Degree Programs
Graduate students in the Department of Music are admitted in one of three Ph.D. programs: Composition, Ethnomusicology, or History & Theory. Students who complete a sufficient subset of the requirements for the Ph.D., as itemized below for each degree program, are eligible to apply for the M.A. degree.
General information on requirements that span the subdisciplines is given in this opening section of the curriculum. Overviews of coursework, exams, pedagogical training, and dissertation development, as well as requirements for specific degree programs, are accessible from the tabs above.
NB: All students receive their official degrees in “Music,” not in the name of their specific subdiscipline. For example, ethnomusicology concentrators will receive a diploma—Ph.D. or M.A.—in “Music,” not “Ethnomusicology.” This both accords with Divisional policy and reflects the Music Department’s commitment to interdisciplinary inquiry across all of our subfields.
Overview of Requirements
Each of the three Ph.D. programs requires successful completion of courses, language examinations, musicianship, comprehensive examinations, pedagogical training, a dissertation, and a final examination on (“defense of”) the dissertation. In addition, the program in Composition requires approval of the Minor Field Plan, defense of the Minor Field Paper; the program in Ethnomusicology requires a Special Field Examination.
M.A. Degree en Route
Students may apply for an M.A. degree from the University of Chicago once they have fulfilled the necessary requirements for their area of study as specified in the sections below on each program. Students entering with an M.A. in Music from a different institution may earn a second M.A. from the University of Chicago only if they follow Track 2 as described below.
Satisfactory Progress
Students are expected to maintain Satisfactory Progress in their degree studies on a year-by-year basis. The requirements for Satisfactory Progress, per year and per degree program, are described under specific degree requirements.
By April 1 of each year, all students must complete Satisfactory Progress forms and submit them to the Director of Graduate Studies. Students must demonstrate that they have completed all requirements for the previous year and that they are on schedule to complete requirements for the current year. Students who wish to extend the time limit on any of the requirements for satisfactory progress must file a petition by April 1 stating clear reasons for the extension.
Students who are not making good academic progress will be placed on academic probation and be provided, in writing, the requirements and timeline necessary to return to good academic standing and the consequences, namely administrative withdrawal, if those requirements are not met.
Candidacy
Candidacy is attained when all requirements for the Ph.D. have been met except completion of the dissertation. Candidacy status is known informally as ABD (“all but dissertation”); students will normally achieve ABD status by the end of their third year (for ethnomusicology and history/theory) or by the end of their fourth (for composition). For more information, see the Satisfactory Progress Requirements for each degree program below.
ABD students are expected to meet with their dissertation committees at least once each academic year to discuss progress on the dissertation. Such meetings should take place before the end of March. If not all members of the committee are able to attend, the meeting should include—at minimum—the primary dissertation advisor and one secondary reader. Students can meet virtually with their committee if desired. After this meeting the advisor will submit a brief e-mail to the Chair and the Director of Graduate Studies summarizing the student’s progress and the committee’s recommendations.
Time To Degree (TTD)
Starting with the incoming cohort in Autumn 2025, the Department of Music will construe satisfactory progress to be the completion of the PhD within seven academic years (TTD). The following conditions will also apply:
- Students must advance to candidacy by the end of their fourth registration year. If students do not advance to candidacy on this timeline, they will be placed on academic probation for one quarter. If they do not advance to candidacy at the conclusion of the probationary quarter they will be withdrawn from the program.
- Students who have not completed all PhD requirements by the end of their seventh registration year will be administratively withdrawn from the program.
Withdrawn students may complete their dissertation independently and later petition to defend it at the University of Chicago under the Time Limit Administrative Withdrawal policy. Between the fourth and seventh years of the program each student must meet the satisfactory progress milestones outlined in their respective dissertation completion plans. These plans are developed in collaboration with the dissertation advisor(s).