Policies & Guidelines DMA Performance

You are allotted 48 applied lessons for your degree. Typically, DMA students spread these lessons throughout four years. Some students take lessons consistently every two weeks. Some students prefer to take lessons every week during the term that they will be preparing for one of their recitals. After every 12 lessons (best if both you and your instructor keep track of this), your instructor will need to be in touch with the performance office (Amanda at performance.music@utoronto.ca) and submit a grade.

The proposal is to be ca. 2000-3000 words long [about 8 to 10 pages of double-spaced typing plus bibliography]

The Dissertation itself is to be a maximum of 40,000 words [130 pages]; in practice, the length tends to vary between 100 and 130 pages or more at the discretion of the supervisory committee.

The Dissertation proposal document should outline the research topic that you propose to do in your DMA Dissertation. The following is a suggested structure:

A. The title of the proposed Dissertation

B. A clearly stated research question and/or goals of the project

C. Contribution to the field: why you chose the topic, and why it is important and worth doing

D. Literature Review: what prior research in this area has been done, and how your work relates to (that is, differs from, builds on, adds to) it.

E. Research Design: how you propose to do the research that will answer the questions explored in your Dissertation. This includes “techniques” such as score analysis, interviews, performance observation, etc., but it should also address the kinds of things you will be analyzing for and how your approach relates to your study’s specific goals and conceptual concerns. You should also discuss how you will access these materials and/or people (e.g., archives, online, personal contact, etc.). Be clear and as precise as possible with your plans.

F. Special skills needed to do this work that you have and how you will acquire them if you do not already have them

G. Chapter outline: a brief summary of what you think your final Dissertation might look like – an outline of the chapters and what will be covered in them

H. Bibliography

MUS4800 is a year-long course that provides the foundations for your research activities. It is also the time to begin seriously considering your dissertation topic and potential advisors. In addition to honing research and scholarly writing skills and homing in on your doctoral projects, you will also engage critically with music history and historiography (western art music or jazz, depending on your area). This will involve independent reading to complement assigned in-class work.

MUS4899 is course taken in the fall term of year 2. Upon completion of MUS4899, the student will have completed/made significant progress on several key steps toward doctoral candidacy including research and writing on key areas of knowledge as identified by the students’ specific areas, an annotated bibliography of research relevant to the Dissertation project, and the Dissertation proposal itself. Enrolment in MUS 4899 is ongoing until the Major Field Exam (MFE) has been passed. Following the successful MFE, the supervisor, in collaboration with the instructor for the class, will submit a grade for MUS 4899.

Research involving human participants (including interviews, surveys, observations etc.) must be reviewed and approved by the University of Toronto Research Ethics Board. Further information and application forms can be found at the following link: http://www.research.utoronto.ca/mrhp/student_new/

Applications for ethics review are now submitted directly online and should be completed upon approval of the Dissertation proposal. It is helpful to include a statement in the proposal that an application for ethics review (if needed) will be submitted.

A DMA student will achieve candidacy when all coursework (including MUS4899) is completed, the language requirement has been met, the proposal has been reviewed and approved by the DMA Proposal Reading Committee, and the Major Field Exam (MFE) has been passed. While the goal is to achieve candidacy by the end of Year 2, in practice, some DMA students meet this landmark during Year 3. The below chart, “Suggested Schedule of Activities,” follows a 2-year timeline to achieve candidacy.

If the student has not achieved Candidacy by the end of Year 3, there is an Extension to Achieve Candidacy form that will need to be processed through the graduate office (Todd Will gradadmin.music@utoronto.ca) and sent to the School of Graduate Studies.

Work on the DMA Dissertation Proposal will normally begin in MUS4899 if not before. It will be supported by various exercises during coursework that are geared toward developing a thorough knowledge of subject areas relevant to the doctoral project. Some students have clearer ideas about their research directions than others and thus require less exploratory work. Others need to read more widely in order to home in on their final project. There is no single way to work through this process, but they should work together in complementary fashion. Note that following MUS4899 (Fall Term, Year 2) your interactions with your cohort can become less regular. You are strongly encouraged to keep the lines of communication open between you and your colleagues as well as your supervisor in order to maintain momentum.

Once the proposal is completed, it is sent to by the student’s supervisor to the to Associate Dean, Graduate Education for circulation to the Dissertation Proposal Reading Committee. Members of the committee have approximately two weeks to offer feedback and evaluate the proposal once it has been sent to them via email. Often, the committee will request revisions and re-submission of the proposal. The Reading Committee’s comments will be sent from the Associate Dean, GE to the student’s Supervisor. If after two revisions, a proposal (submitted a third time) is still not at an acceptable standard, the student will be given one more opportunity to submit the proposal within 6 months for final review. Failure to achieve the standard set for the proposal after the 4th submission will necessitate that the student withdraw from the program.

Please note that there will be a pause in review of dissertation proposals during Winter Break (last day to submit proposals is Dec. 1st with comments returned by Dec. 15th). Proposal review will resume again on the 1st official day of Winter Term class. There will also be a pause during Summer Break (Dates TBA).

Once the proposal has been approved by the Reading Committee, the Major Field Exam (MFE) can be scheduled. The supervisor chairs the exam, and two other Graduate Faculty (associate or full) members with expertise in the general area of the proposed Dissertation research will be invited by the supervisor to join the MFE committee. In many if not most cases the three-member MFE committee will also serve as the DMA (dissertation) Advisory Committee. The exam is up to two hours in length, and covers both the material generated during MUS4800 and MUS4899 and the Dissertation proposal itself. With all other requirements met, successful completion of the Major Field Exam is the last step toward doctoral candidacy. The student can now proceed to research and write the dissertation.

Suggested Schedule of Activities for Achieving Doctoral Candidacy: 2-year timeline

YEAR I

YEAR II

Major Field Examination will normally occur no less than two weeks after the submission of the RIP and proposal to the MFE committee. After successful completion of the MFE, supervisor will submit grade for MUS 4899 to the graduate office. When the MFE is complete, and all requirements on the Degree Checklist have been fulfilled, the student will have Achieved Candidacy.

Only a full member of the Graduate Faculty can supervise the doctoral dissertation. An associate member may serve as co-supervisor of the doctoral dissertation along with a full member of the Graduate Faculty. The dissertation Advisory Committee is comprised of three total (including supervisor or co-supervisors) associate or full members of the Graduate Faculty with expertise in the general area of the topic. Typically, the 3-member MFE committee will continue to serve on the dissertation Advisory Committee. If the primary studio instructor is not serving as primary supervisor, it is recommended that they participate either as co-supervisor or as an active member of the committee.

The process for writing the doctoral dissertation and scheduling meetings with supervisors and committee members is the responsibility of the DMA candidate. It is recommended that meetings with the supervisor are scheduled regularly (ideally once every two weeks; once a month at a minimum), and that committee meetings with all three members be scheduled once a term. SGS requires that students meet with their full committee and submit a meeting report to the Music Graduate Office at least once per year (see below). The completed dissertation must be reviewed and approved by all three committee members, before being submitted to the graduate office.

Formatting of the Dissertation

The School of Graduate Studies has clear guidelines about formatting and producing the Dissertation, which can be found at the following link: http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/currentstudents/Pages/Producing-Your-Dissertation.aspx

Or on the School of Graduate Studies website under:

Current Students Program Completion
Producing your Dissertation Formatting
Committee Meeting Report Forms

The committee will meet with the candidate at least once a year during the preparation of the dissertation. A Committee Meeting Report should be filled out and submitted to the Graduate Office for inclusion in the candidate’s files. To remain in Good Standing, a DMA student must have a Committee Meeting Report on file for every year starting at the end of Year 2 or beginning of Year 3.

Process for Scheduling Final Defense

Once the committee has reviewed and approved submission of the completed Dissertation, the paper is sent (by the supervisor) to the graduate office, attention Associate Dean, Graduate Education and the Graduate Programs Administrator. The supervisor is responsible for recommending two examiners whose relationship to the candidate is at arms-length:

i) Internal Faculty of Music examiner, Full Graduate Faculty Member

ii) External examiner, with affiliation at an academic peer institute or with approval of School of Graduate Studies (SGS). When recommending the External Examiner, supervisor will submit CV to the Graduate Administrator.

After the External Examiner has been approved by SGS, the final defense will be scheduled at least 6 and, ideally, 8 weeks after submission of the paper and circulation to the committee. The paper may be submitted at any time throughout the year. Note, however, that scheduling Final Oral Examinations during the summer,

June, July and most of August, can be somewhat more complicated and, therefore, take longer, than during the fall and winter terms and the weeks immediately before and after them.

Final Defense

Two weeks before the final defense, the External Examiner will send a written Appraisal of the Dissertation. The candidate will have the opportunity to review the written appraisal to prepare for the defense. The final defense is a 2-hour oral examination, held usually at the School of Graduate Studies. Online defenses are now possible and the candidate, in consultation with their supervisory committee should specify their preference when requesting the FOE. The DMA Candidate, the Supervisor, the two other committee members, the Internal Faculty of Music Examiner, the External Examiner, and a Chair of Exam (proctor and representative of the School of Graduate Studies) will participate. Externals often participate by Zoom or another electronic meeting platform specified by the advisor and candidate. Prior to the questioning, the candidate must present an oral summary of the research (may include audio/visual elements such as PowerPoint or other presentation programs), and may at this time begin to address the questions and suggestions outlined in the External Examiner’s written Appraisal. This presentation is limited to 15-20 minutes maximum. The External Examiner typically begins the questioning period, followed by the Internal Faculty of Music Examiner, and the rest of the examination committee. If there is enough time, a second round of questions may take place.

The Dissertation and Defense will be determined as a Pass or Fail.

If the Dissertation passes, the committee will also determine whether the document has been passed:

i) As it stands/in its present form. The candidate has one week to make any final changes. No supervision is required.

ii) With Editorial Corrections (typographical errors, errors in punctuation, or problems in style that can and must be corrected within one month. The dissertation supervisor must approve the corrections.

iii) With Minor Revisions (more than changes in style and less than major changes in the thesis. A typical example of a minor revision is clarification of textual material or the qualification of research findings or conclusions. Minor revisions must be feasibly completed within three months. For Minor Modifications, a sub- committee of two members of the examination committee will be struck and they will be responsible for reviewing and approving that the recommendations for minor modifications have been met.

When all minor corrections or minor modifications have been completed, the final paper will be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, and final forms signed (provided by SGS). Once this is done, you are a Doctor of Musical Arts—Congratulations!