Degree Requirements

Voice & Opera

DMA • Opera Directing

Overview

The three-year Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degree in Music Performance trains students as informed artist-performers. In addition to demonstrating technical mastery of their instrument or voice, students are expected to exhibit a thorough understanding of the theoretical, pedagogical, and historical aspects of the major, as well as a knowledge of the literature of their performance area.

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Contacts
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, Voice & Opera

J.D. Burnett

Area Counselor, Voice

Donnie Ray Albert

Area Counselor, Opera

Tamar Sanikidze

Faculty

Donnie Ray Albert

Senior Lecturer in Voice
Steven Brennfleck

Lecturer in Voice
Garnett Bruce

Resident Stage Director, Butler Opera Center
J.D. Burnett

Director of Choral Activities
Director, Concert Chorale
Division Head, Voice & Opera
Carlos Capra

Lecturer in Opera
Leah Crocetto

Lecturer in Vocal Arts
Liliana Verónica Guerrero

Assistant Professor of Voice
Douglas Kinney Frost

Principal Conductor, Butler Opera Center
William Lewis

Professor of Voice
James Maverick

Lecturer in Collaborative Piano
Cynthia Morrow

Assistant Professor of Practice in Voice
Suzanne Pence

Director, Treble Chamber Choir
Associate Professor of Music and Human Learning, Choral Conducting
Rick Rowley

Associate Professor of Practice
Vocal Coaching & Collaborative Piano
Tamar Sanikidze

Director, Butler Opera Center
Professor of Opera
Principal Opera Coach
Mikhail Smigelski

Lecturer in Voice

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Degree Requirements

The D.M.A. in Opera Directing requires 53-58 hours of registered coursework, two comprehensive examinations, and advanced work in four Butler Opera Center productions. A treatise option is available.

Major Coursework

Major Coursework for the D.M.A. in Opera Directing
Hours	Course Number	Course Title/Description
8	OPR 290	Graduate Opera Performance (4 semesters)
6	MUS 387L	Opera Literature (2 semesters)
2	MUS 280D	Topics in Diction & Translation
3	MUS 388T	Analytical Techniques
6	MUS x99N	Non-Treatise Lecture Recital Document (after entering candidacy)
6	MUS 380	Advanced Studies in History and Culture of Music (2 semesters)
3	MUS 381	Reference and Research Materials in Music
6-9		Additional music courses selected from the areas of advanced theory, composition, ethnomusicology, musicology, and opera performance (performance not to exceed 4 hours).
4-6		Appropriate courses in drama
9		Related upper-division or graduate level courses outside the School of Music (e.g., history, art, English, education, philosophy, foreign languages, drama, etc.) for which the student has the necessary prerequisites

Treatise Option

Doctoral students in music performance who wish to pursue the treatise option must obtain permission from the Graduate Studies Committee in music before applying for candidacy. Differences from the non-treatise are:

The Chamber Recital is not required.
Students in candidacy register for MUS x99 Treatise instead of MUS x99N Non-Treatise Lecture-Recital Document.
The lecture-recital document is expected to be a substantial research paper of a scholarly nature.

Recitals

Productions that were prepared and rehearsed by opera coaching students, or directed by opera directing students, may be used for credit for three of the four required doctoral recitals. Students using an opera production toward the recital should contact scheduling@mail.music.utexas.edu before the performance takes place so that the recital credit can be properly logged.

The final lecture-recital is performed after entering candidacy, typically in the final semester of study. This recital includes a written lecture-recital document and defense.

Comprehensive Examinations

Common Comprehensive

The common comprehensive examination consists of two portfolios - the Academic Portfolio and the Repertory/Tradition Portfolio. 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.

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

Semester-by-Semester Overview

Prior to 1st semester

All students must take the diagnostic examinations in music history and music theory. Additional diagnostic exams are administered for students in composition, voice, jazz and music theory.

Semester 1

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 the advising period for spring classes (i.e. late October), the student’s registration will be barred.

Semester 2

All first year D.M.A. students should meet with the Graduate Coordinator for an audit of their coursework during the advising period for summer and fall classes in April. Registration will be barred until this meeting takes place.

Semesters 3–4

Students typically perform their Solo Recital I and Chamber Recitals in their second full year. Please note, both recitals may not be performed in the same semester without approval from the Director of Graduate Studies.

Semester 4

Students must submit a completed D.M.A. course outline to verify completion of coursework.
Unless there are mitigating circumstances (for example: insufficient number of Master’s level credits that can be transferred or an unusual number of deficiency courses a student must complete) documented and approved by the Graduate Coordinator, all D.M.A. students must attempt the common comprehensive exams.
All D.M.A. students must complete their specialized comps before applying for candidacy.

Semester 5–6 (Candidacy)

All D.M.A. students who pass the common and specialized comprehensive exams must form their committees and apply for candidacy. See the Candidacy Timeline below for a step-by-step process at this stage of the degree.
Students who have to re-take all or a portion of the common comprehensive exam in their 5th semester must form their committee and apply to candidacy prior to the 12th class day.

D.M.A. Candidacy Timeline

Schedule Solo Recital II
- Scheduling procedures
- Graded by performance members of committee; performance co-supervisor required to attend.
Set Doctoral Committee
Committee consists of six members:
- Performance co-supervisor (primary instructor).
- Academic co-supervisor (member of the Musicology, Theory or Music & Human Learning faculty).
- Three other Butler School faculty members (two performance, one academic).
- One member from outside of the Butler School of Music.
- At least three of the five Butler School committee members must be part of the Graduate Studies Committee.
Officially Apply for Candidacy
- Application is available on the Graduate School website.
- Students must be registered for classes in the semester they plan to become a doctoral candidate. MUS 394/694 Directed Reading courses are recommended.
- Non-Treatise – Do not add an abstract, indicate “D.M.A. option 2” in the abstract field.
- Treatise – Supply the Graduate School with a short abstract.
Change Registration
- The Graduate Office will help you change registration to MUS X99(N/W) once your application is approved.
- Check the Graduate School website for deadlines.
Schedule Lecture Recital
- Contact scheduling@mail.music.utexas.edu to schedule your lecture recital (you do not have to be in candidacy to start the scheduling process)
- At a minimum, your two committee co-supervisors and two other committee members must attend (virtual attendance is acceptable)
- Must take place before the last two weeks of the semester
- Defense should not be scheduled for the same day
Schedule Final Defense
- The Request for Final Oral Exam must be officially filed with the graduate school
- Must be scheduled at least two weeks prior to the defense date
Apply for Graduation
Final Defense
- Must be completed prior to last week of class of class
- Should not be the same day as Lecture Recital
- Five of your six committee members must attend (virtual attendance is acceptable)
Final Certification & Report of Dissertation
- The Graduate School will email your Final Certification document
- Gather all committee signatures after your document is approved
- File with the Graduate School by 3pm on the last Friday of classes
Final Document, Thesis & Dissertation
- Non-Treatise students forward completed and approved documents to the graduate coordinator
- Treatise & Dissertation students must upload their documents to the graduate school database and submit all required pages to the Graduate School