To receive the Doctor of Philosophy, students take a minimum of twenty credits and write a dissertation.
Course requirements:
- Colloquium Series in Musicology (one credit each for four semesters).
- Doctoral Colloquium (one credit each for four semesters).
- Elective Graduate Seminars (covering the remainder of the twenty credits)
Additionally, students without an extensive music-theoretical background are required to take a prerequisite course in Western music theory (three credits, but not counting towards the twenty needed to receive the degree), and all students must fulfill the foreign languages requirement by demonstrating proficiency in a second foreign language related to the student’s research (in addition to English and Chinese).
PHD students are required to pass a doctoral candidate qualification examination, publish their work in at least one academic journal, and spend a minimum of two months abroad to satisfy an “international experience” requirement.
Students select a doctoral advisor by halfway point of the first semester of their second year that will assist the student in preparing their dissertation proposal. Students will submit a paper dissertation proposal by the second semester of the second year of study that will also be presented in an oral defense examination. Once the proposal passes examination, the student writes the dissertation under guidance of the advisor, and upon completion the final dissertation will also undergo a final oral examination which once successfully passed qualifies the student to receive the PHD.