a Primary Academic Mentor/Advisor by this point, as well as another faculty member as Secondary Academic Mentor/Advisor (whether from the Division or from another area of the University, by petition to the Division). Students must notify the Division Head of their choices. The Division will keep track of these selections on a centralized advising document.
Students are also encouraged to undertake the exercise of generating an article-length essay of publishable quality at the end of their second year, since revising their scholarly work and submitting it to peer review during their graduate studies provides valuable career preparation.

Semester 5
If a student’s academic study requires additional coursework, the below benchmarks may be delayed by up to 2 semesters. However, if a student opts to take longer than 10 semesters to complete the degree, the student is responsible for obtaining funding for any additional year(s).

Student typically completes their language proficiency requirement during the 5th or 6th semester if not before.
Student enrolls in MUS 395W “Writing about Music” as they begin work on their dissertation prospectus (If an individual student’s situation necessitates it, they may enroll in MUS 395W in a different semester, in consultation with their Primary Advisor.)
If taking MUS 398T, Supervised Teaching in Music, student should enroll in the course by their 5th or 6th semester, allowing them to be the principal instructor of undergraduate courses.
Student begins to identify the faculty whom they wish to serve on their Comprehensive Examination Committee and begins to meet with those faculty to to define areas for their Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination, per the comprehensive examination and dissertation guidelines.

Semester 6

Student enrolls in directed reading coursework with one or more faculty involving the finalizing of their Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination preparation and prospectus. (The student should enroll in this prospectus and exam preparation Directed Reading during the semester when exams will be scheduled, if that semester is other than the 6th Semester.)
Student schedules Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination no later than between weeks 9 and 12 of their 6th semester, with an oral follow-up approximately two weeks later to discuss the written exam and the prospectus, unless different timing is agreed upon in writing by the entire Comprehensive Examination Committee.
Once all members of the Comprehensive Examination Committee deem the exam and prospectus acceptable, the student can advance to candidacy with the support of the Music Graduate coordinator.
While by default the same faculty who composed the Comprehensive Examination Committee become the Dissertation Committee upon a student’s advancement to candidacy, the student may change the composition of their Dissertation Committee from that of the Comprehensive Examination Committee. However, it is most expedient to do so before the student submits the paperwork for candidacy.
For students preparing to conduct fieldwork or other kinds of research with living subjects, it is the responsibility of each student to obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) clearance for their dissertation research projects by the time they advance to candidacy:
The process can be involved and students must monitor it carefully, ensuring approval prior to their departure to the field.
More information about the approvals required for research involving human subjects can be found on the website of the Office of Research Support.
The Division suggests that students to whom this situation applies make an appointment with a university employee at the Office of Research support as they begin planning their fieldwork, well in advance of departure to the field.

Semester 7

Students who successfully complete their comprehensive exams are required to maintain a formal association with the University of Texas during their dissertation fieldwork. This is true even if they choose not to formally advance to candidacy until their return from the field.
The preferred method of association for those planning to travel outside the country is through the International Study and Research program overseen by the Study Abroad office. Participation in this program requires an initial $50 application fee and a fee of $400 per semester of affiliation, and requires approval through the office of the Graduate Advisor in the School of Music. It provides students with a number of useful emergency services and access to university financial aid.
Students conducting fieldwork in the US can sign up for a minimal one-unit course load.
Students who have not entered candidacy can also apply for leave through the Graduate Office. However, such a leave effectively eliminates all privileges that a student would have by virtue of enrollment in the University. Students must be aware of such losses, and weigh the benefits and risks as compared to signing up for a minimal load while away.

Semester 8

Student continues research/Fieldwork/independent study on their dissertation.

Semester 9

Student begins or continues writeup of dissertation, in regular consultation with their Primary Advisor and other members of their Dissertation Committee.
Student enrolls in dissertation credit hours (including at least 3 hours of MUS 399W) with their Primary Advisor, and are encouraged (but not required) to enroll in MUS 395W, Writing About Music, if offered. Students are encouraged to form writing groups that meet and share work weekly with the help of AGEMS, and drawing on the resources of the University Writing Center.
Student begins to apply for jobs, in consultation with their Primary Advisor and other professional mentors.

Semester 10

Student begins or continues writeup of dissertation, in regular consultation with their Primary Advisor and other members of their Dissertation Committee.
Student enrolls in dissertation credit hours (including at least 3 hours of MUS 399W) with their Primary Advisor, and are encouraged (but not required) to enroll in MUS 395W, Writing About Music, if offered. Students are encouraged to form writing groups that meet and share work weekly with the help of AGEMS.
Student schedules doctoral defense, in consultation with their Primary Advisor and other members of their Dissertation Committee and following the guidelines provided by the Music Graduate Office and the Graduate School.
If doctoral defense is successful, student completes necessary changes as specified by the Dissertation Committee and files for graduation following the guidelines provided by the Music Graduate Office and the Graduate School.

For a more detailed list of program requirements and timelines, see the Milestones for each Ph.D. degree program.

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